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| Perry, Rooney – 2010 winners |
Madeline Perry and John Rooney will defend their titles at the Irish Squash Senior Nationals in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin starting on Friday.
Perry, currently world No 4, has had an excellent season winning the Singapore Masters last July. She reached finals in both Kuala Lumpar last March and Qatar in October and also made six semi-finals. Perry is Ireland’s most successful player of all-time, boasting not only 12 Irish national titles, but nine WISPA World Tour titles from 22 final appearances. Incredibly, it was after a life-threatening off-court injury in 2007 that Madeline, now 34, achieved her greatest success.
At the British Open in 2009, she made the finals for the first time after dismissing world No 1 Nicol David in the quarter-finals. Less than a year later, she won the Australian Open in Canberra, before clinching her fourth Irish Open title in Dublin.
At the British Open in 2009, she made the finals for the first time after dismissing world No 1 Nicol David in the quarter-finals. Less than a year later, she won the Australian Open in Canberra, before clinching her fourth Irish Open title in Dublin.
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| Perry playing Aisling Blake |
Perry has led Ireland at five World Team championships since 2002 and has represented Northern Ireland at all four of the sport’s appearances in the Commonwealth Games since 1998. She reached a career-high world No3 ranking earlier this season and will pick up her eighth Irish Times Women in Sport Award in Dublin on Wednesday December 21.
Rooney, originally from Galway, is currently assistant squash coach at Yale University in the USA. He faces a tough task in the men’s singles with the ageless Derek Ryan and former Irish No 1 Arthur Gaskin both capable of derailing his ambitions to make it three titles in a row.
Games get under way on Friday at 5pm, with a full schedule of matches on Saturday and Sunday starting at 10am each day.
On Saturday, the women’s semi-finals are expected to take place at around 7.30pm and he men’s semi-finals at around 9pm. Sunday’s finals start with the women at 3pm.
Entry is free and spectators very welcome.
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