All good things have to come to an end, unfortunately.
Nicol David was knocked out of her crown as Egyptian Raneem El Weleily took over as the new top ranked women squash player, according to the latest ranking list issued by the PSA Tour.
The Malaysian has occupied the top spot for 109 consecutive months since July 2006, but has fallen down to second place as El Weleily now has a total average of 2, 979 points to Nicol’s 2, 853 for a 126-point lead.
This drop was not fully unexpected though, as Nicol’s form has been inconsistent, winning only one PSA Women’s Tour title in five competitions compared to El Weleily, who has won three.
“The loss of the number one ranking was not a shock to me,” the eight-time world champion Nicol told New Straits Times. “My consistency has been up and down this year.”
“I realized this was just a matter of time, so I knew I had to take time out for myself.”
Nicol, who turned 33 a week ago, will be able to reclaim her spot when she competes in the China Open and Macau Open in September, with El Weleily also participating.
“Nicol has been number one for so long and the gap between her and all of us has been so huge that to get close to her is an achievement itself,” said El Weleily in PSA Tour statement.
“To be the person to finally overtake her is huge for me. I know I could just be there for one month and that’s fine because I still need to do more in order for me to earn that spot. At the moment it’s only a matter of calculation.”
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