Madeline Perry

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Madeline Perry
Perry during the 2009 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Northern Irish)
Born (1977-02-11) 11 February 1977
Banbridge, Northern Ireland
Years active1997-2015
Sport
HandednessRight Handed
Turned pro1998
Coached byMarcus Berrett
Retired2015
Racquet usedDunlop
Women's singles
Highest rankingNo. 3 (April 2011)
Title9
Tour final23
Medal record
Women's squash
Representing  Ireland
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2008 Manchestersingles
European Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place2005 AmsterdamTeam
Bronze medal – third place2011 EspooTeam
Silver medal – second place2012 NurembergTeam
Silver medal – second place2013 AmsterdamTeam
Bronze medal – third place2015 HerningTeam
Irish Championships
Gold medal – first place1997–99, 2001–04, 2006–11, 2013, 2015singles

Madeline Perry (born 11 February 1977) is a former professional squash player from Northern Ireland, who competed at five Commonwealth Games from 1998 to 2014 and is a record 15 times champion of Ireland.

Biography

Perry was born and raised in Northern Ireland before later living in Philadelphia.[1]

Perry won the first of her record 15 Irish national titles in 1997.[2] She represented the 1998 Northern Irish team[3] at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she competed in the singles and mixed doubles events.[4]

Perry attended a second Commonwealth Games when selected for the 2002 Northern Irish team[5] at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England,[6] where she competed in squash tournament.[7] Four years later, a third games appearance ensued as she represented the 2006 Northern Irish team[8] at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia,[9] where she once again competed in singles and mixed doubles events.[10]

In November 2006 at the World Open in Belfast, she justified her seeding of eighth by reaching the quarter-finals. She then won the Irish Open 2007 title in Dublin. One of her career highlights is defeating Nicol David in the quarter-finals of the Forexx Dutch Open where she took the world number one to 9–7 in the fourth set before beating David with a 6-11, 12-14, 15-13, 11-5, 11-9 scoreline.[11]

A serious head injury sustained when Madeline was mugged in Milan, Italy, put a halt to the rest of the season.[12] The inactivity caused a dip in her ranking that took her out of the top ten after nearly two years. In her first event back in 2008, in the Buler Challenge in Hong Kong, she reached the final. A year later, Perry described her quarter-final victory over then-ranked No. 1 Nicol David in the five-set, 76-minute quarter-final of the 2009 British Open as "the best victory of my career".[13] (Perry lost the final to Rachael Grinham.)[14] She then made it to the semis of the Seoul Open, followed by the semi-final berth at the CIMB Singapore Masters from an unseeded position. Perry went a fourth Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi, India.

By April 2011, Perry had reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3.[15][16]

In April 2014 she made squash history as the oldest female player to retain a top 10 position, when she was ranked No. 9 in the world.[17] Shortly afterwards, Perry attended her fifth Commonwealth Games, being selected for the Northern Ireland team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 3 August. One year later she won her 15th and last national title.

Major World Series final appearances

British Open: 1 finals (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2009Australia Rachael Grinham11–6, 11–5, 12–10

Qatar Classic]: 1 final (0 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up2011Malaysia Nicol David11–2, 11–7, 11-3

See also

References

  1. "Irish Squash Professional Madeline Perry". Irish Star. 1 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. "Squash". Belfast News-Letter. 22 December 1997. p. 40. Retrieved 8 May 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Hot-shot Bobby misses party". Belfast News-Letter. 16 June 1998. p. 45. Retrieved 9 May 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Northern Ireland Kuala Lumpur 1998". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  5. "NI Commonwealth squad revealed". BBC Sport. 5 June 2002. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  6. "Manchester on their mind". Belfast News-Letter. 6 June 2002. p. 45. Retrieved 9 May 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Northern Ireland Manchester 2002". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  8. "N Ireland Commonwealth Games team". BBC Sport. 7 February 2006. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  9. "Big Games hunters". Ireland's Saturday Night. 2 November 2005. p. 30. Retrieved 9 May 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Northern Ireland Melbourne 2006". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  11. "Perry loses British Open decider". 14 September 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  12. Haughey, John (15 November 2008). "Marvel Madeline". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  13. Perry, Madeline (24 November 2009). "Madeline Perry" (Interview). Interviewed by Helen McConnell. Belfast Boat Club: Sport Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  14. "Perry loses British Open decider". BBC Sport. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  15. "WISPA Player Profile".
  16. Player Profile at SquashInfo
  17. "Madeline Perry makes history as oldest to retain top 10 place". BBC Sport. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2021.