Carol Owens (born 4 June 1971) is a former

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-based

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

player who won the World Open in 2000 and 2003. Owens was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, and would eventually change her nationality when she moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. A right-hander, she made her competitive debut in 1990 in the Swiss Open where she finished 17th. Her first final was the 1993 Japan Open where she was a runner-up to the Canadian

Heather Wallace Heather Wallace (born December 4, 1961, in Kitwe, Zambia) is a former professional female squash player who represented Scotland and Canada during her career. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 6 in July 1993. She represente ...

. She did not have to wait long for her first major victory, which came in October in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. She was part of the Australian winning team at the

1994 Women's World Team Squash Championships The 1994 Women's World Team Squash Championships were held in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey and took place from October 10 until October 16, 1994. Seeds Results First round Pool A Pool B Semi finals Third place play off Final ...

1996 Women's World Team Squash Championships The 1996 Women's Perrier World Team Squash Championships were held in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and took place from October 14 until October 19, 1996. Results First round Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Quarter finals Semi ...

and

1998 Women's World Team Squash Championships The 1998 Women's World Team Squash Championships were held in Stuttgart, Germany and took place from November 9 until November 15, 1998. Seeds Results First round Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Quarter finals Semi fin ...

. She has the unique achievement of representing both Australia and New Zealand at the highest level and is the first female player to win medals for two countries at the Commonwealth Games. Carol began to challenge for the world championship whilst still representing Australia and her first World Open title came in 2000 when she beat New Zealander Leilani Joyce 7–9, 3–9, 10–8, 9–6, 9–1. This was after an equally epic semi-final against

Sarah Fitz-Gerald Sarah Elizabeth Fitz-Gerald AM (born 1 December 1968) is an Australian women's squash player who won five World Open titles – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. She ranks alongside Janet Morgan, Nicol David, Susan Devoy, Michelle Martin an ...

.
In 2001 Carol changed nationality becoming a New Zealander and at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

she won the gold in the doubles and a silver in the singles. The elusive second world title came in 2003, when she beat

Cassie Campion Cassandra "Cassie" Jackman (born 22 December 1972 and competing in some years as Cassie Campion) is a former English squash player who won the World Open in 1999. She was England's leading player throughout much of the 1990s and early 21st ce ...

3–9, 9–2, 9–7, 9–3. It was in 2003 that she became – for the first time – the World No. 1 ranked player. At the beginning of 2004, Carol announced that she had retired from the professional game.

World Open

Finals: 2 (2 title, 0 runners-up)

World Team Championships

Finals: 3 (3 title, 0 runner-up)

References

External links