Lisa Opie

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born on 15 August 1963) is a retired British

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 was one of the game's leading woman players in the 1980s and early-1990s. Her biggest successes were winning the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in 1991 and four consecutive World Team Championships from 1985 to 1990. Until the rise of

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 ...

she was England's number 1 player. Born and raised in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, she was coached in her early years in the game by Reg Harbour. In international competition, she represented England. She was appointed MBE for services to squash in the 1995 New Year's Honours List. In later years she was coached by Gavin Dupre from Jersey. They began working together in Guernsey and Lisa later spent time training with him in Germany where he was based as a professional coach.

Playing career

Lisa won her first tournament in 1979 and quickly established herself as one of the game's best players. She reached the 1981 World Open semi-final but lost to

Rhonda Thorne Rhonda Thorne (born 6 February 1958, in Toowoomba, Queensland) (also known as Rhonda Clayton and Rhonda Shapland) is an Australian former World No. 1 squash player. She was one of the leading players on the international squash circuit in the ...

9–2, 9–0, 9–4. This was to be the first in a series of near-misses for Lisa, as she reached two World Open finals but lost both times to the

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 ...

squash legend

Susan Devoy Dame Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy (born 4 January 1964) is a former New Zealand squash player and senior public servant. As a squash player, she was dominant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the World Open on four occasions. She served ...

– in 1985 (9–4, 9–5, 10–8) and 1987 (9–3, 10–8, 9–2). The British Open also provided much heartbreak. In 1982 and 1983 she lost in the final against

Vicki Cardwell Vicki Cardwell BEM (née Hoffmann, born 21 April 1955, in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former World No. 1 squash player from Australia. She was one of the leading players on the international squash circuit from the late-1970s through to t ...

, and then against old foe Devoy again in 1984 (5–9, 9–0, 9–7, 9–1) and 1986 (9–4, 9–2, 9–3). However, she eventually won the British Open in 1991 when she beat compatriot

Sue Wright Sue Wright (born 28 June 1970) is a former professional squash player from England. She was runner-up at the British Open in 1991 and 2000, and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 3 in 1998. She won the British National Championship titl ...

in the final 6–9, 9–3, 9–3, 9–4. This made her the first British woman to win the title for 30 years. That same year she finished second in the Sports Journalists Award, with the athlete

Liz McColgan Elizabeth Nuttall (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a ...

coming first.

World Open

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

British Open

Finals: 5 (1 title, 4 runners-up)

World Team Championships

Finals: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-up)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opie, Lisa English female squash players Guernsey sportswomen 1963 births Living people Guernsey squash players Members of the Order of the British Empire