Mandy Fisher (born in April 1962) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

player and a

World Women's Snooker Championship The World Women's Snooker Championship (formerly known as the Women's World Open Championship from 1976 to 1981 and the World Ladies Snooker Championship from 1983 to 2018) is the leading tournament on the World Women's Snooker Tour. The reigning ...

winner in 1984. Fisher founded the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (now known as

World Women's Snooker World Women's Snooker, founded as the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) in 1981, and known as World Ladies Billiards and Snooker (WLBS) from 2015 to 2018, is a subsidiary company of the World Professional Billiards and Snoo ...

) in 1981 and currently serves as the president.

Career

Fisher started playing snooker at the age of 16.Board Members – Mandy Fisher
Women's World Snooker. Retrieved 20 July 2019 She founded the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) in 1981 and in addition to playing, led the administrative side of the sport in the 1980s and 1990s. She was the losing finalist at the 1981

. In 1983 she became the first woman to reach the last 128 of the

English Amateur Championship The English Amateur Championship, an annual snooker competition, is the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, a ...

. In 1984, she defeated Canadian

Maryann McConnell Maryann McConnell is a Canadian snooker and pool player. She was runner-up in the 1984 Professional World Women's Snooker Championship, and has won numerous pool tournaments in Canada. Biography McConnell started playing at the age of 24, at t ...

4–2 to win the first professional women's title. In 1984, the

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

sponsored a five-month, five-tournament ''grand prix'' circuit, with a £60,000 prize fund, and which was broadcast on regional television channels. Sixteen of the top-ranked women turned professional and competed in the series. Fisher eventually won, and her winnings of £14,000 in the season took her to twelfth place – just behind three-time men's world champion John Spencer – in the professional snooker money-winners' list for the year. In the 1980s Fisher featured regularly on the snooker exhibition circuit, competing with players such as

Steve Davis Steve Davis (born 22 August 1957) is an English retired professional snooker player who is currently a Sports commentator, commentator, musician, DJ, and author. He is best known for dominating professional snooker during the 1980s, when he rea ...

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

and

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

. Fisher played while heavily pregnant in the early 1990s, with a midwife on standby, and later lamented that this was deemed more newsworthy than women players demonstrating their skill.

Barry Hearn Barry Maurice William Hearn (born 19 June 1948) is an English sporting events promoter and the founder and President of promotions company Matchroom Sport. Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many sports including snooker, darts, pool ...

, later the World Snooker chairman, forced Fisher to wear maternity clothing to mark this in front of media at London's

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

. In 2011, Fisher stepped down from the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association but took office again in 2013.

Personal life

Fisher is also a

podiatry Podiatry () or podiatric medicine () is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and leg. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), or a podiatrist, is a healthcare p ...

professional, working in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

, Cambridgeshire.

Career Highlights

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Mandy 1962 births Living people English snooker players Female snooker players People from Wisbech