Rhonda Thorne (born 6 February 1958, in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

) (also known as Rhonda Clayton and Rhonda Shapland) is an Australian former World No. 1

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. She was one of the leading players on the international squash circuit in the late-1970s and early-1980s, and won the 1981 Women's World Open Squash Championship. Born Rhonda Shapland she married

Ross Thorne Ross Thorne (born 7 November 1957) is a former Australian professional squash player. Thorne was born on 7 November 1957 and lived in Queensland. He married Rhonda Shapland who was crowned world champion in 1981. Ross was a world's top ten pl ...

, a notable squash player in 1978 and changed her name to Rhonda Thorne. In the 1981 World Open final in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Thorne beat fellow Australian player

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 ...

8-10, 9-4, 9-5, 7-9, 9-7 to become world champion. Thorne and Cardwell reached the World Open final again in 1983 when it was held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, with Cardwell winning this time 9-1, 9-3, 9-4. Thorne was at the pinnacle of her game in the early-1980s, and held the World No.1 ranking in both 1981 and 1982. She remained in the world’s top-10 from 1979-84. Thorne represented Australia in international team squash for seven years from 1977-84. She captained the Australian team from 1981–83, during which time the team won to two World Team Squash Championship titles. As a junior player, Thorne won four Australian Junior Opens in 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1976. Thorne retired from the international squash circuit in 1985. That year she won the Queensland Sportswoman of the Year award. Since retiring, she has been inducted into the Squash Australia Hall of Fame and was an inaugural member of the Queensland Squash Hall of Fame.Qsquash Hall of Fame
/ref> She was also awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 recognition for her achievements.

References

External links

* Australian female squash players 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Toowoomba Sportswomen from Queensland {{Australia-squash-bio-stub