11-Apr, Final:

Joelle King bt Rachael Grinham 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9

Joyful Joelle Takes Texas Title

New Zealand outsider Joelle King crowned a sensational week in Texas by winning the biggest WISPA  title of her life - beating experienced top seed Rachael Grinham in the final.

The unseeded 21-year-old from the North Island town of Cambridge carved her way through the field in magnificent style, first beating fourth seed Tania Bailey, then fifth-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart, before ousting sixth seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter to reach the final.

King had beaten Grinham, the 33-year-old former world number one and world champion, in their last meeting – but it was on home soil, in the first round of the New Zealand Open last August.

But the rapidly-improving Kiwi, who celebrated a career-high world No23 ranking this month, was able to reproduce the same confident form as she battled to victory over the world No5.

King becomes the first New Zealander to win the Texas title since Carol Owens in the first two events in 2002 and 2003, and this takes her career WISPA title total to five, from only six final appearances.

10-Apr, Semis:
King Crashes Into Texas Final

Unseeded New Zealander Joelle King reached the biggest WISPA  final of her life when she defeated England's Dominique Lloyd-Walter in the semi-finals to record her third successive upset.

The 21-year-old outsider from the North Island town of Cambridge took off on her 'Texas massacre' by beating fourth seed Tania Bailey – then upended fifth-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart, again in straight games, to reach the semi-finals.

King overwhelmed Dominique Lloyd-Walter in the first two games before the sixth seed from England battled back in the third to reduce the deficit.

But the Kiwi had her sights on the final – and went on to win 11-1, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 to reach the sixth Tour final of her career.

King now has the event's biggest hurdle to overcome in top seed Rachael Grinham. The 2004 champion from Australia had to be at her best to fight off the challenge of Low Wee Wern, the unseeded Malaysian who took out third seed Jaclyn Hawkes to make the last four.

The experienced Queenslander, a former world number one and world champion, maintained her focus throughout, beating the 19-year-old from Penang 12-10, 11-8, 11-7 to reach the 55th WISPA final of her career.

King's unexpected appearance in the Houston final will lead to her withdraw from the qualifying competition for the Cayman Islands Open, the third WISPA Gold event of the year which gets underway today in Grand Cayman.

But while King will continue her role as 'underdog' in the final, the Kiwi will be comforted by the fact that she beat Grinham in their last meeting, in the NZ Open last August – and will look forward to becoming the first NZ winner in Texas since her illustrious compatriot Carol Owens in the first two events in 2002 and 2003.
 

12-10, 11-8,11-7

Low Wee Wern

11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9

11-1, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7

[6] Dominique Lloyd-Walter

Qualifying Finals:

Alana Miller (Can) bt Melody Francis (Aus)                 11/5, 11/3, 11/5
Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt Heba El Torky (Egy)              11/9, 11/7, 3/11, 11/3
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Siyoli Waters (Rsa)                 11/3, 11/4, 10/12, 11/3
Alexandra Norman (Can) bt Fiona Moverley (Eng)       12/10, 14/12, 11/3

Qualifying Round One:

Alana Miller (Can) bt Sina Wall (Ger)                          9/11, 11/4, 13/11, 11/3
Melody Francis (Aus) bt Thaisa Serafini (Bra)              11/6, 4/11, 11/4, 9/11, 11/8
Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt Genevieve Lessard (Can)       11/1, 11/6, 11/3
Heba El Torky (Egy) bt Samantha Cornett (Can)          11/8, 11/1, 11/9
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Carrie Hastings (Eng)              11/6, 11/3, 11/6
Siyoli Waters (Rsa) bt Elise Ng (Hkg)                          11/8, 11/4, 11/3
Alexandra Norman (Can) bt Adel Weir-Nunan (Rsa)     11/4, 11/8, 11/6
Fiona Moverley (Eng) bt Leonie Holt (Eng)                   11/6, 11/9, 11/7

 2005 Event    2006 Event    2007 Event    2008 Event    2009 Event

10-Apr, Semis:
Rachael Grinham bt Low Wee Wern             12-10, 11-8,11-7
Joelle King bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter 11-1, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7

09-Apr, Quarters:
Upsets Continue In Texas

Former champion Rachael Grinham became the only top four seed to make the semi-finals of the Champion Fiberglass Women's Texas Open after another day of upsets at The Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, USA.

The Australian favourite, winner of the title in 2004, brushed aside Hong Kong's unseeded Joey Chan 11-3, 11-1, 11-8.

And former world number one Grinham will now face another unseeded opponent after Malaysian Low Wee Wern, ranked outside the world top 30, scored one of the most stunning wins of her career by recovering from two games down to beat Jaclyn Hawkes, the third seed from New Zealand.

The 19-year-old from Penang's 7-11, 7-11, 11-1, 11-9, 12-10 defeat of the world No15 from Auckland followed her first round win over England's No8 seed Lauren Briggs.

Two rapidly-rising antipodeans also produced a significant shock in the lower half of the draw when unseeded Kiwi Joelle King defeated fifth-seeded Australian Donna Urquhart 12-10, 11-5, 11-3.

Both players celebrated career-high world rankings this month – 21-year-old King jumping four places to reach 23, while 23-year-old Urquhart made her top 20 debut at 20.

King will face Dominique Lloyd-Walter for a place in the final after the sixth seed from England survived a five-game battle with unseeded Malaysian Delia Arnold, winning 5-11, 12-10, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6.