Squash: Chester’s Sarah Kippax to represent England at 2010 Commonwealth Games

Jul 22 2010 Chester Chronicle

A TOP squash player’s whirlwind second half to the year continues after she was selected for the Commonwealth Games.

Just weeks after getting married in her home village of Kelsall, Sarah Kippax is getting ready to represent her country at the October extravaganza after winning a place in the England team that is being tipped to win gold in Delhi.

The 27-year-old is an established star on the international stage, but the Games will be her biggest test yet.

Sarah’s mum Ali, who still lives in the Kippax family home in Kelsall with her husband Ian, said: “We are very proud. Sarah is so dedicated and has put in so much hard work to get where she is today.”

Sarah, who wed her coach David Campion at St Philip’s Church in Kelsall recently, is 22nd in the world rankings and became the first English woman in almost 10 years to win three successive women’s world tour titles when she clinched the Malmo Open in Sweden in March of last year.

It is a far cry from when she was cutting her teeth in the sport with the likes of Chester Rugby Club’s squash team.

Not that former Cheshire county champion Sarah, who is now based in Halifax, has forgotten her roots.

When she is not travelling all over the world, the full-time professional visits her parents after spending Saturday mornings helping youngsters learn the sport at Winsford Lifestyle Centre, where she sometimes links-up her former coach Reg Mather.

Sarah, the face of squash brand Dunlop, said: “It all began when I picked up a racket from Reg and he put in a lot of time giving me individual lessons.

“He always gave me a lot of encouragement and it’s really nice that it has come full circle and I am able to give back to the sport myself, working with a group of kids who are as enthusiastic as I am and was at their age, with a real passion for squash.”