Nicol David facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yang Berbahagia Datuk
Nicol Ann David

Personal information
Full name	Nicol Ann David
Nickname(s)	Duracell Bunny
Born	(1983-08-26) 26 August 1983 (age 41) Penang, Malaysia
Residence	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	55 kilograms (121 lb)
Website	www.nicoldavid.com
Sport
Country	Malaysia
Event(s)	Women's singles
Turned pro	2000
Coached by	Liz Irving
Medal record Women's squash Representing  Malaysia Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Championships 8 0 3 World Team Championships 0 1 4 World Games 3 0 1 Commonwealth Games 2 1 1 Asian Games 7 1 1 World Championships Gold 2005 Hong Kong Singles Gold 2006 Belfast Singles Gold 2008 Manchester Singles Gold 2009 Amsterdam Singles Gold 2010 Sharm El Sheikh Singles Gold 2011 Rotterdam Singles Gold 2012 Grand Cayman Singles Gold 2014 Cairo Singles Bronze 2003 Hong Kong Singles Bronze 2004 Kuala Lumpur Singles Bronze 2013 Penang Singles World Team Championships Silver 2014 Niagara-on-the-Lake Team Bronze 2006 Edmonton Team Bronze 2008 Cairo Team Bronze 2010 Palmerston Team Bronze 2012 Nîmes Team World Games Gold 2005 Duisburg Singles Gold 2009 Kaohsiung Singles Gold 2013 Cali Singles Bronze 2017 Wrocław Singles Commonwealth Games Gold 2010 Delhi Singles Gold 2014 Glasgow Singles Silver 2002 Manchester Mixed doubles Bronze 2010 Delhi Mixed doubles Asian Games Gold 1998 Bangkok Singles Gold 2006 Doha Singles Gold 2010 Guangzhou Singles Gold 2010 Guangzhou Team Gold 2014 Incheon Singles Gold 2014 Incheon Team Gold 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Singles Silver 2002 Busan Singles Bronze 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team
Updated on September, 2017.

Datuk Nicol Ann David is a retired professional squash player from Malaysia. She was the world's top-ranked player for an amazing 108 months in a row. This record was finally broken in September 2015. Nicol David won the World Open title eight times and the British Open five times. She also holds the record for being in the top 10 players for 151 months straight.

Nicol David was the first squash player to win the World Junior title twice. She achieved this in 1999 and 2001. She became a professional player in 2000. In 2008, she received the Order of Merit, a special award in Malaysia. She was also chosen to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia in 2004. The UNDP named her a National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.

Many people consider Nicol David to be the greatest female squash player ever. She won the Asian Squash Championship a record nine times. She also had an incredible winning streak of 51 matches from 2006 to 2007. Fans voted her the greatest squash player of all time in the women's category in a 2018 poll. Nicol David retired from professional squash in June 2019. In 2021, she was named the World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.

Nicol David's Life Story

Nicol David was born in Penang, Malaysia, on August 26, 1983. Her mother, Ann Marie David, was a school teacher. Her father, Desmond David, was an engineer and a former athlete. Nicol has two sisters, Lianne and Cheryl, who also played squash well.

When she was younger, Nicol was very good at mathematics. She even dreamed of becoming an engineer one day. She went to Convent Green Lane Primary School and Convent Green Lane Secondary School. She achieved excellent grades in her exams. Nicol was raised as a Roman Catholic.

Nicol's Amazing Squash Career

Starting Young: Junior Years

Nicol Ann David during CIMB Malaysian Open Squash 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.

Nicol David started playing squash when she was just five years old. She began getting coaching at age eight. Her talent was noticed early on, and she started representing her home state of Penang. In 1992, she won a silver medal in the Penang State Junior Championship. She also won her first national silver medal that year.

In 1994, Nicol joined the Penang state squash team for the Malaysian Games. She helped her team win a gold medal. That same year, she won her first two international titles: the Hong Kong U-13 and the Scottish Junior Open Under-12.

Nicol David became the World Junior Champion in 1999. She was only 15 years old, making her the youngest winner ever. She won the title again in 2001, becoming one of only two players to win it twice. Her coach during this time was Richard Glanfield.

Before 2000, Nicol won many big junior tournaments. These included the British Junior Open and the German Junior Open. She also won gold medals at the SEA Games and the Asian Junior Championship. She is one of the few squash players to win all age categories in the British Junior Open.

Becoming a Pro: Early Career (2000–2004)

Nicol David and New Zealander Shelley Kitchen during the 2007 CIMB Malaysian Open.

Nicol David became a professional player in 2000. She won her first professional title just one month after joining the tour. This victory was at the Savcor Finnish Open in February. Soon after, she received sponsorships from Hotel Equatorial and Dunlop squash.

In 2001, Nicol won her second World Junior title. She beat Omneya Abdel Kawy in a quick 17-minute final. She was the only female player to achieve this until 2007. She also won the individual and team events at the Asian Junior Squash Championships.

In 2002, Nicol David won a silver medal for Malaysia at the Commonwealth Games in mixed doubles. She also won her second Kuala Lumpur Open title. However, she lost her Asian Games gold medal in 2002 to Rebecca Chiu of Hong Kong.

Nicol reached two finals in 2003 but lost both. She also made it to the semi-final of the World Open. In 2004, she didn't win any titles but reached the finals of the Kuala Lumpur Open and Malaysian Open. By January 2005, she had climbed to number four in the world rankings.

Reaching the Top: World Champion (2005–2006)

Nicol Ann David holding her CIMB Malaysian Squash Open 2007 trophy.

In 2005, Nicol David had an amazing year, losing only twice. She won a gold medal at the World Games in Germany. She then became the first Malaysian to win the Women's CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championship. In October, she made history again by becoming the first Malaysian and first Asian woman to win a British Open title.

Within two months, Nicol won the World Open in Hong Kong for the first time. This led her to become the world number one player in January 2006. She was the first Malaysian and first Asian woman to reach this top spot. Her fellow players voted her the WISPA Player of The Year 2005.

After a couple of early losses in 2006, Nicol bounced back. She won six straight titles and reclaimed her world number one ranking. On November 25, 2006, she successfully defended her World Open title in Belfast. This made her the first Malaysian athlete to win a world championship title two times in a row. She also won the Dunlop British Open Championship and the Hong Kong Open. She was voted best female player of the year for the second time.

Unstoppable: Winning Streak (2007–2008)

Nicol returning the ball to Jenny Duncalf at the 2007 CIMB Open at National Squash Complex, Bukit Jalil, Selangor.

Nicol David won six more titles in early 2007. She then lost the British Open final to Rachael Grinham. A month later, she lost in the second round of the World Open. This was the first time since April 2004 that she didn't reach the quarter-finals of a tournament. In December, she won the first-ever Asian Sportswoman of the Year award.

In 2008, Nicol David had an incredible year, winning ten titles and remaining unbeaten. She extended her winning streak to 53 matches since October 2007. She celebrated her second full year as world number one, staying at the top for 30 months straight. Her wins in 2008 included the British Open, Seoul Open, Malaysian Open, and the World Open in England. She also won her sixth Asian Championship crown and led Malaysia to a bronze medal in the Women's World Team Championship.

Setting Records: 2009 Onwards

Nicol David in action on the sixth day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.

Nicol David on the seventh day of the 2009 Hong Kong Open.

Nicol Ann David holding her CIMB Malaysian Squash Open 2009 trophy.

Nicol David started 2009 as world number one for the 30th month in a row. Her amazing 17-month, 56-match winning streak ended in March 2009 when she lost in the final of the Kuala Lumpur Open. However, she quickly recovered, winning the Cayman Islands Open and the Texas Open.

She continued her winning ways, capturing her second Seoul City Open title. In July, she successfully defended her World Games women's singles title. A week later, she won her fifth straight Malaysian Open title, a first for any player. She also won her third Singapore Masters championship. By September, she had been world number one for 41 months, passing her mentor Sarah Fitz-Gerald for the third-longest reign. In September 2009, she won her fourth World Open Championship title.

In 2010, Nicol David started the year as world number one for the 42nd month. She won the Chennai Open and her sixth Kuala Lumpur Open title. She went on to win five more titles that year, including her fifth "prestigious" World Open title. This achievement equaled Sarah Fitz-Gerald's record. In October, she won the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, without losing a single game.

Nicol David made history again by becoming the first player, male or female, to win the US Open for the third year in a row. She won the US$115,000 tournament in Philadelphia.

Nicol's Rivalry with Natalie Grinham

Nicol David had a long and exciting rivalry with Natalie Grinham. They played each other 36 times, with Nicol winning 29 of those matches. Many of their matches were in tournament finals, including two World Open finals. Their 2006 World Open final was called "one of the great finals of the Women’s World Open."

Their longest match was in the 2007 CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open. Nicol won that five-set match, which lasted an incredible 102 minutes! In the 2009 Women's World Open final, Nicol beat Natalie to win her fourth World Open title. This made her only the third player in history to win four titles.

Awards and Special Recognition

On June 7, 2008, Nicol David received the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) award. She was the very first person to receive this award, which honors people who have made big contributions in arts, sciences, and humanities.

On July 12, 2008, Nicol was also honored in Penang. She received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award (DSPN), which comes with the title Datuk. This made her the youngest person ever to receive a Datukship in Penang. Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, even joked that Nicol was "now more famous than me."

In July 2007, the University of Nottingham gave Nicol an honorary Master of Arts degree. She also won the WISPA Player of the Year award six times in a row, from 2005 to 2010.

Nicol David was given the special honor of carrying the Olympic torch for Malaysia before the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was also named a National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia by the UNDP.

On September 23, 2019, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) gave Nicol David an Honorary Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Sports Science.

Honours and Titles

Nicol David has received many honors from Malaysia and her home state of Penang:

•  Malaysia :
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (2000)
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (2006)
  • Order of Merit (DB) (2008)
  • Commander of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN) – Datuk (2017)
•  Penang :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of State (DSPN) – Dato' (2008)

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