Snooker has always been viewed as a men's sport, with women players being considered inferior. The recent success of Asian female players has created a new generation of stars in snooker, and women's snooker is on the rise.
In 2019, Australia saw the first ever women's ranking event. Nutcharut Wuthharuthai won the event. She is believed by be the first female to break 147. She was born 1999, so she is eligible to participate on the World Snooker Tour professional next season.
Chitra Sri Krishnamurthy is another Asian woman snooker player. She became the first Indian woman to win the Australian Open Snooker Championship in 2008. She won the six-red championship in snooker in 2011. In 2014, her first appearance in the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships took place. She has also reached the final of the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships.
Reanne Evans, the world's number-one lady snooker player, is Reanne Evans. She has won ten world titles, and is the reigning world champion. She was also granted a wildcard invitation to participate on the men’s tour for the 2010/11 seasons. Her services to snooker have also earned her an MBE.
Reanne Evans was born in Dudley, West Midlands. At the age of 14, she started playing pool. She has since become a professional snooker ace. She has won eight titles in billiards or ball pool, as well as snooker. She currently holds the title of World Pool Champion. She is also the European Masters winner and the most successful female player in Britain.
Evans, who was seven and a quarter months pregnant, won the ladies world title in 2006. She was the first woman to reach the main stages of a ranking event. She qualified for the televised stages of the Wuxi Classic in China, and beat Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-4 in a qualifying match.
Evans is the current world number one. She has won ten World titles and was awarded an MBE to acknowledge her service to snooker. She has been invited as a wildcard to participate in the professional tour 2010/11 season. She will compete for the UK in the final stages. In the first round, she will play Neil Robertson, world number 2.
Reanne McIlroy, Reanne Evans, Emma Bonney, and Kelly Fisher are some of the best female players in the world. They all were former world number one players, and they are among the most outstanding snooker players in history. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association says there is no barrier for women in snooker. There are currently only two women in the top 30 on the men's global rankings. However, if women can challenge the top players around the world, then the future of women’s snooker could be bright.
There are many skilled lady snooker player around the world and the future looks bright. The sport is growing in the United States as well as other countries. Mike Dominguez of OX Billiards, Seattle, hopes that the sport will grow in the U.S.