Danielle Drady-Harte

Background

Drady became interested in the sport as a young child when she started tagging along with her mother to her twice-weekly social squash gatherings at a local club

Career

2 woman player in 1991. Drady turned professional in 1987, and began to steadily climb the world rankings. Her relationship with one of the top men"s players, Rodney Martin, also attracted attention in the late-1980s and early-1990s.

Having reached the Number.

2 ranking in 1991, the World Number. 1 spot appeared to be within Drady"s reach, but her chances were dashed when she snapped her achilles tendon during a practice match.

The injury required immediate surgery and kept her out of the game for some time. This created a great deal of media coverage and sparked debate about the lengths female athletes should and need to go to in order to attract funding and sponsors.

The publicity soon led to Drady becoming the most sponsored player in squash for a period.

Achievements

• She won the Queensland under-12 championship in 1978, and then went on to claim state and national championships and an under-19 world team crown in her junior years. Drady played and won the World Outdoor Pro-Am wrapped in plastic, and posed for photographs with a "Foreign Sale" sign strung around her neck.