Background
Heather Pamela McKay (née Blundell) was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales.
Heather Pamela McKay (née Blundell) was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales.
McKay won her first British Open (considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time) in 1962. She then won it again every year for the next 15 consecutive years, losing only two games at the championship during that time. She usually won her finals matches comfortably. In the 1968 championship, she won the final against her compatriot Bev Johnson without dropping a point.
In 1976, an unofficial world championship known as the Women's World Squash Championship was held in Brisbane, which McKay won by defeating Marion Jackman in the final 9–2, 9–2, 9–0. The first official women's World Open was held in 1979 in England, and McKay captured the inaugural title with a 6–9, 9–3, 9–1, 9–4 win over Sue Cogswell in the final.
McKay also won the Australian Amateur Championships for 14 consecutive times from 1960 to 1973.
When she retired in 1981 at the age of 40, McKay had gone nearly 20 years undefeated (with the only two defeats to her name occurring at the beginning of her career). Since retiring from the top-level game, she has remained active in international Masters level events, and has won two over-45 world championship titles and two over-50 world championship titles.
Heather also proved to be a talent in other sports, including field hockey, where she was a member of the Australian Women's Hockey Team in 1967 and 1971. In racquetball, she won the American Amateur Racquetball Championship once (1979), the American Professional Racquetball Championship three times (1980–81 and 1984), and the Canadian Racquetball Championship five times (1980 and 1982–85). She was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 1997.
She was a teaching professional at the Toronto Squash Club in the 80s. She worked with up and comer David Wright in an intensive Junior Program.
Heather McKay dominated the women's squash game in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 16 consecutive British Open titles between 1962 and 1977, and capturing the inaugural women's World Open title in 1979, whilst remaining undefeated during that period. She lost only two matches in her entire career (in 1960 and 1962), and was unbeaten in competitive squash matches from 1962 through to 1981, when she retired from active open squash. She was also a top-level player of other sports, including field hockey and racquetball.
British Open
Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final
Winner 1962 unknown Fran Marshall
Winner 1963 unknown Fran Marshall
Winner 1964 unknown Fran Marshall
Winner 1965 unknown Anna Craven-Smith
Winner 1966 unknown Anna Craven-Smith
Winner 1967 London,England Anna Craven-Smith
Winner 1968 London,England Bev Johnson
Winner 1969 Sheffield, England Fran Marshall
Winner 1970 Birmingham, England Marcia Roche
Winner 1971 Birmingham, England Jenny Irving
Winner 1972 Sheffield, England Kathy Malan
Winner 1973 Sheffield, England C. Fleming
Winner 1974 Sheffield, England Sue Cogswell
Winner 1975 Wembley, England Marion Jackman
Winner 1976 Wembley, England Sue Newmann
Winner 1977 Wembley, England Barbara Wall
World Open
Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final
Winner 1976 Brisbane, Australia Marion Jackman
Winner 1979 Sheffield, England Sue Cogswell
