Fitz-Gerald, Sarah

Sarah Fitz-Gerald, (born Dec. 1, 1968, Melbourne, Vic., Austl.), Australian squash rackets player who dominated the sport in the early years of the 21st century and retired at the top of her game.

Fitz-Gerald grew up in Melbourne. Her mother was a four-time Australian Open squash champion who became a coach. Fitz-Gerald’s potential was apparent when she easily won the world junior championship in 1987. For a few years she languished in the lower reaches of the world top 10, but in September 1995 she broke through at the richest event of that year, the JSM Supersquash in Japan. In the five-game final she beat her longtime Australian rival, Michelle Martin, who was then dominating the tour.

In October 1996 Fitz-Gerald, who was known for her punchy attacking style, reached the top spot in the world rankings and beat England’s Cassie Jackman to win her first World Open. She retained her world crown with a victory over Martin in 1997 and again in 1998 before surgery on a troublesome knee could not be avoided. A premature return led to her losing the whole of 1999, while 2000 was marked by her gradual rehabilitation.

She returned to full strength the next season, however, and a loss to New Zealand’s world number one, Leilani Joyce, in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open in August 2001 was her last competitive defeat. From then until her “retirement” 18 months later, Fitz-Gerald was unbeaten. In October 2001 she won her fourth World Open, equaling the record of New Zealander Susan Devoy.

In February 2003 Fitz-Gerald announced her retirement from the Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) world tour. The surprise announcement by the number one-ranked Fitz-Gerald came one month after she was inducted into the WISPA Hall of Fame and brought to a close the most successful period in her career: in 2002 she won 12 tour events (bringing her career total to 61), her second consecutive British Open, the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, and a record-breaking fifth World Open title. A month after her announcement, she was named Female Athlete of the Year for the second straight time by the Australia Sport Awards, which also had honoured her with the Dawn Fraser Award as sports personality of the year in 2002.

Fitz-Gerald was a superb ambassador for squash. In 1991, at age 23, she had become president of WISPA, a position she held until she was made “patron” upon her retirement from the tour. Fitz-Gerald’s decision to take her career in a new direction, however, did not diminish her drive to play and win. In the first half of 2003, even after she quit the world tour, she won the Welsh Open, her fourth Australian Open (matching her mother’s success), and the inaugural Australian national championship.

Fitz-Gerald was inducted into the World Squash Federation, Squash Australia, and Victorian Squash Federation halls of fame and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004.