Snooker is traditionally seen as a man's game. Women are generally seen as being 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.
2019 was the year of Australia's first women-ranked event. Nutcharut Wongharuthai won it. She is believed to have been the first woman to break 147. She was born in 1998 and is now eligible to compete on next season's professional World Snooker Tour.
Another Asian lady snooker player is Chitra Krishnamurthy. In 2008, she was the first Indian woman in Australia to win the Australian Open Snooker Championship. She also won in 2011 the six-red Snooker Championship. Her debut appearance in 2014 at the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships marked her second appearance. She also reached to the final of the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships.
Reanne Evans, the world's number-one lady snooker player, is Reanne Evans. She is the reigning world champion, having won ten world titles. She has also received a wildcard invitation to compete on the men's tour for the 2010/11 season. For her contributions to snooker, she was also awarded an MBE.
Reanne Evans was raised in Dudley (West Midlands). Reanne Evans started playing pool when she was 14 years old and has been a professional player of snooker ever since. In addition to snooker, she has also won eight ball pool and billiards titles. She currently holds the title of World Pool Champion. She also won the European Masters title and is currently the most successful female pool player in the UK.
Evans was seven-and-a-half months pregnant when she 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 Wuxi Classic televised stage in China and beat Thepchaiya Uni-Nooh 5-4 in qualifying matches.
Evans has been the world number one for the last ten years. She has won ten titles around the world and was awarded an MBE in recognition of her contribution to snooker. She was also invited to the professional tour as a wildcard for the 2010/11 season. She will be competing in the UK's final stages of the World Ranking Event. She will play world number two Neil Robertson during the first round.
Reanne McIlroy and Reanne Evans are among the top female players in the game. 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 states that there is no discrimination against women in snooker. Only two women currently rank in the top 30 men's world rankings. The future of women's snooker is bright if they can challenge the best players in the world.
The future is bright for many female snooker players around the globe. The sport is gaining popularity in the United States and in other countries. Mike Dominguez (OX Billiards Seattle) hopes to make the sport more popular in the United States.