Snooker has always been viewed as a men's sport, with women players being considered inferior. However, the recent success of Asian female players has led to a new generation of female stars, and the future of women's snooker looks bright.
In 2019, Australia hosted the first women's ranking competition. 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.
Chitra Krishnamurthy, a Asian lady snooker champion, is another. She was the first Indian woman ever to win the Australian Open Snooker Championship 2008. She won the six-red championship in snooker in 2011. In 2014, she made her first appearance at the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships. She reached the final of Eden World Ladies Senior Championships.
Reanne Evans is the world's #1 lady snooker player. She is the reigning world champion, having won ten world titles. She has been invited wildcard to play on the men's touring in 2010/11. For her contributions to snooker, she was also awarded an MBE.
Reanne Evans was a West Midlands native. At the age of 14, she started playing pool. She has since become a professional snooker ace. She has won eight billiards and ball pool titles, in addition to snooker. She holds the World Pool Championship title. She has won the European Masters, and she is the most successful woman player in the UK.
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 was able to qualify for the Wuxi Classic in China's televised stages and defeated Thepchaiya U-Nooh of Thailand 5-4 in a qualifying match.
Evans is the current world number one. She has been awarded ten world titles, and an MBE for her contributions to snooker. She has been granted a wildcard invitation for the professional tour of the 2010/11 seasons. She will compete in the final stages of the world ranking event in the UK. She will be taking on world number 2 Neil Robertson in round 1.
Reanne MacIlroy, Reanne Evans, Emma Bonney and Kelly Fisher are some the most prominent female players in the world. They are all former world number ones, and are some of the greatest snooker players of all time. According to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), there are no barriers 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.
The future is bright for many female snooker players around the globe. The sport is growing in the United States and other countries, and Mike Dominguez, owner of OX Billiards in Seattle, hopes to get the sport to grow in the U.S.