International Women’s Week: The unparalleled dominance of Heather McKay

Heather McKay is widely considered to be one of the greatest female players in the history of squash and ranks amongst the most successful players in the history of the sport.

No one else has been able to achieve what she has - going almost two decades undefeated.

Born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales in July 1941, McKay was the eighth of eleven children in a sporting family. Her father was a rugby league player, while her siblings played a variety of sports including Australian rules football, tennis and hockey. So it’s no wonder that McKay was a natural at sports, trying her hand at almost anything and everything.

However, she wouldn’t come to discover squash until a holiday to Sydney with a friend. Upon returning to her hometown, she began playing with her friends for fun. What might be even more surprising is that she was 18-years-old and using it as a way to keep fit for hockey.

It wasn’t long thereafter that McKay was told about the New South Wales Country Championships, where she would participate, winning the Junior and Women's titles all while catching the attention of the president of the Australian Squash Association (at the time) Vin Napier.

McKay made the decision to move to Sydney to further her squash career. From there, she dominated the women’s game in the 1960’s and 1970’s, winning 14 consecutive Australian titles (1960-1973), 16 consecutive British Open titles (1962-1977) and two World Championships (1976, 1979), only losing two matches in her entire career.

The World Championship in 1976 marked the first women’s world championships and was a huge boost for the women’s game to give it a similar status with the men’s.

McKay became the first women’s world champion, and the fact that it was held on home soil gave it extra significance.

Retiring in 1981 from elite level squash, she continued competing in international Masters competitions before she and Geoff Hunt, another Australian squash icon, started coaching at the Australian Institute of Sport squash unit in Brisbane in 1985, until 1993.

In 1999, she became one of the founding members of the Women's International Squash Players Association Hall of Fame and was one of the first to be inducted. McKay was also inducted in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 for her contribution to the sport of squash and was Elevated to “Legend of Australian Sport” in 2000.

At present, while McKay may no longer be involved in squash, she continues to hold a racquet - playing Masters tennis.

McKay has forever etched her name in Australian sports history with her unparalleled dominance in squash. Her involvement in trying to elevate women’s squash to an equal footing with men’s has helped lead the game to where it is today.