Nicolette Fernandes has won three Caribbean U-19 squash titles, one U-15 squash crown and two U-13 titles. She has also won the Caribbean women’s squash championship on more than one occasion. Simply put Fernandes is the most decorated female squash player to come out of Guyana and the Caribbean.
Fernandes is the Caribbean’s first ever squash player on the professional circuit. She is also a winner of the Women’s International Squash Players Association most improved player award, an award she got for defeating among others the then number-eight ranked player in the world Jenny Duncalf whom she whipped 9-3, 9-0, 9-7 at the World Open in Belfast in 2006.
She is also a CAC Games gold medalist and has won a silver medal at the Pan American games in Colombia.
Fernandes was ranked number 27 in the world before an injury which threatened her career put her out of squash.
She returned this year to win the women’s singles title at the South American championships and now eyes a return to the international scene.
In the following interview Fernandes raps with Stabroek Sports’ Donald Duff about her career, her injury and a possible return to the international fold.
DD: You were ranked 27 in the world before the injury how did you view the accomplishment of being voted most improved player by the WISPA?
NF:Twenty seven is good but in my eyes you have 26 other people in front of me which the world body could have recognized so to me that was a big accomplishment that the world body not only acknowledged me but acknowledged my efforts in getting up the rankings because there’s so many women playing squash
“…like I think I’m 200 and something odd. I’m the last person now in the rankings. I don’t know, I stopped checking. Let’s say 250, and out of those 250 to get picked out of one when 26 people are better than you are, it’s a big accomplishment you know what I mean.
DD: You see that as your biggest accomplishment in your squash career so far?
NF: I think it is the biggest acknowledgement of my efforts. There’s the World Open when I… again it’s the World Open. All the best players, I’m number 27 in the World. I wasn’t even 27 then, I think I was like 29 or 30 and I reached the last 16 of the tournament. So that means in the whole world at that particular tournament I was in the best 16 in the World. And I think that was a big accomplishment for me and how I did it by beating somebody who was currently I think was number five in the world and not only that but two weeks before she beat me. It was just like I felt that I was going forward and when you feel as if you’re going forward it’s a good feeling. I won the CAC and then I came home had some time at home which was nice and then went back on tour and then I did well at the World Open.
DD: Was that your first World Open?
NF: No, no. That was the first World Open at which I had qualified because you have to go through two rounds of qualification. I think that was my third.
DD: When you defeated the number five player in the world at that stage did you feel that it was possible to beat the number one player in the world sometime in the future?
NF: In the future, yeah! But at that time no! I think I am a realistic person. I am a confident person where I think I have a chance against anyone. If I went in and played the number one, I would think I have a chance. Like if I played really well. But at that time I couldn’t consistently beat the world number one and even number five. I didn’t feel as if I could consistently beat them.
DD: So you’re saying that despite the victory there was a gap between yourself and the top players?
NF: yes there was a gap.
DD: How big a gap you felt that was?
NF: Hmm. Its relative you know. I just look at myself and I just think that I could have gotten more consistent with my squash and then I could have gotten fitter. I mean you could never get too fit. I always have that in mind. Even when I’m fit again, I’ll always feel that I could get fitter. So I think having that in my mind there was a gap but I did not know how big the gap was.
DD: Tell me a little bit about the injury?
NF: It’s not so much an injury but a condition. My knee cap moves too much. It’s like if I’ve strengthened my legs. If I stop doing the specific exercise that I am supposed to do, then I will feel it again.
It’s one of those things that I always feel I have to keep a look out for.
I just keep doing my exercises and it’s almost gone but you know sometimes when I get really tired, sometimes when I have three sessions a day coming down to the end, I feel like if my whole body, hurts and my whole body gets weak and I feel like it’s just moving too much.
DD:Do you think you could get back to where you were, that is, number 27 and do you think you might be able to progress further up the rankings somewhere like the top 10 or top five?
NF: Well that was my goal before I got injured. My goal at the end of 2006 was to make top 30 which I did. But at the end of 2006 I got injured but I did not think the injury would have lasted that long. My next goal was to be near the top 10 so that was my goal for 2007.
Obviously, because of my injury, I didn’t get to play or move up but I honestly think it’s possible.
I don’t know how long it’s going to take me. If I didn’t think I could get back to where I was, I would not have the urge to go and play. I’m not that kind of person. I’m not going to play for the fun of it.
I’m a very competitive person and whatever I do, I just can’t play for the fun of it. Even when I used to play with my brothers I couldn’t.
DD: Do you think that the condition that you have will prevent you from achieving your goals?
NF: I think I will only have to wait and see. I train here. I train sometimes up to three times a day, three sessions a day.
I’ve been to the South American tournament, which I don’t want to be arrogant, which is not the level of a WISPA tournament or a World Open but it was okay then. But the only way I’ll know whether I could do what I did before the injury is if I try doing it after. So when I do get back on tour that’s only then I’ll know.
DD: And when would that be?
NF: Well, you know, from the time I had the injury I would say two weeks and then two weeks turned into a month and then a month turned into two months and then after the surgery the doctors told me three months. Then three months turned into a year so you know, I’m hopeful, you know I thought October I would have been ready you know, I know I’m not ready so I don’t know. I’m hoping that January I’ll be ready but again I’m in no hurry to go back unless I’m ready.
DD: How long have you been away from the tour?
NF: My last WISPA tournament was in May 2007 so over a year.
DD: Are you frustrated by being away from the international scene?
NF: To be honest, I’m not frustrated because I’m home now. When I’m away from home and I’m not playing squash it’s extremely frustrating. Because I’m only away from home because of my squash so when I’m not playing squash I want to be home you know to do rehab. There was the surgery and everything but in these last couple of months, I’ve been home since February, and you know like only then I started realizing that the injury could turn out to be a positive thing.
I could take a lot of positives away from it.
My outlook for my career is completely different. I just feel as if I enjoy things more now. I mean I’m with my family so I’m missing my boyfriend but that’s about it. But honestly these last few months have been such a big learning curve for me because I’m home. I do things by myself. When I’m in England there’s always people around me, always people better than me which is a good support. In Guyana, you have Mr. Ince, which is a big support. He has been instrumental in getting me back to the level where I am now. You know I have the support of my family. There are not many players who are of the calibre when I’m in England so you know a lot of it is me. I have to go down to the court. It’s almost like self discipline. It’s not as hard because people are encouraging you but here, I’m doing it because I want to do it and it was important for me to win the South American championships because you know I felt that I had put in all the work.
DD: How lucrative is professional squash?
NF: Its not. Like if you ask anybody, you play for the love of the game I think I was fortunate. I think if anything stops me this time it’s financial. Getting back up it would be financial. Everybody knows how things have skyrocketed and to travel from place to place is extremely expensive. You know, like I would give you a typical example of one month that I had just before I got injured. I travelled from England to New York, played a tournament there, from New York to Hong Kong, played a tournament there from Hong Kong to Qatar in the Middle East, from Qatar to home spent like a week and all that in the space of like four weeks.
You get paid for how well you do.
Sometimes you have to pay your own accommodation. Sometimes you go and you lose your first match and you lose money.
So if you have like three tournaments and three losses you’re in trouble. So it’s a pressure that people don’t see. It’s behind the scenes kind of pressure.
You go to a tournament and if I don’t win two matches I’m like I have no money.
There are a few like players like Peter Nichols he dominated squash. He was world number one for about five years. Now if I’m world number one for five years I think even I could make a decent living but the game is so competitive.
DD: What’s your assessment of the state of squash in the region?
NF: I think its dying. I was 16 when I first went to the St Lucian Open and there were two French women, three women from St Lucia and about four or five women from Barbados. This year, nine years on and there were three people in the whole tournament.
The airfares aren’t helping squash around the region, around the world really. I just think squash is not a lucrative sport and at the end of the day people have to make a living. I think it’s kind of dying slowly. There are a few juniors around the region that can help bring it back. I’m painting a grim picture of squash. In certain regions it’s growing so quickly. Countries like Hong Kong and Malaysia are becoming squash powers because they are pumping money, I don’t know if it’s the government.
DD: Any regrets?
NF: No! No. Well, I grew up in a house full of boys. I was good because I played with them. I really enjoy squash, I think because squash is not that lucrative. That is because it is a small community of people that play squash. You meet so many humble people. All the people I’ve met have made me the person that I am.
I like sports. I like watching all kinds of sports. I think squash was for me.
DD: How much longer do you see yourself continuing?
NF: Well, before my injury I said I would like to play up to 30. Thirty is a good age where I thought I could accomplish all my goals. I knew women played beyond 30 but I wanted to do something after squash. Since my injury, I’ll just have to wait and see because you don’t know what could happen. I have a few plans in my head….a few ides which I’m excited about. We’ll see.
