Historically, snooker has been seen as a men's game, with female players generally being perceived as inferior. However, with the recent success stories of Asian female players, women's snooker has a bright future.
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 1999 and is eligible to play on the next season of the World Snooker Tour.
Chitra Krishnamurthy (Asian lady snooker) is another Asian player. In 2008, she became the first Indian woman winner of the Australian Open Snooker Championship. She also won the 2011 six-red snooker championship. In 2014, her first appearance in the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships took place. She has also reached the final of the Eden World Ladies Senior Championships.
Reanne Evans is the number one female snooker player in the world. She has won ten international titles and is the current world champion. In addition, she was invited to compete on the men’s tour during the 2010/11 season as a wildcard. For her contribution to snooker she has been awarded an MBE.
Reanne Evans was a West Midlands native. She began playing pool at the age of 14 and went on to become a professional in snooker. In addition to snooker, she has also won eight ball pool and billiards titles. She currently holds the title of World Pool Champion. She is also the European Masters winner and the most successful female player in Britain.
In 2006, Evans won the ladies world title, and was seven and a half months pregnant. She was the first woman ever to reach the main stage of a ranking competition. She qualified for China's Wuxi Classic, where she defeated Thailand's Thepchaiya UN-Nooh 5-4.
Evans has been the number one world snooker player for the past ten years. She has won ten world titles and received an MBE for her services to snooker. She was also invited to the professional tour as a wildcard for the 2010/11 season. She will compete in the final stages of the world ranking event in the UK. She will play world number two Neil Robertson during the first round.
Reanne McIlroy is, Reanne Evans and Emma Bonney are all great female players. They were all world number one players at one time and remain among the top snooker players. 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. Women's snooker's future is bright if there are female players who can challenge these world-class players.
There are many skilled lady snooker player around the world and the future looks bright. The sport has been growing in the United States, as well in other countries. Mike Dominguez from OX Billiards Seattle hopes to bring the sport to the United States.