Angela Smith

After Smith's immediate success as a professional, making a career from tournament play rather than just coaching, Sue Cogswell followed suit at the end of 1980 and the UK women's squash game was quickly forced to become "open"; the rest of the world swiftly followed suit and today's female professionals owe a debt to Smith and those brave enough to join her in those early days, namely the Australians Sue Newman, Barbara Wall and Lyle Hubinger.

On two further occasions, when England reached the World Team Championships final, both against Australia, she won her matches whilst the team were defeated 2-1. Her pride in playing for her country was obvious and she was undefeated whilst on International duty for Great Britain. Smith captained and played in the World International Team in test matches against South Africa. Along with Rhonda Thorne, she was invited to open the courts in Monaco for and in the presence of Prince Rainier and his family. She held dozens of English domestic and regional titles in her career. Smith coached the national teams for the Bahamas, Spain, and Hong Kong and was also the United States men's squash team coach from 1980 to 1982. The US Squash team that travelled to South Africa to train and onto Australia included Gil Mateer (as captain), Ned Edwards, Mark Alger and Jon Foster. She was also Britain's first squash representative in the Australia Games.

Smith was part of the winning British team during the 1979 Women's World Team Squash Championships and runner-up in the 1981 Women's World Team Squash Championships.

Smith had a long rivalry with Sue Cogswell for the British number one spot over many years, and her matches against Vicki Hoffman (now Cardwell) were felt to be pure theatre, especially those taking place in the British Open Squash Championships. Smith was one of a very few players to win a game against Australian player Heather McKay, at the 1979 Women's World Open Squash Championship. Smith was considered to be one of the fittest players competing on the ladies' circuit throughout her career.

Smith also organised and promoted the first women's squash events in the Middle East, in Dubai and Bahrain. Along with Jayne Ashton of England and Sue Newman, Barbara Wall and Lyle Hubinger of Australia, she formed WISPA, the professional ladies' body for squash, in 1979. To this day, WISPA remains the governing body of the ladies game.

Smith was coached by Nasrullah Khan, who also coached Jonah Barrington. She enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top, reaching a ranking of 2 in the UK upon her first entry into the list. She reached the semifinals of the British Open Squash Championships eight times, and won the Spanish, Portuguese, Canadian, US, Norwegian, Israel (a record six times) and Bermuda Opens. She was British champion in 1976.

Angela Smith (born 3 July 1953 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England) is a retired professional English squash player: she was one of the world's top ranked squash players from 1979 to 1990. She was also the first female squash player to turn professional and was widely recognized for changing the face of women's squash by doing so.