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French Open Winners: Most Successful Players At Roland Garros

The French Open is the second of tennis’ four Grand Slams. Taking place in late May and early June, it is the only Grand Slam played on clay courts.

As a result, the list of tennis betting favourites for the event often features some different names – this is a chance for clay-court specialists to write their name into the sport’s history books.

There are other factors to consider from a live betting perspective, too.

Long rallies are the norm on the iconic red clay of Roland Garros, testing the durability, flexibility, and recovery times of each player competing across the men’s and women’s draws.

Here are the most successful players in the Open Era:

Rafael Nadal – 14 titles

The King of Clay is – by an enormous margin – the most successful player in French Open history.

Rafael Nadal holds a raft of records on clay courts, including winning 81 consecutive matches, which is the longest single-surface streak in the Open Era.

From 2005 until 2022, only three other players won the men’s singles title at Roland Garros. His 96.6% winning percentage at the event is clear of anyone else, as is his total of 112 total match wins and 15 semi-final appearances.

In 2008, 2010, 2017, and 2020, Nadal won the French Open without dropping a set.

Unsurprisingly, he’s the only player to have done this on four occasions. He’s not only the lone player to have won a French Open title in three separate decades – the Spaniard won multiple titles in each of those decades.

Standing alone in every category, Nadal is undeniably the greatest clay-court player in tennis history. Many of his records look utterly unbreakable.

Chris Evert – 7 titles

Seven of Chris Evert’s 18 Grand Slam titles were won at Roland Garros. Evert, with 70 overall clay titles, is the most successful clay court female tennis player of all-time.

The American defended the French Open on three occasions, going back-to-back in 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, and 1985, 1986.

Her French Open finals were dominated by duels with Martina Navratilova – four of her eight finals were against Navratilova, and she was victorious on three occasions.

Steffi Graf is the only player with more wins at the French Open. In the Open Era, Iga Świątek is the only player who can boast a better winning percentage than Evert at Roland Garros.

Björn Borg – 6 titles

Prior to Nadal’s reign, Björn Borg was in a league of his own at the French Open. Borg has double as many titles as any other man in the Open Era, winning four in a row from 1978 to 1981 after going back-to-back in 1974 and 1975.

The Swede’s wins in 1978 and 1980 were completed without dropping a set. His winning percentage of 96.1% is only narrowly behind Nadal and puts him over 10 percentage points ahead of his nearest rival.

Borg didn’t have the longevity to put up a huge number of wins (he has less than half of Nadal’s total), but he was a Nadal level of dominant during his pomp in the 1970s and early eighties.

Steffi Graf – 6 titles

Twelve years separated Graf’s six French Open titles. Runner-up on three occasions, including some iconic bouts with her rival Monica Seles, Graf first won at Roland Garros when she defeated Navratilova in an epic final in 1987.

In 1988, Graf won the French Open without dropping a set en route to completing the calendar year Grand Slam. She lost three of the next four finals before winning three French Open titles in a four-year period.

Justine Henin – 4 titles

Justine Henin defeated compatriot Kim Clijsters in straight sets to claim her first French Open title. Two years later, the Belgian dispatched Mary Pierce to win at Roland Garros for a second time.

This started a run of three consecutive French Open titles, equalling the record set by Monica Seles. In the second and third of those titles, Henin didn’t drop a single set.

Only four players in the Open Era can boast a better winning percentage at Roland Garros.

Iga Świątek – 4 titles

Świątek is destined to climb this list. Champion of this event in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, Świątek has already equalled Henin and Seles’ historic mark of three consecutive French Open crowns.

A 35-2 record at Roland Garros is unmatched in the Open Era. A run of 21 consecutive wins is already the fourth-most all-time and could be added to at the 2025 edition of the French Open.

Most Roland Garros Wins All-Time

Rafael Nadal – 14
Max Decugis – 8
Chris Evert – 7
Björn Borg – 6
Steffi Graf – 6
Suzanne Lenglen – 6
Henri Cochet – 5
Margaret Court – 5
Adine Masson – 5
Iga Świątek – 4
Justine Henin – 4
Andre Vacherot – 4
Paul Ayme – 4
Kate Gillou – 4
Jeanne Matthey – 4
Helen Wills – 4
Mats Wilander – 3
Ivan Lendl – 3
Gustavo Kuerten – 3
Novak Djokovic – 3
Maurice Germot – 3
Rene Lacoste – 3
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario – 3
Monica Seles – 3
Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling – 3

Who are the Most Successful French Open Doubles Players?

Martina Navratilova holds the record with seven women’s doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles. Roy Emerson is the most successful player in men’s doubles with six titles in six years in the 1960s.

Emerson and Navratilova also won two singles titles apiece at Roland Garros.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*

May 7, 2025

French open

By Sam Cox

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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

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The Greatest Asian Snooker Players Of All-Time

Snooker has grown massively in Asia throughout the 21st century. There are over 300,000 snooker clubs in China alone, and various Asian players have appeared in the top 50 of the world rankings over the years.

World Snooker has arranged more events in Asia with the growing interest in the sport.

Every edition of the World Open since 2012 has taken place in China, the China Open has been a ranking event since 1997, and events have been held in India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia.

The favourites in the snooker betting markets might still predominantly be British, but more Asian players are featured near the top of the odds for major events than ever before.

Zhao Xintong

Zhao Xintong became the first Asian snooker world champion in 2025.

Entering the tournament, the Chinese star was out at 18/1 in the sports betting markets, but he defied the odds to defeat Mark Williams in the final at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Following a potentially career-defining ban, Zhao excelled on the Q Tour to earn a place at the UK Championship and 2025 World Championship.

Already a two-time ranking event winner, Zhao had claimed the UK Championship in 2021 and the German Masters in the following year, but he was competing as an amateur with a point to prove in 2025.

He did just that, seeing off Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semis before beating Williams.

Winning the event saw him move from zero ranking points to 11th in the world for the 2025-26 season, becoming the first amateur player to be named world champion in the process.

After the final, Williams compared Zhao’s potential impact on snooker to Luke Littler’s on darts. Time will tell if Zhao can elevate the sport’s profile in the same way.

Marco Fu

Marco Fu reached a career-high of fifth in the world rankings in 2017.

A three-time winner of ranking events and a runner-up at the 2008 UK Championship and 2011 Masters, Fu broke onto the scene as a teenager in the late 1990s, appearing in his first ranking final in 1998.

Born in Hong Kong, Fu has amassed the 22nd-most prize money in snooker history, putting him just ahead of Graeme Dott and behind Matthew Stevens.

He was in the top 16 in the world rankings from 1999 until 2019. Regularly a factor in the latter stages of ranking events, Fu’s last ranking title came in 2016 when he beat John Higgins in the final of the Scottish Open.

Ding Junhui

In a league of his own among Asian snooker players, Ding Junhui was the first Asian to be ranked world number one, has the most career prize money of any Asian player, and has won 15 ranking titles, which is the most of any Asian.

A three-time winner of the UK Championship, Ding has also finished as a runner-up at the Masters and World Championship.

Since breaking into the top 10 in 2007-08, Ding has been a fixture in the top 16 of the world rankings, with his peak coming in the first half of the 2010s.

For much of his career, it seemed inevitable Ding would become the first Asian player to win the World Championship.

The sport’s biggest prize eluded the Yixing native, but he can be credited for attracting a new generation of Asian players to snooker.

James Wattana

Ding and Fu are the only Asian snooker players with more career prize money than James Wattana, who reached a career-high of third in the world rankings during the 1990s.

Wattana erupted onto the scene by winning the Thailand Masters as a 16-year-old.

He became only the eighth player to earn over £1 million in prize money and was a trail blazer in the snooker world at a time when British and Irish players had dominated the sport.

The Thai star aided the growth of the sport in his home country and across the rest of Asia, even becoming the second sportsperson to earn The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand.

Reaching five Triple Crown semi-finals, Wattana was only a handful of frames away from becoming the first Asian to win a Triple Crown event.

He did, however, secure three rankings titles, two of which were the Thailand Open while he was also a three-time runner-up at the British Open.

Fan Zhengyi

Fan Zhengyi defeated Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final of the 2022 European Masters to become only the fifth Chinese player to win a ranking title.

It might be premature to include Fan on this list, but his career trajectory certainly suggests he will be among the greatest Asian snooker players of all-time by the end of his career.

A semi-final appearance at the Champion of Champions is Fan’s best showing aside from his glory at the European Masters.

His unusual technique has raised some eyebrows around the snooker world, but his success at junior levels shows it’s a formula which can work for him.

Liang Wenbo and Yan Bingtao are honourable mentions for this final spot in our rankings.

The pair have had more successful careers than Fan to date, but we expect the youngster to overtake his compatriots before the end of the decade.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*

May 7, 2025

Snooker

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World Snooker Champions: Who Will Join List In 2026?

Becoming world champion is the ultimate aim for every snooker player - but who will join the list of world snooker champions in 2026?

It’s when interest in snooker betting is at its highest, and when players have an opportunity to etch their names in the history books alongside greats of the game like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry.

Take your shot and go for glory - bet on the World Snooker Championship at 888sport

This is the event all snooker fans are waiting for. Starring in one of the best Snooker World Championship finals is a landmark in any career, such is the attention on the event.

Diehards are locked in for the duration, of course, but casual snooker fans will tune in for the matches at the Crucible more than at any other competition. The 2023 tournament broke records for its television reach with a total audience of over 13 million.

Accumulating prize money and hardware in other events is significant in any career, but it is not an exaggeration to say the World Championship is the pinnacle.

The world rankings might be an accurate picture of the best players in the world at any moment, but being world number one is incomparable to winning a world title. Let’s learn a bit more about the Snooker World Championship…

World Snooker Championship History

The first Snooker World Championship took place in 1927. Joe Davis reigned supreme during the early years, and claimed his final title just after the Second World War, but the event disappeared for a decade not long after.

Starting off as a 10-player event alongside a two-week long billiards match, the World Championship operated on a challenge basis in 1928, with six players battling it out for the right to take on Davis.

Across adapting formats, and often with very small fields, Davis was champion in the first 15 World Championships. His reign was ended by Walter Donaldson before Davis’ brother Fred claimed three titles in four years.

A Matchplay tournament took over in the World Championship’s place between 1952 and 1957. After a seven-year break, the World Championship was reintroduced in 1964, again on a challenge basis.

John Pulman was dominant throughout this period before the competition adopted a knockout structure in 1969 – this is regarded as the beginning of the modern era.

The first World Championship group stage featured in 1970. Two years later, Alex Higgins emerged as one of the sport’s young stars, shattering records across the board and becoming the youngest ever world champion.

In 1973, the move was made for the World Championship to be played over an intense, two-week period opposed to the prolonged schedule they had operated to previously.

Venues rotated throughout the first part of the 1970s, with some tournaments being shared between two host cities, and others played abroad.

It was only in 1977 that the World Championship adopted a permanent home. In the second season at the Crucible, Ray Reardon won his sixth world title. By the end of the decade, a new generation of players had arrived on the scene, and 24 players competed in the 1980 edition.

Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry dominated the 1980s and 1990s respectively. The 2000s saw a changing of the guard, with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Williams and John Higgins repeatedly reaching the latter stages. O'Sullivan has been the most successful of the triumvirate, though Higgins and Williams have won four and three titles respectively.

Mark Selby was a force throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s, while O’Sullivan continued to collect titles, including winning in 2020 and 2022. The 2023 event saw Luca Brecel become the first player from continental Europe to reach the final, which he won against Selby.

In 2025, Zhao Xintong became the first player from Asia to win the Snooker World Championship - a result that saw him climb into the bracket of the greatest Asian snooker players of all-time.

Snooker World Championship Location

While the World Championship is synonymous with the Crucible for current snooker fans, the World Championship has actually been played at various venues.

Before adopting the Crucible as its home in 1976-77, World Championships have been held in South Africa (twice), Australia (twice) and Jersey.

Numerous cities across the UK have hosted the tournament, too, starting out at Camkin’s Hall in Birmingham for the first two years.

Over the next four, it alternated between Nottingham and Thurston’s Hall in London before events at the Joe Davis Centre in Chesterfield and Central Hall in Kettering.

Six consecutive World Championships took place at Thurston’s Hall prior to the pause for the Second World War.

Wythenshawe Forum held the final World Championship before its permanent move to the Crucible.

The Crucible has been the home of the World Championships since 1977. The theatre has a capacity of 980 and underwent a £15 million refurbishment between 2007 and 2009.

In 2022, plans became public for a new, 3,000-seater capacity arena attached to The Crucible to host the World Championships. Barry Hearn confirmed talks were ongoing with Sheffield Council, The architect for the new arena was also behind the design for Manchester City's Etihad Stadium.

Tickets for the World Championships sell out a long way in advance, so fans need to be aware of when the tickets first go on sale if they are hoping to attend World Championship matches at the Crucible.

Snooker World Champions Prize Money

It is no surprise that the World Championship carries the largest prize money of any snooker event.

The total prize pool for the 2025 edition was a massive £2,395,000 with the eventual champion pocketing a cool half a million.

The runner-up had to settle for £200,000, which is just £105,000 shy of the UK average house price in April 2026.

The two semi-finalists received £100,000, while the quarterfinalists appropriately pocketed half of that.

A sum of £15,000 was available for the highest break across qualifying and the tournament proper.

Recording a 147 in the World Championship was worth £20,000. Two players achieved this feat, meaning they shared the prize money.

It’s not just prestige which makes the World Championships the headline event on the snooker calendar – it’s by far the biggest payday for snooker referees, too.

Just as it is the pinnacle, the same goes for referees. Being involved in the latter stages of the competition is a real opportunity for snooker referees to impress the governing body.

Most Successful Snooker World Championship Players

Brothers Joe and Fred Davis are technically the most successful Snooker World Championship players with 15 and eight titles respectively.

Five of Fred’s titles were in the Matchplay era. Both competed before what is recognised as snooker’s ‘modern era’.

John Pulman recorded eight titles, although seven of those were through challenge matches.

Since the competition took on its current format, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry are tied with the most titles on seven apiece. Steve Davis won six in the 1980s, which was a record until he was toppled by Hendry. O’Sullivan has been the most efficient of that triumvirate, losing just once in the final. Hendry and Davis lost two finals apiece.

O’Sullivan is tied with Fred Davis for the most appearances with 31. The Rocket has reached the semi-final or better 13 times, which is a record in the modern era.

England is by far the most successful country with 13 different champions and 57 overall titles.

Australia (two), Belgium (one) and Canada (one) are the only countries outside the British Isles to provide a snooker world champion.

China, New Zealand and South Africa have all contributed finalists, but are still waiting for their first champion.

Snooker World Champions List

1927 – Joe Davis
1928 - Joe Davis
1929 - Joe Davis
1930 - Joe Davis
1931 - Joe Davis
1932 - Joe Davis
1933 - Joe Davis
1934 - Joe Davis
1935 - Joe Davis
1936 - Joe Davis
1937 - Joe Davis
1938 - Joe Davis
1939 - Joe Davis
1940 - Joe Davis
1941-1945 – No Tournament
1946 – Joe Davis
1947 – Walter Donaldson
1948 – Fred Davis
1949 – Fred Davis
1950 – Walter Donaldson
1951 – Fred Davis
1952 – Horace Lindrum
1952 – Fred Davis
1953 – Fred Davis
1954 – Fred Davis
1955 – Fred Davis
1956 – Fred Davis
1957 – John Pulman
1958-1963 – No Tournament
1964 – John Pulman
1964 – John Pulman
1965 – John Pulman
1965 – John Pulman
1965 – John Pulman
1966 – John Pulman
1968 – John Pulman
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon
1974 – Ray Reardon
1975 – Ray Reardon
1976 – Ray Reardon
1977 – John Spencer
1978 – Ray Reardon
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins
1983 – Steve Davis
1984 – Steve Davis
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis
1988 – Steve Davis
1989 – Steve Davis
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry
1993 – Stephen Hendry
1994 – Stephen Hendry
1995 – Stephen Hendry
1996 – Stephen Hendry
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2009 – John Higgins
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby
2017 – Mark Selby
2018 – Mark Williams
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2021 - Mark Selby
2022 - Ronnie O'Sullivan
2023 - Luca Brecel
2024 - Kyren Wilson
2025 - Zhao Xintong

*Credit for all of the images in this article belongs to Alamy*

April 17, 2026

Snooker

By Sam Cox

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Best Welsh Snooker Players - Who Is The Greatest Of All-Time?

Wales has produced several snooker world champions, including Ray Reardon and Mark Williams
The Welsh Open and Tour Championship are held in Wales every year, with hosting duties generally split between Cardiff, Llandudno and Newport
Read below for more on the best Welsh snooker players

Wales truly punches above its weight when it comes to snooker betting. Welsh players have won the World Championship on 10 occasions, making the nation the third most successful in the history of the competition.

Welsh snooker players have provided moments of brilliance on the baize. They have dominated betting, collecting trophies along the way.

It is impossible to look at the history of snooker without a comprehensive look at the role of Welsh players and tournaments. Here are the best Welsh snooker players of all-time…

Doug Mountjoy

A model of consistency early in his career, Doug Mountjoy stuck in the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 straight years. He reached a World Championship final in that period, and enjoyed success at the Irish Masters and UK Championship.

When his career seemed to have faded, Mountjoy bounced back in his forties to win another UK Championship and return to the top 16.

He kept playing well into his fifties, even qualifying for the World Championship and winning a match just months before an operation to remove one of his lungs.

Ray Reardon

Since snooker world champions were first crowned in the 1920s, only four players (Joe Davis, Fred Davis, John Pulman, Stephen Hendry) have won more World Championship titles than Ray Reardon.

Spending six years as world number one, Reardon was also victorious at the Masters, and effectively owned the Pontins Professional in the late 1970s.

The format of the sport meant he couldn’t amass as much hardware as modern players, but there’s no question Reardon is among the greatest to ever play the sport.

Mark Williams

Even snooker referees cannot help but be in awe of Mark Williams. At his best, Williams’ long potting ability made him almost unbeatable. Pair that with tactical nous, and you have one of the best players of a generation.

Williams became world champion in 2000 and 2003. Long stints as world number one followed through the early 2000s, but that pace was unsustainable and the lefty dropped outside the top 10 for a few seasons.

He’s shown flashes of his best over the last few years, though, winning a third world title in 2018 and climbing the rankings to sit in the top three in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Jamie Jones

Shooting to prominence as a teenager, Jamie Jones became the youngest player to make a competitive 147 when he was only 14.

Despite reaching 29th in the world and collecting career winnings of over £400,000, Jones has endured a turbulent career as a professional.

Failure to report a match fixing approach resulted in a year-long ban in 2019. He’s been on the periphery of the tour since then, though a semi-final appearance at the 2020 Scottish Open can safely be put down as a career highlight.

He’s ranked 51st in the world as of August 2021, but still in his early-thirties, Jones has plenty of time to climb back into the top 30.

Matthew Stevens

Currently ranked in the thirties, Matthew Stevens was one of snooker’s young stars in the early 2000s.

Winning the Masters and the UK Championship, Stevens got as high as fourth in the world rankings and was twice a World Championship runner-up.

Only 20 players in the history of the sport have registered more prize money than the Carmarthen-born right-hander. Maybe he’s not delivered on the early promise, but there’s no question Stevens has enjoyed a successful career.

Terry Griffiths

Few players arrived on the scene as sensationally as Terry Griffiths. He became world champion in just his second professional tournament, beating Dennis Taylor in the final.

While he never repeated that feat, Griffiths was a constant feature in the latter rounds at the World Championships, reaching the last eight in nine straight seasons.

A fearsome rivalry with Steve Davis perhaps hampered his career, but Griffiths still completed the Triple Crown. He’s one of just 11 players to achieve that, along with fellow Welshman Mark Williams.

Everything You Need To Know About Welsh Snooker Players

Who is the most successful Welsh snooker player?

Mark Williams is the most successful Welsh snooker player of all-time by prize money. Williams has earned over £6.5 million in his career, putting him well clear of the next Welshman.

While his earnings cannot compete, Ray Reardon would widely be thought of as the most successful Welsh player. Reardon is a six-time world champion, though his era provided much fewer opportunities to win ranking titles.

Williams, for instance, is only a three-time world champion, but he has amassed 23 ranking titles compared to Reardon’s five.

What is the biggest Welsh snooker tournament?

The Welsh Open is the biggest Welsh snooker tournament. Wales has also hosted the Players Championship and the World Grand Prix in the recent past, though both events are now played in England.

The Tour Championship was at Venue Cymru in Llandudno in 2018/19. It moved to Milton Keynes for 2020, but returned to Wales in 2021, and was held in Newport. The event is set to be back in Llandudno in 2022.

Welsh Open snooker started in 1992. John Higgins is the tournament’s most successful player with five titles. Since the first event, it has switched between Newport and Cardiff.

Which Welsh snooker players have won the World Championship?

Ray Reardon, Mark Williams and Terry Griffiths are the three Welsh players to have won the snooker World Championship.

They have won 10 titles between them. Reardon’s six leads the way, ahead of Williams’ three. Griffiths won his first and only world title in 1979, which happened to be the year after Reardon’s sixth.

Although he never held the prestigious silverware again, Griffiths reached the final nine years later, only to lose to the imperious Steve Davis.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*

April 23, 2025

Snooker

By Sam Cox

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Female Snooker Referees: Women In Snooker

Snooker has long been a male-dominated sport. In the sphere of refereeing that has begun to change, however, with a growing group of female referees taking charge of men’s matches...

Where World Women’s Snooker was founded back in 1981, it is far more recent that women have been officiating high-profile matches in male tournaments.

The top female snooker referees will be familiar to those who frequent snooker live betting pages.

Eva Poskocilova

Eva Poskocilova’s interest in snooker came about from watching matches on Eurosport. Poskocilova visited a local club, but opted to try her hand at pool after deciding the snooker table was too big.

Her home country of the Czech Republic also needed some referees at the time – Poskocilova took her examination and then refereed at local tournaments for a couple of years.

By 2010, she was involved with the main tour. In the years since, the Prague native has officiated matches featuring numerous world champions. She teaches English and Czech in her spare time at Prague University, and occasionally commentates on matches for Czech Eurosport.

Desislava Bozhilova

One of the most prominent snooker referees in the world, Desislava Bozhilova began following snooker in her hometown of Silven.

Initially interested in pool, Bozhilova was attracted to snooker after seeing matches on television.

At the start of the 2010s, she earned a refereeing qualification and moved to Sofia. Her first international event was the 2012 Bulgarian Open, and a first ranking final came in Riga four years later.

Fast forward to 2023, and Bozhilova has a CV few can match, having refereed the 2022 Masters final and featured at multiple World Championships. Between refereeing duties, Bozhilova produces 3D visualisations of homes.

Hilde Moens

Belgian referee Hilde Moens was a regular at European Tour events earlier in her career.

In the last half-decade, Moens has had several appearances at ranking tournaments, including the European Masters in 2017-18.

Luise Kraatz

First refereeing a World Snooker Tour event at the Paul Hunter Classic in 2014, Luise Kraatz had an historic start to her career when she was the referee for a 147 in just her third professional match.

Since then, Kraatz has taken a break to have her first child and has been involved with plenty of ranking events, including officiating the final of the Paul Hunter Classic in 2018.

On her Twitter account, Kraatz describes herself as a ‘snooker referee, mum and hobby gardener with a Masters degree in international business studies.’

Maike Kesseler

Like many others, Maike Kesseler’s involvement with the sport began as a player. Kesseler’s playing career never took off, however, and she made the move into refereeing in the late 2000s.

Making a name for herself in the Paul Hunter Classic back in 2010, Kesseler was picked up by World Snooker and soon received invitations to referee at other major tournaments.

Snooker officiating is a hobby for Kesseler, according to her Wikipedia page, yet she has had a successful career, taking charge of ranking finals and playing a part at the World Championships. Outside of snooker, Kesseler likes to travel and works in a bank in her hometown of Mammemdorf.

Malgorzata Kanieska

Warsaw native Malgorzata Kanieska pairs a love of snooker with an interest in Aussie rules football (what a combination that is).

Kanieska began refereeing on the European Tour in 2010, and has experience in the qualifying rounds of ranking events.

The increased snooker coverage on Eurosport was a major contributor to introducing a generation of people across the continent to the sport, including Kanieska. Away from the table, she has studied space engineering.

Monika Sułkowska

A project manager and sports journalist as well as a World Snooker referee, Monika Sułkowska does a bit of everything.

The Pole became an international referee in 2013, and was in charge of tournament match for the first time a year later with the Gdynia Open.

Shaun Murphy provided an early career highlight for Sułkowska at that event when he delivered a 147. Her first televised match came in Lisbon later in 2014 prior to involvement in the Home Nations Series and German Masters.

Michaela Tabb

A snooker pioneer, Michaela Tabb has broken barriers for women in the sport. Tabb first oversaw a ranking final event at the Welsh Open in 2007, and her career has gone from strength to strength since then.

Being at the forefront of such change in the sport has come with pressure, plus a profile greater than any other snooker referee.

Tabb took an unusual path to the professional game, breaking the usual selection process. Impressing early on, she was fast-tracked onto the circuit, but suffered a setback with a redundancy.

Tabb was quickly reinstated, however, and eventually refereed the World Championships final in 2009. In previous interviews, Tabb has spoken about her role as a trailblazer, and acknowledges that she broke down barriers to get more women into snooker refereeing.

Tatiana Woollaston

Beginning with amateur events in Belarus, Tatiana Woollaston has ascended to feature at the upper levels of the sport.

Alongside her refereeing endeavours, Woollaston also has a job at the head office of Next, which hasn’t proven a distraction from her officiating career.

Woollaston first took charge of a European Tour event in 2010, and soon became a regular on the tour.

In 2015, she was given a televised ranking match for the first time, and five years later, she made her debut at the Crucible.

Proletina Velichkova

Another Bulgaria-born referee, Proletina Velichkova got into the sport through the Bulgarian Snooker Referees Association.

Velichkova followed in the footsteps of Woollaston, refereeing at European Tour events in Bulgaria, including matches involving Judd Trump and John Higgins.

Surprisingly, Velichkova refereed an exhibition match featuring Ronnie O’Sullivan a matter of months after becoming a referee. She has over 9,000 followers on Instagram and shares a close friendship with fellow referee Desislava Bozhilova.

More women are involved with snooker at the highest levels of sports betting than ever before with Michaela Tabb and Desislava Bozhilova leading the way.

Just as the players are not exactly household names for casual snooker fans, the same goes for the referees. So, let’s run through the best female snooker referees.

Michaela Tabb

The queen of the female snooker referees world, Michaela Tabb is widely regarded as the most famous woman in snooker.

After refereeing professionally on the pool circuit, Tabb qualified in 2001 to referee on the World Snooker Tour – becoming the sport’s highest profile female referee.

Tabb officiated on the professional tour for 14 years, becoming the first woman to officiate at a ranking snooker tournament in 2002.

In addition, Tabb became the first women to referee a ranking tournament final five years later as she took charge of the 2007 Welsh Open final.

At the time of writing, Tabb is the only female snooker referee to take charge of the World Snooker Championship final – achieving that feat in 2009 and 2012.

Tatiana Woollaston

A high-profile female referee for the best part of five years, Tatiana Woollaston started off refereeing amateur events in Belarus in 2008.

In 2010, Woollaston refereed at her first European Tour event before officiating a semi-final at the tournament in Prague.

Now one of the best woman snooker referees, Woollaston is a regular on European Tour and world ranking snooker events.

She officiated on television for the first time at the 2015 Welsh Open and earned a place at the Crucible in 2020, refereeing a World Championship match for the first time.

Woollaston has a degree in economics and is married to professional player Ben Woollaston. With two children, this is a real snooker-mad family!

Proletina Velichkova

The first successful Bulgarian referee, Proletina Velichkova began her journey in 2011 after noticing the Bulgarian Snooker Referees Association were looking for officials.

Having first officiated at a European Tour event at the 2012 Bulgarian Open, Velichkova is now one of snooker’s most popular referees.

She took charge of her first televised match in 2013 and has refereed a number of major televised ranking matches, both in Bulgaria and around the world.

As well as being a top female snooker referee, Velichkova has a degree in Scandinavian studies and has discussed the possibility of working in languages.

Velichkova enjoys reading, drawing and has a keen interest in social and sports psychology – which has a positive impact on her role as a snooker official.

Monika Sulkowska

Monika Sulkowska started refereeing in 2012 and she has matured into one of the greatest women snooker officials in recent years.

Her first World Snooker competition was the 2014 Gdynia Open and she witnessed history at that tournament as Shaun Murphy scored a perfect 147 break.

Sulkowska has officiated at various events, including the Home Nations series, German Masters and qualifying stages of the World Snooker Championship.

While her woman snooker referee salary is no comparison to Ronnie O’Sullivan net worth figures, Sulowska makes a decent living from the sport.

In addition, she is a freelance sports journalist and book editor. Away from snooker, the Polish official enjoys climbing and travelling the world.

Desislava Bozhilova

The top female snooker referee right now, Desislava Bozhilova’s journey from the Bulgarian town of Silven to the World Snooker stage is sensational.

Initially a pool player, Bozhilova grew up watching snooker on television and decided to try her hand at becoming an official snooker referee.

Bozhilova has been known to credit Michaele Tabb with eradicating sexism in snooker, heaping praise on the two-time World Championship final referee on more than one occasion.

With the chance to travel the world, Bozhilova loves snooker and the lifestyle – and she could dominate the female snooker referee landscape for years to come.

Bozhilova could be one to referee the World Championship final in the future, such is her standing in the snooker universe.

Check out our BTTS tips on the biggest upcoming football fixtures!

*Credit for all of the images in this article belongs to AP Photo*

April 18, 2025

Snooker

By Sam Cox

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Sam Cox

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Fiorentina V Real Betis

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Chelsea V Djurgardens IF

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The Most Successful Trainers In Grand National History

The record for training the most Grand National winners is currently held, jointly, by George Dockeray, Fred Rimmell and “Ginger” McCain, who all saddled four winners apiece.

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The current, still active, trainer who has won the Grand National the most times is Gordon Elliott, who so far has saddled three winners.

George Dockeray (1839, 1840, 1842, 1852)
Fred Rimell (1956, 1961, 1970, 1976)
Ginger McCain (1973, 1974, 1977, 2004)

George Dockeray

Considering the challenging nature of the early Grand National course, which included stone walls and ploughed fields, George Dockeray’s achievement of training four different winners is pretty much off the scale.

His first win was with Lottery in 1839, the year now recognised as the first official Grand National. Lottery won at odds of 5/1, in a time of 14 minutes and 53 seconds, which is also the slowest winning time in the race’s history.

In 1840, Dockeray repeated his success with a horse called Jerry, who won at odds of 12/1 and with a quicker time of 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

Dockeray’s third victory came in 1842 with Gaylad who won at odds of 7/1, completing the course in 13 minutes and 30 seconds.

His final Grand National triumph was with Miss Mowbray in 1852. Miss Mowbray was one of only 13 mares to have won the Grand National and the last to do so since Nickel Coin in 1951.

Fred Rimell

Before becoming a trainer, Rimell was a successful jockey, winning the jockey’s championship three times.

Rimell’s first Grand National victory came in 1956 with E.S.B, a race made famous due to the fact that the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, inexplicably collapsed within sight of the winning post while in a clear lead.

In 1961, Rimell claimed his second National with Nicolaus Silver, a 28/1 outsider. while his third victory came in 1970 with Gay Trip, who obliged at odds of 15/1.

His final Grand National victory was in 1976 with Rag Trade, who upset the party when he defeated the legendary Red Rum, who was seeking his third victory in the race.

Rag Trade’s odds of 14/1 cemented Rimell’s status as a Grand National training master.

Donald “Ginger” McCain

Ginger McCain is undoubtably the most famous of the three four-time winning trainers, largely due to his association with the legendary Red Rum.

McCain’s first three Grand National victories all came with Red Rum. With the first coming in 1973.

“Rummy” overcame a 30-length deficit to beat Crisp in the final strides, setting a new course record in the process.

The same feat was repeated in 1974 whilst carrying the top weight of 12 stone. No other horse has won the Grand National carrying top weight since.

In 1977, Red Rum, then aged 12, completed a historic third Grand National victory and has become one of the most talked-about and revered Grand National winner ever since.

McCain’s fourth Grand National victory came some 27 years later, in 2004, with Amberleigh House who was ridden by Graham Lee.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy

April 16, 2025

Grand National

By Steve Mullington

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Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.

Steven graduated from the University Of Lancaster in 1996 with a B.A (Hons) in Urban Policy & Race Relations (major) with Contemporary Religions & Belief Systems (minor) and still wonders if any of these help him find the winners?

He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations.

Steve Mullington

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