By Elliott West
“I am just pleased to play well with a trophy on the line because I haven’t been doing myself justice in finals,”
Tessa Davidson speaking after her 1998 UK Championship win.
Introduction
This week came the welcome news that Tessa Davidson, the three-time former winner of the UK Women’s Championship would be returning to play in the upcoming 2022 Women’s Open. Born in 1969 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, Tessa is now 52 but during her long and illustrious career which spanned the late 1980s and the 1990s, Davidson won a string of titles and reached a significant number of finals.
Career
Tessa first hit the snooker headlines when she won the UK Championship back in 1989. This was quickly followed by her victories in the Western Women’s Championship and the Pontins Ladies’ Bowl, both won in 1991.
At the 1991 Women’s World Championship, Tessa reached the semi-finals but was blown away by the gifted snooker player, Karen Corr. Karen who won the first frame with a fluked black, went on to win the second frame with a re-spotted black and later a fluked blue ball in a devastating run that led to a 5-0 victory for Corr. However, Davidson wasn’t down for long because later that year, she would go on to make a new women’s record by recording a 135 break at the British Open.
In 1992, Tessa joined the WPBSA and competed in events during the 1992-93 season. This would be followed by a three-year break away from playing but on her return she would go on to reach the final of the Regal Welsh Open, losing again to Karen Corr 4-0.
Tessa went on to win the 1998 UK Championship defeating Kelly Fisher 4-1 in the final after losing the first frame. A year where she would also win the Connie Gough Memorial trophy. This was all at a time when outside snooker, she was running a mobile fish and chip shop with her husband.
