Biography
Since turning professional full-time at the
age of 19, Laura quickly established herself at the top of the game. By the end of 2002 she had broken into the
WSA top 50 and amassed some good results and tournament progression despite her
young age. Her first WSA World Tour
title came in 2005 as she won the German Open and consistently achieved
quarter-final placing’s to push her into the top 20.
Later she won her first $10,000 event, the
Wolverhampton Open by beating top seed and national teammate Vicky Botwright in
2006, and returned a year later to again defeat the event favourite, this time
beating Madeline Perry.
2008 saw Laura put in an extended run of
tournaments in which she exceeded her seeded expectations, and in June of the
same year, she broke into the world top 10, where she has remained ever
since.
In 2011, Laura won the Cleveland Classic
despite being seeded 8th for the event, beating world champion Nicol
David in the final, and later that year claimed another momentous win in the WSA
World Series Gold event, the US Open.
The win allowed Laura to finish 2011 at No3 in the world.
A disappointing first round exit in the Hong
Kong Open didn’t help Massaro’s rankings chase with Raneem El Weleily, but
beating the Egyptian in the World Championship semi-finals in December to reach
her first World Championship final gave the Englishwoman confidence heading
into 2013 and so it has proved.
A runner up spot at the World Series Finals
in January 2013 was followed by a bout of sickness that meant her withdrawal
from the Cleveland Classic. Laura rebounded superbly to clinch the CIMB KL Open
in March and then claimed the historical Allam British Open crown in May
defeating Nicol David in the final, becoming the first British winner since
Lisa Opie in 1991. Massaro also reached the US Open final in October, losing to
Nicol David in an epic final, justifying the tournaments decision to offer
equal prize money.
2014 has seen further success for Massaro,
she reached the Tournament of Champions final in January and followed this with
her 15th tour title at the Windy City Open in Chicago. In March,
Massaro wrote her name in the history books by winning her first World
Championship in Penang beating Nour El Sherbini in a nail biting final. Most recently in May, Massaro reached the British Open final for the second year in a row but was unable to defend her title, losing out to Nicol David.
Laura’s outstanding year continued when she proved to be a key player for England in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, UK by winning two silver medals. She lost to Nicol David in the women’s singles gold medal match before joining forces with countrywoman Jenny Duncalf to be runners-up in the women’s doubles competition.