Player Runa Reta Country CAN Ranking Last Ranking Highest Ranking 29 ( Oct 2007 ) DATE OF BIRTH 14th Dec 1980 PLACE OF BIRTH OTTAWA, CANADA LIVES OTTAWA, CANADA RACKET BLACK KNIGHT STRINGS ASHAWAY CLOTHING BLACK KNIGHT HANDED RIGHT HANDED AGE BEGAN PLAYING 9 CLUB BASED AT CLUB SPORTIF MAA TIMES PLAYED FOR COUNTRY SENIOR : 3 JUNIOR : 2 SENIOR NATIONAL TITLES WON 1 SQUASH ACHIEVEMENTS 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPION, 2008 PAN AM GOLD (TEAM), SEMI-FINALIST DAYTON OPEN 2008 BEST RESULTS SO FAR 2008 PAN-AM GOLD MEDAL WINNER-TEAMS & BRONZE IN INDIVIDUAL EVENT AMBITIONS WORKING WITH CHILDREN & YOUTH IN THE AREAS OF SOCIAL PROTECTION & SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT. HOBBIES MUSIC, READING, WRITING, VOLUNTEER WORK OTHER Runa began playing at the age of eight when her father introduced her to the game; with competitive play starting at the age of twelve. During her junior years she represented Canada twice, at the 1997 Junior Women's World Championships and two years later in Antwerp, Belgium, where she reached the quarter finals of the individual event. In 1999, Runa began her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, where she played for the women's squash team and captained the team for two of her four years there. During her time at Penn, her team won the National Women's Championship title (for the first time in the school's history), going undefeated for the entire 1999-2000 season. There was an individual accolade too as Runa was the recipient of the Betty Richie Award, the Father's Award, and was All-American, All-Ivy and a Scholar-Athlete throughout her undergraduate career. After finishing an honours bachelor degree in International Relations in 2003, she decided to play professionally on the women's tour. In her first year, she made the finals of the Ontario Open and Southport Open and in 2004 represented Canada in the Senior Women's World Team Championships in Amsterdam. More recently, in 2005 Runa won the Calgary Open as well as the Quito Open. In January 2007 Runa starts a Masters Degree in Political Science at McGill University and hopes to pursue a career in international aid and development after squash. Currently, she coaches and trains at the Goodlife Queensview in Ottawa, Canada. Her interests include reading, music and writing. You can find her written work at www.squashtalk.com as she has a regular column entitled "Runa on the Road", giving her personal perspectives and experiences regarding the world of squash.