Tessa Davidson

Tessa Davidson (born 22 April 1969) is an English snooker player from Banbury, Oxfordshire. She competed on the women's tour from 1988 to 1995 and again from 1998 to 1999, during which time she won three UK Women's Championships (1989, 1992 and 1998) and achieved a highest ranking of fourth in the women's world rankings. She competed on the main professional tour during the 1992–93 snooker season.

After 1999, Davidson took a 23-year hiatus from competitive snooker to raise her two children. She returned to the sport in 2022, competing on the women's tour and the women's seniors tour. Tessa Davidson is from Banbury, Oxfordshire. Her father was a snooker coach and taught Davidson and her sister the game when they were aged about 13. In the late 1980s, he managed a snooker club in London and his daughters would stay with him and play there. Davidson had defeated 1987 world champion Ann-Marie Farren both in the round-robin and quarter-final stages, and her of 84, made during her 4–1 defeat of Kim Shaw in the semi-finals, was the highest of the tournament. After winning the women's UK Championship, she decided to focus on snooker and played full-time for most of her 20s. Her next significant success was winning the 1990 Western Ladies Championship, when she overcame reigning world champion Karen Corr 3–2 in the semi-finals and world number one Hillyard 3–0 in the final. Later in 1991, Davidson made a break of 135 at the British Women's Open, then the highest achieved on the women's tour.

She joined the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) in 1992 when membership was opened up to anyone who paid the relevant fee, and she competed on the professional circuit for the 1992–93 season. She won her first professional match 5–1 against Russ Schister in the qualifying competition for the 1992 UK Championship, but a 5–4 defeat of Gary Skipworth in the 1993 British Open qualifying was her only other win as a professional. On the women's circuit, she won the 1992 UK Women's Championship on the last of the against Hillyard. She went on to win the 1998 UK Women's Championship, prevailing 4–1 in the final against Kelly Fisher despite losing the first frame. In the semi-finals, Davidson won her match when Corr went the final black in the deciding frame. At this time, outside snooker, Davidson was operating a mobile fish and chip shop with her husband.

After taking a 23-year break from competitive snooker to raise her children, Davidson returned to the tournament circuit during the 2021–22 snooker season and became a successful competitor on the women's seniors tour (for players over 40). Since then, her tournament wins have included the 2022 UK Women's Seniors Championship, the Eden Women's Seniors Masters in 2022 and 2023, the Belgian Women's Seniors Open in 2023 and 2024, and the World Women's Seniors Championship in 2022, 2024, and 2025. She won the 2022 title after losing only one frame in four matches, and the 2024 championship after losing only one frame in three matches. Her opponent, Igor Figueiredo, won the opening frame, but Davidson took the second, becoming the first woman to win a frame at that stage of the tournament. She faced Mink again in the final. After Mink had levelled at 1–1, Davidson took the next two frames to secure the title. In 2023, she was working as a self-employed gardener and coaching at Fast Eddie's Pool and Snooker Hall. The Banbury Guardian named her as their Sports Personality of the Year for 2023. Although she has not reached the final of the World Women's Snooker Championship, she was a semi-finalist in 1991, when she was eliminated 0–5 by Corr, and in 1994 when she lost 3–6 to Allison Fisher. She gained the top place in the women's seniors rankings after the Winchester Women's Open in 2022. As of April 2025, she was ranked ninth in the women's world rankings, as well as first in the women's seniors rankings. She won the seniors event at the 2025 UK Women's Snooker Championship; it meant that of the 12 events that contributed to the seniors rankings, she had won all 11 that she had entered.

Titles and achievements +Women's snooker finals contested by Tessa DavidsonOutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore Winner 1 1989 UK Women's Championship 4–1 Runner-up 1 1989 Pontins Ladies' Bowl 0–3 Runner-up 2 1989 Northern Ladies' Championship 0–4 Winner 2 1990 Western Ladies' Championship 3–0 Winner 3 1991 Pontins Ladies' Bowl 4–2 Winner 4 1992 UK Women's Championship 4–3 Runner-up 3 1993 Saffron Classic 0–3 Runner-up 4 1993 UK Women's Championship 3–4 Runner-up 5 1993 Connie Gough Memorial 1–3 Runner-up 6 1994 James Brooke Classic 2–3 Runner-up 7 1998 Regal Welsh Open 0–4 Winner 8 2022 World Women's Seniors Championship 3–0 Winner 9 2022 Winchester Women's Open (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 10 2022 UK Women's Snooker Championship (Seniors) 2–0 Runner-up 12 2022 Scottish Women's Open (Seniors) 1–2 Winner 11 2022 Eden Women's Masters (Seniors) 2–1 Winner 12 2023 Belgian Women's Open (Seniors) 2–0 Runner-up 13 2023 British Women's Open (Seniors) 1–2 Runner-up 14 2023 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Two 2–3 Runner-up 15 2023 UK Women's Snooker Championship (Seniors) 0–2 Runner-up 16 2023 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Three 2–3 Winner 13 2023 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Four 3–1 Winner 14 2023 Eden Women's Masters (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 15 2023 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Five 2–1 Winner 16 2024 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Six 2–1 Winner 17 2024 Belgian Women's Open (Seniors) 3–0 Winner 18 2024 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Event Seven 2–1 Winner 19 2024 World Women's Snooker Championship (Seniors) 3–1 Winner 20 2024 2023/24 Winchester Women's Open Series – Grand Finals 3–1 Runner-up 17 2024 English Women's Snooker Championship 2–3 Winner 21 2024 British Women's Open (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 22 2024 US Women's Snooker Open (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 23 2024 UK Women's Snooker Championship (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 24 2025 British Women's Open (Seniors) 2–0 Winner 25 2025 UK Women's Snooker Championship (Seniors) 2–0

+Team events Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent in the final Score Winner 1 1992 Home International Series Kim Shaw Round-robin Winner 2 2024 EBSA Women's Team Rebecca Kenna Vania Franco Sarah Rocha 3–2