PSA50 – Rivalries: Rhonda Thorne & Vicki Cardwell: The Rivalry That Had It All

By RJ Mitchell

In boxing the old adage ‘styles make fights’ is one of the most often used to illustrate why the ‘sweet science’ is such a compelling watch. Yet it could also have been created especially for squash.

The classic match-up of shot maker versus retriever is one that invariably serves up a contest of contrasting but memorable moments as the meeting of polar opposites provides a compelling spectacle.

But when it’s flavoured by ‘squash’ travel sickness, spiced up by a controversial two year international ban, this then was a rivalry with a backstory to savour – big time.

The late 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s when Rhonda Thorne and Vicki Cardwell (Hoffmann until 1982) were treading the boards was a golden age of Antipodean dominance

On top of that their 1981 World Open final, at two hours and seven minutes, was for decades the longest squash match ever played between two women.

By way of a beginning it’s time to let Rhonda explain why she viewed Vicki, in court terms, as armed and dangerous:

“Someone once explained it to me like this: “You just have to look at Vicki as if she’s got a shotgun in her hand and she is going to keep shooting at you and you just have to keep dodging, keep moving,” so that was my plan – to keep her moving and if she got that ball back then make her get another one back and so on,” said Thorne.

“So my game plan was always the same with Vicki. Vicki was a retriever and she would dive and stay on there forever and so you always had to have the last shot.

“Nowadays Paul Coll is very much a retriever and he likes to dive but Vicki was the original diver and her reputation was just that she would never give in; you never had an easy match with her.

“So before I went on I had to be so mentally tough, I think in all the times we played, and that was maybe around 30-matches at least, I beat her once 3-0 and obviously she has beaten me the same.”

From the other side of the court Vicki’s respect for Rhonda’ attributes was equally impressive as she shared: “Rhonda had a lovely swing, a real shot maker and her boast hurt me but it didn’t destroy me.

“I always trained harder than anyone. I was not the most skilful player of my time but I worked harder and everybody knew that and when it got tough I got tougher.

“A lot of people feel inferior as they are not shot makers and I would never deliberately go for a nick and I never executed a shot in terms of it was a winner, I always expected it to come back.

“I was always looking to create a space to hit a big target rather than small targets, so I was happy to hit the ball one more time than my opponent and it was never a concern for me as I knew I had worked harder than them.

“But Rhonda always made me work hard – to the end.”

When it came to the matches that defined their rivalry, the finals of the World Open in 1981 and 1983 rise to the surface.

Rhonda’s aversion to travelling to the British Open and determination to improve her fitness saw her sit out the 1981 event as she prepared to peak for the World Championships being held in Toronto in October.

With the Australian squad being managed by Heather McKay, the duo headed for Canada with Rhonda having won their recent meeting in the Australian Championships.

As Rhonda revealed, a week before the Worlds began her hopes were given another huge boost and she recalled: “So in the ’81 World Championship we knew from day one we would meet in the final but we actually ended up playing the weekend before it!

“When the team arrived the Canadian Federation sent us off to play in a smaller warm-up tournament. Heather (McKay) was our team manager and she said to us: ‘Girls be careful because if you go head-to-head before the Worlds it could really drain you!’

“Well we ended up meeting in the final in London, Ontario, the weekend before the World Open started and we ignored that advice and went at it and neither of us gave an inch and I won in five 10-8 in the fifth.”

From the other side of the coin Vicki recalls: “Rhonda had beaten me in the Aussie Open six weeks prior but because I was British Open champion I was seeded No.1 and it turned out to be the longest women’s match on record.

“We played a lot against each other in Australia in state champs as Rhonda never produced her best in England. I don’t know if it was the weather but we very rarely played each other overseas and this was the first time we’d met each other in a major championship.”

The lead changed hands on several occasions as Vicki took the opening game 10-8 before Rhonda went 2-1 up only for Vicki to square the game and in the final stanza there was more drama to come.

Considering this Vicki shared: “At 1-1 in the fifth Rhonda side-swiped me and I rolled my ankle and it was to rule me out of the team event until the final so I literally carried on injured for the rest of the game and took it to 9-7 in the fifth.

“But my ankle was a complete mess and black and blue and the only match I played in the teams was the deciding rubber against Lisa Opie all taped up and it is something I am particularly proud of that I won it (9-7, 9-5, 9-6).”

For her part Rhonda regards that hard-fought victory, which came after two hours seven minutes of eye-balls out squash, as her greatest moment: “In 1980 Vicki was on top and was ahead of me and that drove me.

“I didn’t go to the British Open in ’81 as I decided to stay in Australia and train and so when I left to go to the World Open I had never been fitter.

“My husband then, Ross, wasn’t in Toronto at the time but I called him and told him to get over as I knew I had it. I could feel it was mine.

“So ’81 was definitely the highlight of my career and that World Open was definitely it.”

With the women’s World Open played every two years and Rhonda falling to two successive quarter-final defeats in the British Open in ’82 and ’83, the scene was set for the ultimate revenge match when the duo next faced off in the ’83 World Open final, held fittingly in Perth, Australia.

Yet as Vicki recalled the match was given something of an all or nothing feeling for her after controversy had caused her to be banned from playing for her homeland in international team events for these interim two years.

All of which drove her to take the ultimate gamble of announcing her impending retirement with immediate effect from after the ’83 final.

I am particularly proud about the ’83 Open as I won all my matches 3-0. I was very focussed and I’d come in off a two year ban and wasn’t allowed to play the lead in event,” she said.

The ban was for two years after an incident at the post World Teams championship party (1981) at which I had an altercation with the vice president of the International Squash Rackets Federation.

“I ultimately lost the argument as the Australian Federation sided with him. My family wanted legal representation and I found out from the independent group who heard it they had only recommended a severe reprimand with a possible fine but the Australian gave me a heavy fine and a two year ban from playing for Australia and I’ve never forgiven them.”

On the other side of the court Rhonda also had her problems as she recalled: “In ’83 I was injured with a bad back going into the worlds and had been out for two years.

“I wasn’t going to play but because Vicki at that stage had a two year ban on her for representing Australia back from Toronto, she couldn’t compete for Australia in the Perth World Team Championships in ’83.

“I was injured and wasn’t going to compete but the association asked me to play. So I had four weeks training back on court and Australia were successful again over England in the teams.

“It was a great result for Australia to win the teams without Vicki and I think I beat Lisa Opie 10-8 in the fifth to get us through.

“But although I wasn’t suffering from injury by the time of making the final I was just suffering from lack of match time and then having hard matches on the way through.

“I also didn’t have the mental toughness that day and I knew before I walked on court I was going to lose, I just didn’t have it in the bank.”

With her motivation literally through the roof Vicki was to run out a straight-games winner 9-1, 9-3, 9-4 as she enjoyed a supreme moment of vindication: “I just think my mindset was different I was fearless where in ’81 I was meeting Rhonda after losing to her in the Aussie Open, so I probably didn’t believe I could do it where in ’83 I was just ready.

“I didn’t change my habits and kept doing what I did and I was just confident and knew I’d done the work and I’d already announced my retirement, so my back was against the wall.

“So I cried a lot but I kept playing. I had something to prove and I beat Susan Devoy 3-0 in the semi and was never going to leave the court without that title.

“The ‘83 World Open had become the most important match of my career as I hadn’t won a World Championship. I had won four British Opens but I hadn’t won a World Open and then I had announced my retirement.

“So I put all my eggs in one basket and I just had to make sure I won it and thankfully I did. I am also proud of the fact that I don’t think there are many who have won all their matches 3-0 in the World Open.”