The new World Mixed Doubles event on the snooker calendar is just a couple of months away and one of the stars of the show, Rebecca Kenna, believes it is going to be absolutely huge for the women’s game.
The first edition of the competition will see the world’s top four male players and the best four women on the planet team up in pairs to compete over two days, live on ITV and ITV4.
The four women involved – Reanne Evans, Ng On-yee, Mink Nutcharut and Kenna will have the chance to team with Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson and play in front of a huge television audience.
It is obviously a wonderful opportunity for the players involved, but Kenna thinks it could be a massive occasion for the future of women’s snooker, with the level of exposure being massive compared to what they have had in the past.
‘This Mixed Doubles is absolutely huge. Not just for us four players, but for women’s sport in general,’ Kenna told the Talking Snooker podcast.
‘To see it out there and hopefully get more girls to see it and go: “Oh, I want to go and do that.”
‘When I started playing, I never thought I’d be competing with those four and obviously have one of them on my team.
‘Just as a snooker fan, wow! What an opportunity! That’s testament to how they’ve grown the women’s side of the game, to get the top four women and the top four men on ITV, it’s huge.
‘Huge for the sport in general, but huge for the women’s game. I’m so looking forward to it, I’m hoping I can do well and not be too nervous.’
The Yorkshire cueist revealed that the draw will be made at Ascot on 6 August, when she will find out which of the four superstars of snooker she will be teaming with.
Unsurprisingly, with three former world champions and the current Crucible king on offer, she is not too fussed who she gets.
‘Any one of them to be playing with would be a dream, amazing,’ she said. ‘You just can’t choose, there’s a reason to pick every single one of them.
‘You want to be with Ronnie, he’s just won the Worlds, he’s the best player ever.
You want to be with Selby because of his grit and determination, you want to pick Robbo for his cue action.
You want to pick Judd because he pots them for fun. Any one of them I’d be over the moon with, they probably just don’t want me.’
The World Mixed Doubles is played from 24-25 September at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
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