# Maria Catalano

Maria Catalano (born 27 February 1982) is an English snooker player from Dudley. Since 1998, she has competed on the women's snooker tour, where she has won 11 ranking titles, including the 2007 British Women's Open and the 2012 UK Women's Championship. A five-time runner-up at the World Women's Snooker Championship, she was ranked world number one on the women's tour during the 2013–14 season.
In 2018, she won the World Women's Pairs Championship with Reanne Evans. In 2022, she became the first female player to compete in the final stages of the World Seniors Championship. She is a first cousin of seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

## Career

Catalano attended secondary school at Hillcrest Community College, Netherton, West Midlands. She began playing snooker in working men's clubs when she was 15 and received coaching from her first cousin, professional player Ronnie O'Sullivan. She made her World Women's Snooker Tour debut in 1998. She has since won 11 women's ranking titles, including the Connie Gough Trophy six times, the 2007 British Women's Open, and the 2012 UK Women's Championship. In 2003, she ended Kelly Fisher's 69-match, two-year winning streak on the women's tour by defeating her 3–1 in the quarter-finals of the East Anglian Open. In 2011, she ended Reanne Evans's record 90-match, three-year winning streak with a 3–1 victory in the semi-finals of the Northern Championship.
A five-time runner-up in the World Women's Snooker Championship, Catalano lost the 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 finals to Reanne Evans and the 2018 final to Ng On-yee. At the 2012 event, she made her highest break on the women's tour, a 116 in her semi-final match against Tatjana Vasiljeva. She was ranked world number one on the women's tour during the 2013–14 season. She and Vasiljeva were runners-up in the World Women's Pairs Championship in 2016; she and Reanne Evans won the event in 2018, defeating Laura Evans and Suzie Opacic 3–0 in the final. Her form declined after 2018, which she attributed to her father's death in that year, commenting in 2022 that "it’s been a constant struggle since then" and saying she had been "finding it difficult to practice, just feeling I was getting nothing out of it." In May 2022, she became the first woman to compete in the final stages of the World Seniors Championship at the Crucible Theatre, having reached the eligible age of 40 in February of that year. She lost 0–3 to Wael Talaat but made a half-century break in the final frame.
Catalano has expressed her belief that men have innate advantages over women in snooker. In 2014, after six-time world champion Steve Davis suggested that women lacked the "single-minded, obsessional type of brain" needed to succeed at the elite levels of the sport, Catalano agreed, saying, "I don't think women will ever compete with men at the top level [of snooker]. I believe that male and female species are wired mentally different ... a man is more single-minded, so has a stronger concentration on one thing at a time." In August 2022, after Jamie Hunter won the inaugural US Women’s Open, Catalano threatened to quit the sport unless transgender players were excluded from women's tournaments. However, Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, responded that no such ban would be implemented, saying: "We have taken sufficient medical advice to be very satisfied that our policy is right for the current climate."

## Personal life

Her father, Antonio Catalano, was the brother of Ronnie O'Sullivan's mother, Maria O'Sullivan (née Catalano), making the two players first cousins. She was named Maria after Ronnie O'Sullivan's mother, while Ronnie O'Sullivan was given the middle name Antonio after her father. Following her father's death from cancer in 2018, she shaved her head on the eve of the 2018 UK Women's Championship to raise funds for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity. Outside snooker, she works in her family's ice-cream business.

## Performance timeline

World Women's Snooker
| Tournament | 1997/ 98 | 1998/ 99 | 1999/ 00 | 2000/ 01 | 2001/ 02 | 2002/ 03 | 2003/ 04 | 2004/ 05 | 2005/ 06 | 2006/ 07 | 2007/ 08 | 2008/ 09 | 2009/ 10 | 2010/ 11 | 2011/ 12 | 2012/ 13 | 2013/ 14 | 2014/ 15 | 2015/ 16 | 2016/ 17 | 2017/ 18 | 2018/ 19 | 2019/ 20 | 2020/ 21 | 2021/ 22 | 2022/ 23 | 2023/ 24 | 2024/ 25 |
| Current tournaments |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Championship | A | LQ | 2R | SF | QF | QF | NH | SF | F | A | F | F | F | F | SF | W | F | A | QF | QF | SF | 1R | F | NH | QF | 2R | A | A |
| US Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A |
| Australian Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | A | NH | A | A | A |
| Scottish Open | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | F | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | A | A |
| Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | SF | SF | F | F | Not Held | Not Held | F | SF | SF | QF | SF | 1R | SF | NH | SF | 2R | A | A |
| Belgian Open | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | QF | Not Held | Not Held | A | A | A |
| Asia-Pacific Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | NH | NH |
| World Championship | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | NH | SF | SF | QF | SF | F | F | SF | F | F | QF | A | 1R | 1R | F | A | Not Held | Not Held | 2R | QF | A |
| British Open | 3R | 1R | 2R | QF | F | SF | NH | A | A | A | W | QF | SF | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | SF | QF | A |
| Former tournaments |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | A | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Grand Prix | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Scottish Masters | A | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | 1R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| LG Cup | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | QF | 1R | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| European Masters | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| Welsh Open | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| East Anglian Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | A | 1R | A | F | W | SF | W | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Northern Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | F | W | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | W | F | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Southern Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | F | QF | F | F | F | 1R | NH | F | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Eden Classic | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | F | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Connie Gough Trophy | 1R | 2R | 3R | QF | QF | 1R | QF | SF | W | W | W | SF | F | SF | W | W | F | F | A | W | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| Paul Hunter Classic | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | SF | QF | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held |
| 10-Red World Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | 2R | QF | QF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
| 6-Red World Championship | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | Tournament Not Held | QF | QF | QF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held |
Performance Table Legend :
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | QF | lost in the quarter-finals |
| SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
| NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | NH / Not Held | means an event was not held. |
| NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | NR / Non-Ranking Event | means an event is/was no longer a ranking event. |
| R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | R / Ranking Event | means an event is/was a ranking event. |
| MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | MR / Minor-Ranking Event | means an event is/was a minor-ranking event. |
| PA / Pro-am Event | PA / Pro-am Event | PA / Pro-am Event | PA / Pro-am Event | means an event is/was a pro-am event. |
* ↑ The event was called the European Open (2002/2003)
* ↑ The event was called the South Coast Classic (2006/07–2009/10)
* ↑ The event was called the Connie Gough Memorial (1997/98–1998/99, 2002/03 & 2011/12–2014/15) and Connie Gough National (1999/00–2001/02 & 2004/05–2010/11)

## Titles and achievements

| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score |
| Runner-up | 1 | 2001 | British Open | Kelly Fisher | 0–4 |
| Runner-up | 2 | 2003 | Scottish Open | Wendy Jans | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 3 | 2005 | Northern Championship | Lynette Horsburgh | 2–4 |
| Runner-up | 4 | 2005 | WLBSA' UK championship | Reanne Evans | 0–4 |
| Winner | 5 | 2006 | Northern Championship | June Banks | 4–1 |
| Winner | 6 | 2006 | Connie Gough National | Reanne Evans | 4–3 |
| Winner | 7 | 2006 | Regal Ladies Championship | June Banks | 4–1 |
| Winner | 8 | 2007 | British Championship | June Banks | |
| Winner | 9 | 2007 | Connie Gough National | June Banks | 3–1 |
| Winner | 10 | 2007 | British Open | Emma Bonney | 3–2 |
| Runner-up | 11 | 2007 | South Coast Classic | Reanne Evans | 2–4 |
| Winner | 12 | 2008 | Connie Gough National | Reanne Evans | 3–2 |
| Runner-up | 13 | 2008 | East Anglian Championship | Reanne Evans | 0–3 |
| Runner-up | 13 | 2008 | UK Ladies Championship | Reanne Evans | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 14 | 2009 | WLBSA World Ladies' Championship | Reanne Evans | 2–5 |
| Runner-up | 15 | 2009 | South Coast Classic | Reanne Evans | 0–3 |
| Runner-up | 16 | 2009 | East Anglian Championship | Reanne Evans | 0–3 |
| Runner-up | 17 | 2009 | UK Ladies Championship | Reanne Evans | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 18 | 2010 | WLBSA World Ladies' World Championship | Reanne Evans | 1–5 |
| Runner-up | 19 | 2010 | Connie Gough National | Reanne Evans | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 20 | 2010 | South Coast Classic | Reanne Evans | 1–3 |
| Runner-up | 21 | 2010 | UK Ladies Championship | Reanne Evans | 0–3 |
| Runner-up | 22 | 2010 | East Anglian Championship | Reanne Evans | 0–3 |
| Winner | 23 | 2011 | Northern Championship | Ching Ching Yu | 3–1 |
| Winner | 24 | 2011 | East Anglian Championship | Katie Henrick | 3–0 |
| Winner | 25 | 2012 | Connie Gough Memorial | Jaique Ip | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 26 | 2012 | WLBSA World Ladies' World Championship | Reanne Evans | 3–5 |
| Winner | 27 | 2012 | UK Ladies Championship | Tina Owen-Sevilton | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 28 | 2013 | WLBSA World Ladies' World Championship | Reanne Evans | 3–6 |
| Winner | 29 | 2013 | Connie Gough Memorial | Emma Bonney | 3–0 |
| Runner-up | 30 | 2013 | Eden Resources Masters | Reanne Evans | 0–4 |
| Runner-up | 31 | 2013 | UK Ladies Championship | Ng On-yee | 2–4 |
| Runner-up | 32 | 2014 | Connie Gough Trophy | Reanne Evans | 0–4 |
| Runner-up | 33 | 2014 | Southern Classic | Ng On-yee | 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 34 | 2014 | Eden Classic | Reanne Evans | 3–5 |
| Runner-up | 35 | 2016 | Connie Gough Trophy | Reanne Evans | 0–4 |
| Winner | 36 | 2017 | Connie Gough Trophy | Rebecca Kenna | 4–2 |
| Runner-up | 37 | 2018 | Women's World Snooker Championship | Ng On-yee | 0–5 |
| Runner-up | 38 | 2019 | UK Women's Snooker Championship | Reanne Evans | 2–4 |