LAURA Massaro has been shortlisted for a prestigious Sportswoman of the Year award after a 2014 to remember.

The Chorley squash star won the World Open in Penang, Malaysia, in March and then won two silver medals representing England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow during the summer.

Now Massaro, ranked second in the world, has been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year award.

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The 30-year-old said she was “humbled” to have made the shortlist for the award.

The former Albany High School pupil is shortlisted alongside athlete Jo Pavey, cyclist Joanna Rowsell, Olympic skeleton star Lizzy Yarnold, Southport swimmer Fran Halsall and equestrian ace Charlotte Dujardin.

“I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to be on this shortlist,” said Massaro.

“To see my name alongside those incredible athletes is really humbling and I’m sure we all want to say a big thank you to the judges.

“It’s been an amazing year for British sportswomen and it’s fantastic that the Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year Awards give us all a chance to celebrate that.”

Massaro, a two-time World Player of the Year, will find out if she has won the award at a ceremony on November 19, which will be screened live on Sky.

Keir Worth, chief executive of England Squash and Racketball, said: “It’s wonderful that Laura has been recognised in the shortlist for such a prestigious award.

“She is such a credit to her sport and she’s a role model not just in squash but as a female athlete. Her achievements this year have helped shine a spotlight on squash.”

Massaro has also helped David Lloyd Chorley hit the top of the table in the North West Squad League Division One in recent months.

But she returned from a stint across the Atlantic over in America without a trophy after defeat in the Carol Weymuller Open, in Brooklyn, and the US Open, in Philadelphia.

Now in their 27th year, the awards celebrate the outstanding contribution to sport made by elite performers, coaches, administrators, community volunteers and inspirational female figures.

Barney Francis, Sky Sports managing director, said: “There have been some incredible individual and team performances in women’s sport this year, which made our job as judges tougher than ever.

“As well as rewarding success at the elite level, the awards recognise those individuals that put in hard work and hours every week up and down the country to support women’s sport and we were inspired by the nominations.”