WHEN Laura Massaro put her rackets down after another disappointing tournament back in February she didn’t know if she would ever pick them up again.

An early exit in the Windy City Open in Chicago proved to be the tipping point and Massaro decided enough was enough.

The one thing she had worked so hard to achieve all her career had now taken its toll; her gruelling schedule had worn her down, not physically but mentally.

The 31-year-old from Chorley had a year to remember in 2014, winning the World Open, two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and captaining England to the World Team title.

But it came at a cost.

And it all came to a head at the University Club of Chicago on a midweek night in February when she suffered a surprise second round defeat to Emma Beddoes, an England team-mate she had never lost to in a major tournament.

It came a week after missing out on a third National title, losing to Sarah-Jane Perry in the final - another player who enjoyed a first victory over Massaro.

“After Chicago I felt my head had gone a little bit with squash, I was not really sure in the direction I was going,” said Massaro.

“It was the build-up of everything from last season.

“Last year was a huge year for me, winning the World Open, then we had the Commonwealth Games and the World teams all in the same year.

“I think emotionally the year was really big and I think that maybe I didn’t realise how much it had taken out of me.”

But it was in the head and not the limbs that Massaro had been hit hardest.

“I got to the Nationals and just felt mentally fatigued,” added Massaro, who lives in Hoghton. “Completely and utterly gone mentally.

“I rely quite heavily on the mental side of my game and sticking to game plans and fighting my way through matches when things aren’t going so well.

“When that element of my game went, I was left a little bit short really.

“I went to Chicago thinking just try and go without any pressure and have a bit of fun. But I just didn’t play very well.

“When I got back I just felt like I needed time to decide what I wanted to do with my future and where I wanted to go.

“So I just put my rackets away for about a month, five weeks. I have never done that before for such a length of time.

“But I thought to myself that if I go on playing and feeling like this on court then I don’t want to be playing any more.”

“But at the same time I knew I was only playing that way because I was mentally tired with everything.”

Her self-imposed squash exile included not playing in the Premier Squash League, the French League and withdrawing from the England team for the European Team Championships.

Instead, Massaro downed tools and headed to Dubai with husband and coach Danny - and the make-or-break sunshine get-a-away did the trick.

She may have dropped a few ranking positions, down from second in the world to fourth since the turn of the year but now she is looking forward to the British Open in Hull which begins on May 11.

“I didn’t set out to be off the court for four or five weeks,” she said. “I set out to have a break for as long as it took so just to be really ready for when I came back.

“It was a case of recharging my batteries, mentally more than anything.”

Massaro returned refreshed and ready to go and with a new outlook on the game - including not wanting to know who she is playing in the first round in Hull.

“I deliberately haven’t looked at the draw,” she said. “I have done it to try and stay in the moment a little bit more. I know I can prepare for a match or an opponent within two days. Otherwise I know myself I will be in the gym thinking this extra rep is to beat this player or that player and actually that is all subtle pressure going back on you.

“I have never really done it before so we will see how it goes.”

Massaro has also taken more control of her destination, organising more of her own coaching - and she has husband Danny’s full backing.

“It has definitely been more driven by me,” said Massaro. “I sat down and decided what I wanted from my game, where I wanted my training to go and Danny has been 100 per cent supportive in everything I have decided to do. He has been brilliant.”

“I generally feel happier in myself because I feel I am doing what I want to do. I feel I have got more clarity in where I want my game to go and where I want to improve.”

Heading for Hull, Massaro, who was runner-up to world number one Nicol David last year, believes the pressure is off, just like the good old days.

“A like it a lot more when I am a bit of an underdog who can go in a little bit under the radar. But I guess when I won that World Open title I just wasn’t under the radar any more.

“But in a lot of ways the pressure is off for the British Open. I’m not two seed for the tournament, I’ve had a few losses so I can generally go in and feel a bit more relaxed about things and see how they go.”

But whatever happens in Hull, Massaro is just happy to have picked up her rackets once again.