Perry returns to world's top 10

Madeline Perry has regained her place in the world's top 10

Madeline Perry has returned to the world's top 10 after helping Ireland finish an impressive fifth at the World Team Championships in Cairo.

The Banbridge woman defeated Kasey Brown in straight games as the Irish defeated Australia 2-1 in their final play-off match in Egypt.

Aisling Blake beat Donna Urquhart in four games to clinch the 2-1 success.

Perry is now back to her best after her career was threatened when she suffered head injuries in a mugging last year.

The 31-year-old was assaulted after leaving a restaurant in Milan 14 months ago and left with a severe brain injury plus a broken temporal bone in her skull.

However, after struggling for the first half of this year, Perry has returned to top form in recent months and her rise back up the rankings was accelerated by reaching the semi-finals of the World Championship in October.

The December rankings see Perry moving up from 11th to ninth and she should go into the defence of her Irish National Championships in Dublin later this month in good heart.