KEIGHLEY snooker star Rebecca Kenna is turning professional, after being handed the golden ticket of two-year World Snooker Tour card from the start of the 2022/23 season.

She is ranked fourth on the women’s tour, winning her first English Women’s Championship title last month, and that has guaranteed her her dream.

Kenna told the Keighley News: “I had a good idea I’d get the tour card, provided I stayed high up in the women’s rankings.

“I did what I needed and now I get the opportunity to go full-time and dedicate myself 100 per cent to doing well on the professional tour.

“It’s going to improve my game massively.”

She added: “That two-year card means I can enter all events on the main men’s tour, and now I’ve got the opportunity, I’m not just looking to win just one match.

“When I do something, I go at it 100 per cent, so I want to be in the top 64 in the world by the end of two years.

“I want to be the best I can be, and now I’ve got on the tour for two years, I want to stay on it for longer.”

The World Snooker Championship at the Crucible is the biggest of all the events, with titans of the game like Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins still playing in it.

And Kenna has an opportunity this week to feature, even if she’s not quite a professional yet.

The Keighley potter explained: “Most events you have to qualify for with the tour card, but you can play in all of them.

“This week, I’m actually playing a Worlds qualifier as a wildcard, so that’s a good starter to test myself against the pros.

“The women’s tour is essentially all amateur, but the pro tour is now mixed.

“They often hand out wildcards to amateurs and women to get them to play, like I’ve got this week.

“But the official route to the pro tour is the winner of the Women’s Worlds and the next best-ranked player.

“Mink (Nutcharut Wongharuthai) won the last one as world number three, but because Reanne Evans and Ng On Yee (world one and two respectively) were already professionals, I was next best ranked and next in line to get a tour card as world number four.”

On her English Women’s Championship triumph, Kenna admitted: “To be fair, it was a smaller event, with less people and it obviously only featured English players.

“I’m more excited to get the chance now to go up against top pros to see how I improve.

“It’s going to be huge for me and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

As for the future of her popular Cue Sports Yorkshire shop now she is going pro, Kenna said: “I’ve spent a few years building it up and it’s doing well.

“It wouldn’t be good to finish with it, so I’ll get someone employed to help it going.

“That just frees me up to fully focus on professional snooker.”