Born and raised in Guernsey in the Channel Islands, she was coached in her early years in the game by Reg Harbour.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to squash in the 1995 New Year Honours.

They began working together in Guernsey and Lisa later spent time training with him in Germany where he was based as a professional coach.

This was to be the first in a series of near-misses for Lisa, as she reached two World Open finals but lost both times to the New Zealand squash legend Susan Devoy – in 1985 (9–4, 9–5, 10–8) and 1987 (9–3, 10–8, 9–2).

That same year she finished second in the British Sports Journalists Award, with the athlete Liz McColgan coming first.