For some visiting players at this week’s World Wallball Championships, the environment may require an adjustment. Tyrone’s Eilise McCrory suspects it might suit her perfectly.

The 28-year-old Breacach woman, a talented singer and guitarist in her spare time, is Team Ireland’s official women’s open singles representative at the event in New York, which is the home of one-wall handball, or wallball as it is now known.

The heckling, the side-bets, noise and the running commentary from a few feet behind the court are all part of the deal in the Big Apple, where wallball is a street game, with hustlers and, at times, a waft not too dissimilar to that which was bugging Aryna Sabalenka at Flushing Meadows last week.

“There’s a lot of spectators and a lot of noise around it,” said McCrory. “There’ll be trash talk and all sorts going on in the crowd. Look, it’ll probably affect some people but I don’t think it will affect me. If anything, it might get me going a wee bit more.

“I think handball here has got very quiet at home and that wasn’t always the case, so probably growing up with that type of atmosphere, I kind of know what to expect. I’m looking forward to it.”

McCrory has earned the right to be confident. She won the Irish trials to become Ireland’s official representative in the women’s open singles, the culmination of a journey which really began with a bitter disappointment at the 2024 Worlds at the University of Limerick when she lost the semi-final.

“I was devastated with that and I just knew that New York was always going to be on the table, regardless if I made the team or not,” she said.

“As training progressed, I realised that it was doable. Obviously, with the help of certain people helping me out with games and stuff, we kind of built the confidence to make sure that it was definitely there.”

McCrory is seeded fourth in New York. Defending world champion Martina McMahon is number one, with New Yorker Jenny Qu – an outstanding operator who has won tournaments competing against high-level male players – seeded second. Melanie Garate is number three, with McCrory next.

It makes for a formidable field, with the eventual champion to be crowned in Central Park.

Handball is more than a sporting pursuit for McCrory, it is also her profession. She works full-time as a handball development officer with Ulster GAA, travelling to schools and clubs to coach youngsters and grow the game.

And she arrives in New York as part of a particularly strong generation of Ulster players. Juveniles Nina McBride (Antrim) and Kevin McGrath (Armagh) and Tyrone footballers Lucy McCullagh and Laura Duff are part of Team Ireland, along with men’s open singles representative Fíachra Ó Dúill from Armagh.

This is McCrory’s second appearance for Ireland but her first as a senior representative. She previously wore the Irish jersey at the 2015 Worlds in Canada at 17-and-under level.

“There’s a big pride in wearing the Irish crest and I think being from the North as well probably comes with a wee bit more of a point. It really is everything.

“I think we’ve maybe dumbed down what this experience is to people, but we are competing on the world’s biggest stage in probably Ireland’s original sport. It’s history in itself to get here.

“So there’s a lot going on … I’m trying to not be emotional about it and just get the job done.”

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A left-sided handballer, McCrory also plays guitar and sings. Last January, she revealed that losing a bet had resulted in her playing a couple of gigs in a Belfast bar as a forfeit.

“My partner, God love her, made me message local bars and made me get a gig or two. She kind of twisted my arm but also it was free will as well. It’s something I love to do,” she said at the time.

It stands to reason, then, that if she can negotiate her way to Central Park – her campaign begins on Tuesday and she is expected to advance to at least the last eight – McCrory might even break out a song, not that she has a track in mind just yet.

“I won’t rule it out, we’ll see what comes out on the day,” she said with a smile.