The amateur years
Great Britain · born Kings Heath, Birmingham, 1938 · left-handed · Wimbledon champion 1969
All playersBack to the rankings
1969
Wimbledon singles and mixed champion
8
Wimbledon singles semi-finals, 1958 to 1969
13
Seasons in the world top ten
3
World table tennis finals, Stockholm 1957
2
World ranking peak, 1967 and 1969
Born Adrianne Haydon in Kings Heath, Birmingham, in 1938, she grew up in a table tennis family and reached three world championship finals in that sport in 1957 before settling on lawn tennis. She won the Wimbledon girls' singles in 1956, the French Championships in 1961 and 1966 and the Italian title in 1966, and was ranked in the world top ten in 13 seasons, twice as No. 2. She played the Wightman Cup from 1957 and won the deciding match in 1958, Britain's first win since 1930. In 1968 she joined Billie Jean King and others in the first professional women's touring group. After 1970 she worked for the BBC for more than three decades and chaired the Women's International Tennis Council. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.
| Major singles titles | 1: Wimbledon (1969) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 3: Wimbledon 1967, US 1961, US 1967 |
| Other grass singles titles | 12: Welsh Championships 3 (1956, 1961, 1962); Eastbourne 2 (1957, 1970); New Zealand Championships 2 (1969, 1970); Queen's 2 (1968, 1969); Chichester (1970); Irish Championships (1961); Kent (1967) |
| Major doubles titles | 2 mixed (Wimbledon 1, Australian 1) |
| Finals to remember | 1969 semi-final: beat the top seed Margaret Court 10-12, 6-3, 6-2. 1969 final: beat Billie Jean King 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, from a set down |
| Wimbledon mixed | Champion 1969 with Fred Stolle, beat Judy Tegart and Tony Roche 6-2, 6-3 |
| Wimbledon singles semi-finals | 1958, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1966 and 1968, before the finals of 1967 and 1969 |
| Wimbledon girls' singles | Champion 1956 |
| Queen's Club | 1968 title shared with Nancy Richey after rain stopped the final; 1969 beat Winnie Shaw 6-0, 6-1 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| 1969 | Women's singles | |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1956 | Women's singles†| |
| 1961 | Women's singles†| |
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1957 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1970 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| New Zealand Championships | ||
| 1969 | Women's singles†New Zealand Open | |
| 1970 | Women's singles†New Zealand Open | |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1967 | Women's singles†| |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1969 | Women's singles†| |
| Chichester | ||
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I knew winning Wimbledon at 30 years old was the pinnacle of my career."
The person behind the player.
Kings Heath · 1940s
Her parents, both England table tennis players, ran a club in a local scout hut and brought her along. To let the small girl reach the table, they piled up flattened table tennis tables for her to stand on. Her father, Adrian Haydon, captained the English team for years.
Source: King's Heath Local History SocietyStockholm 1957
"My parents brought me up to be a table tennis champion," she said. At the 1957 world championships she reached the finals of the singles, the doubles and the mixed, and lost all three. She then took up lawn tennis at Kings Heath Tennis Club and won junior titles at Edgbaston Priory before giving the smaller ball up.
Source: ITTFQueen's 1968
Rain stopped the women's final at Queen's in 1968 and she shared the title with Nancy Richey. A year later she won it outright, beating Winnie Shaw 6-0, 6-1. When Emma Raducanu lost the 2026 final, Jones was still the last British woman to have won the Queen's singles.
Source: TennisheadAbbey Road · 4 July 1969
Her 71-minute final against Billie Jean King went out on the radio while the Beatles were recording "Golden Slumbers" and "Carry That Weight". The engineers had been following the match before the band arrived, and the session stopped to hear her win.
Source: The Beatles BibleWimbledon 1969
She took £1,500 for the title, half of Rod Laver's prize. Of her old rival she said: "She's always blaming me for her knees though because she had to play so many low volleys!" Of the amateur years: "None of us had any money so we travelled together and helped each other out."
Source: Express & StarWimbledon 2007
When she handed over the mixed doubles cup in 2007, she became the first person outside the royal family to present trophies at Wimbledon. She went on doing it for years afterwards, and the centre court at Edgbaston Priory, her home club, carries her name.
Source: Express & StarFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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