The Open Era
South Africa · born Johannesburg, 1956 · left-handed · Wimbledon girls' champion 1972 · US junior champion 1974
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1972
Wimbledon girls' champion, unseeded
1974
US junior champion, Forest Hills
1
World doubles ranking, 1976
2
Senior major titles, both in 1976
2001
Became World TeamTennis commissioner and CEO
Ilana Kloss was born in Johannesburg in 1956 and grew up at the Jeppe Lawn Tennis Club, where her parents were members. A left-hander, she won the Wimbledon girls' title in 1972 and the US junior title in 1974, and was described as the youngest No. 1 in South African history. In 1976 she won the US Open doubles with Linky Boshoff and the French mixed doubles with Kim Warwick, and reached No. 1 in the world in doubles. Her best singles ranking was 19, in 1979. She played Federation Cup for South Africa from 1973 to 1977 and joined World TeamTennis in 1974. She coached the Chicago Fyre to the 1983 WTT title, became the league's executive director in 1991 and was its commissioner and CEO from 2001. She married Billie Jean King in 2018.
| Major singles titles | 2: US (1974); Wimbledon (1972) |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon girls' final | 1972: beat Glynis Coles of Great Britain 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 |
| US junior title | 1974 at Forest Hills, the first year of the girls' event and the last year the US championships were played on grass |
| Wimbledon singles | Third round in 1975, 1976 and 1978 |
| Wimbledon doubles | Semi-final in 1976 |
"I wasn't seeded, and it was a big upset."
The person behind the player.
Johannesburg, 1960s
Her family spent every weekend at the Jeppe Lawn Tennis Club. "I loved tennis from the very beginning," she said, and she would hit balls against the wall until an adult agreed to play with her. She was a ball girl at the South African championships at Ellis Park, watching the best players in the world at close range.
Source: SA Jewish ReportSouth Africa 1966
Aged ten and a ball girl at the South African Championships, she was hitting on a side court with her father when Billie Jean King asked to join in. After about ten minutes King told the family she had talent and gave them her address and her coach's name. "I decided that day that I was going to be a professional tennis player," Kloss said.
Source: Sportskeeda, from the Rennae Stubbs Tennis PodcastWimbledon 1972
Her national federation did not want her to go to Wimbledon. "In those days, they only sent boys, not girls," she said. Her parents and her coach, Sheila Summers, found a way. Unseeded, she won the girls' title, beating Glynis Coles of Great Britain 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and called it a dream come true.
Source: SA Jewish ReportChicago 1983
Her World TeamTennis career began as a player with the San Francisco Golden Gaters in 1974, a year before they reached the WTT Finals. In 1983 she coached the Chicago Fyre to the league title and was named Coach of the Year. She went on to run the league, as executive director from 1991 and commissioner from 2001.
Source: WikipediaNew York 2018
In October 2018 she married Billie Jean King, more than half a century after their first hit together, in a ceremony led by David Dinkins, a former Mayor of New York. A month earlier the two had become minority owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series in 2020, 2024 and 2025.
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