The Open Era
Australia · born Mosman, New South Wales, 1947 · right-handed · Australian champion 1977
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1977
Australian Open singles title, won at Kooyong
7-5, 6-2
Final score against Dianne Fromholtz
1978
Wimbledon doubles title, with Wendy Turnbull
12
Years running in the world top ten
$1
Her Original 9 contract, Houston 1970
Born in Mosman, New South Wales, on 7 August 1947, Kerry Melville began playing at ten, hitting with her father, and reached the third round of the Australian Championships at 15. In 1968 she won the Australian doubles with Karen Krantzcke and helped Australia win the Federation Cup. In September 1970 she was one of the Original 9 who signed $1 contracts with Gladys Heldman in Houston, the break that led to the women's professional tour and kept her out of her home championship until 1973. She reached a career-high world No. 5 in 1971 and was in the top ten for 12 straight years, 1968 to 1979. She married Raz Reid, a Boston Lobsters team-mate, in 1975; he coached her through her last three seasons before she retired in 1979 and settled in South Carolina.
| Major singles titles | 1: Australian (1977) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 2: Australian 1970, US 1972 |
| Other grass singles titles | 6: Kent (1971); Melbourne (1978); NSW Championships (1977); Queensland Championships (1967); Welsh Championships (1972); West of England Championships (1968) |
| Major doubles titles | 3 doubles (Wimbledon 1, Australian 2) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 1: NSW Championships (1978) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1978 with Wendy Turnbull, seeded fifth: beat Mima Jaušovec and Virginia Ruzici 4-6, 9-8 (12-10), 6-3 |
| Australian doubles | 1968 with Karen Krantzcke; in December 1977 the final was rained out and the title shared |
| Finals to remember | Australian Open, January 1977, at Kooyong: beat Dianne Fromholtz 7-5, 6-2 |
| Forest Hills 1972 | US Open semi-final on grass: beat Chris Evert in straight sets, then lost the final to Billie Jean King |
| Federation Cup on grass | 1977 semi-final at Eastbourne: beat Virginia Wade. 1978 final in Melbourne: beat Tracy Austin |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Women's doubles | with Wendy Turnbull |
| New Zealand Championships | ||
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| 1972 | Women's singles†New Zealand Open | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1968 | Women's doubles | with Karen Krantzcke |
| 1977 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1967 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1971 | Women's singles†| |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1971 | Women's singles†Virginia Slims of Newport | |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1972 | Women's singles†| |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1976 | Women's singles New South Wales Open | |
| Adelaide International (women) | ||
| 1978 | Women's singles†| |
| Toyota Classic (Melbourne) | ||
| 1978 | Women's doubles†| with Wendy Turnbull |
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
"We were playing on grass at Forest Hills, and I hit a lot of drop shots."
The person behind the player.
Houston 1970
Asked why she joined the Original 9, she gave the credit to Judy Dalton, the other Australian in the group: "Well if it's good enough for Judy, I'm doing it." In July 2021 the nine were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, where she had played a Virginia Slims event fifty years before.
Source: Tennis AustraliaAustralia, 1970 to 1973
Becoming contract professionals cost her and Judy Dalton the right to play in Australia, and after losing the 1970 final to Margaret Court she did not play her home major again for three years. "We really did stick our necks out," she said in 2020. She returned to Kooyong in January 1973 and reached the semi-finals.
Source: Tennis.comForest Hills 1972
Facing Chris Evert in the US Open semi-final, she decided: "I have got to get her off the baseline." The grass was damp, she hit a lot of drop shots, and she won in straight sets to reach the second major final of her career, which she lost to Billie Jean King.
Source: USTABoston, mid-1970s
She met Raz Reid while both played World TeamTennis for the Boston Lobsters, when he was ranked in the world's top 60. Following two separate tours did not work, so he gave up his own playing and became her coach. "I probably ruined him!" she joked, and called their years together the best of her playing life.
Source: USTAWimbledon
In a third set against Mary Carillo at Wimbledon she won eight points in a row, only to learn afterwards that Raz had lost his own match. Later, after retiring, the couple ran the tennis at Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island for ten years before becoming fly-fishing sales representatives.
Source: WTAKooyong 1977
Coached from 12 by Keith Rogers, she moved to Neil Guiney, who added topspin to her game and improved her volleys. The work paid off at Kooyong in January 1977, the event she liked best, where she won the singles with family and friends watching, beating Dianne Fromholtz in the final.
Source: WTAFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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