The amateur years
Australia · born Trangie, New South Wales, 1942 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1964 · twice Wimbledon mixed champion
All playersBack to the rankings
3
Wimbledon titles, doubles 1964, mixed 1961 and 1964
13
Major titles, 1961 to 1967
27
Major finals: 13 won, 14 lost
1964
Wimbledon singles semi-final
Born in Trangie, New South Wales, on 16 August 1942 and raised in Sydney, Turner first toured abroad at 18 with Nell Hopman's Australian women's team in 1961. A fit, precise baseliner, she reached No. 2 in the world in 1964 and won the French singles in 1963 and 1965, the second time beating Margaret Smith in the final, and the Italian title in 1967 and 1968. With 13 major titles, seven in women's doubles and four in mixed, she completed a career Grand Slam in women's doubles. She helped Australia win the Federation Cup in 1964 and 1965, married Bill Bowrey in February 1968 and stepped back to raise a family, then returned to play from 1975 to 1978. She later captained Australia's Fed Cup team from 1994 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1997.
| Major singles finals lost | 2: Australian 1964, Australian 1967 |
|---|---|
| Other grass singles titles | 3: NSW Championships (1966); Queensland Championships (1966); Victorian Championships (1960) |
| Major doubles titles | 5 doubles (Wimbledon 1, Australian 3, US 1), 4 mixed (Wimbledon 2, Australian 2) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 2: Irish Championships (1971); WA Championships (Perth) (1975) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1964 with Margaret Smith, beat Billie Jean Moffitt and Karen Hantze Susman 7-5, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1961 with Fred Stolle, beat Bob Howe and Edda Buding 11-9, 6-2; 1964 with Stolle, beat Ken Fletcher and Margaret Smith 6-4, 6-4 |
| Australian doubles and mixed | Doubles 1964 and 1967 with Judy Tegart, 1965 with Smith. Mixed 1962 with Stolle, 1967 with Owen Davidson |
| US Championships | Doubles 1961 with Darlene Hard, beat Edda Buding and Yola RamÃrez 6-4, 5-7, 6-0; singles semi-final 1967 |
| Wimbledon singles | Semi-final 1964. Last match 1978, on a wild card, against the holder Virginia Wade on Centre Court |
| Finals to remember | Australian singles: lost to Margaret Smith 3-6, 2-6 in 1964 and to Nancy Richey 1-6, 4-6 in 1967 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| 1964 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
| 1964 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1962 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| 1964 | Women's doubles | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1965 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
| 1967 | Women's doubles | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1967 | Mixed doubles | with Owen Davidson |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1960 | Women's singles†| |
| US Championships | ||
| 1961 | Women's doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles†Irish Open | with Betty Stöve |
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 suppose I was always in Margaret's shadow and I accepted that."
The person behind the player.
Sydney · childhood
Her parents had a tennis court at home, and the only player outside the family who used it was Fred Stolle. They went on to win three major mixed titles together, two at Wimbledon. At Wimbledon he gave her one instruction: "Don't take one overhead! I am playing every ball in the air."
Source: USTAWimbledon 1961
At 18 she was seeded fourth at Wimbledon, travelling with Margaret Smith, Robyn Ebbern, Jan Lehane and Mary Reitano in the first Australian women's touring team since 1955. Nell Hopman managed the budget, held daily weigh-ins and called them her chicks. "Without Mrs. Hop," Turner said, "we'd all be lost. She does our worrying while we play tennis."
Source: Sports IllustratedParis 1962 and 1963
In the 1962 French final she led Margaret Smith 5-3 in the third set and had match point, then lost. "It took me a good week to get over that one," she said. A year later, 5-2 down in the third set against Ann Jones, she told herself the match was over, then won it. "That taught me a lesson about not allowing myself to get uptight."
Source: USTAMelbourne 1965
Australia lost the first Federation Cup final to the United States in London in 1963, then won it in Philadelphia in 1964 and in Melbourne in 1965, where she remembered about 10,000 people watching. Thirty years later she captained the team. "To be a captain is not an easy job by any means," she said.
Source: USTADoubles with Tegart
She won seven major women's doubles titles with three partners: four with Margaret Smith, two with Judy Tegart and one with Darlene Hard, a pairing Nell Hopman arranged. With Tegart, she said, she did most of the setting up, and she admitted to one wish: "I just wanted to look the star once."
Source: USTAWimbledon 1978 · Centre Court
After marrying Bill Bowrey, who won the Australian title in 1968, she stepped away to raise a family, then returned in the mid-1970s. Her last match came at Wimbledon in 1978 on a wild card, against the defending champion Virginia Wade on Centre Court. "It was a very nice way to end it," she said.
Source: USTAFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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