The Open Era
United States · born Santa Monica, 1949 · Wimbledon and twice Australian doubles champion with Evonne Goolagong
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3
Major doubles titles with Evonne Goolagong, 1974 and 1975, all on grass
2
Wimbledon doubles finals, 1969 and 1974
1974
Wimbledon doubles won unseeded
2
Wimbledon singles runs to the last 16
Margaret "Peggy" Michel was born in Santa Monica, California, on 2 February 1949. She swam competitively from the age of four, switched to tennis at about ten after picking up balls for the pro at Rustic Canyon in Pacific Palisades, and went to Arizona State University, where she was twice US collegiate doubles champion and graduated in education in 1972.
On her first visit to Wimbledon, in 1969, she and Patti Hogan reached the doubles final and lost to Margaret Court and Judy Tegart. After turning professional she went to Australia, where the coach Vic Edwards paired her with his pupil Evonne Goolagong. They won the Australian Open at Kooyong in 1974, Wimbledon the same summer and the Australian title again in 1975, along with tournaments in Brisbane, Sydney and Toronto. In singles she twice reached the last 16 at Wimbledon.
After her playing career she joined Charlie Pasarell and Raymond Moore to raise sponsorship for a men's event in La Quinta, California, which grew into the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. She stayed with the event for more than three decades as vice-president of sales and sponsorship and later assistant tournament director, and helped organise the WTA's player reunions there.
| Wimbledon 1969 | Debut: beat Lesley Hunt 6-1, 6-4 on No. 4 Court in the first round of the singles; doubles final with Patti Hogan, unseeded, lost to Margaret Court and Judy Tegart 9-7, 6-2 |
|---|---|
| Australian Open 1974 | At Kooyong with Evonne Goolagong, beat Kerry Harris and Kerry Melville 7-5, 6-3 in the final |
| Wimbledon 1974 final | Unseeded with Goolagong, beat Helen Gourlay and Karen Krantzcke 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Centre Court |
| Australian Open 1975 | Retained the title with Goolagong, beating Margaret Court and Olga Morozova 7-6, 7-6 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Women's doubles | with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1974 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| 1975 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
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 still get goose bumps when I go back to Wimbledon and walk through the front gate."
The person behind the player.
Pacific Palisades
Frequent sinus infections ended her swimming. She went along with a neighbour to her lesson at Rustic Canyon and picked up balls for the pro, who then thanked her and sent her to hit against the backboard. "After many hours on that backboard, I decided that tennis was going to be my next sport."
Source: WTA, Legacy Spotlight, 2020Wimbledon, 1969
Before her first Wimbledon match, against Lesley Hunt, the American Valerie Ziegenfuss asked which court she was on and told her never to lose on a show court, because people remember. Michel, who had not won a match in the warm-up grass events, went out on No. 4 Court and won 6-1, 6-4.
Source: WTA, Legacy Spotlight, 20201970s
She never wore socks with her tennis shoes in matches. Players then carried several dresses, and if she lost in one she got rid of it, until her mother reminded her that dresses were expensive and told her to try not to lose too often.
Source: WTA, Legacy Spotlight, 2020Australia, 1974
She went to Australia in 1974 to work with Vic Edwards on her groundstrokes and tactics. Edwards paired her with Goolagong, his longtime student, and the pair won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open again.
Source: WTA, Legacy Spotlight, 2020Indian Wells
She has said tennis has been her life for more than 60 years. She worked for nearly 35 years on the event that began as a men's tournament in La Quinta and became the BNP Paribas Open, and in 2019 helped bring more than 200 former WTA players back for a reunion.
Source: WTA, Legacy Spotlight, 2020Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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