The amateur years
Australia · born Brisbane, 1944 · Australian girls' champion 1961, 1962, 1963 · three major doubles titles with Margaret Smith
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3
Australian girls' singles titles, 1961 to 1963
16
Her age at her first Australian semi-final
3
Major women's doubles titles with Margaret Smith
No. 9
World ranking for 1964, by Lance Tingay
Born in Brisbane in 1944, Ebbern won the Australian girls' singles three years running, from 1961 to 1963, and reached the semi-finals of the women's singles at the Australian Championships in 1961, 1963 and 1964. With Margaret Smith she won the Australian doubles in 1962 and 1963 and the US doubles in 1963, and the pair were runners-up at the French and Wimbledon Championships that year. In July 1963 she won the Swiss Championships at Gstaad, beating Lesley Turner in the final. In 1964 she reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Championships, and Lance Tingay ranked her No. 9 in the world. She shared the 1965 Australian mixed title with Owen Davidson and was runner-up in the mixed in 1966 with Bill Bowrey.
| Major singles titles | 3: Australian (1961, 1962, 1963) |
|---|---|
| Major doubles titles | 1: Australian (1961) |
| Junior doubles partner | Australian girls' doubles 1961 with Madonna Schacht |
| Major doubles titles | Australian 1962 and 1963, US 1963, all with Margaret Smith. Australian mixed 1965 with Owen Davidson, shared with Smith and John Newcombe when rain stopped the final |
| Wimbledon | Doubles final 1963 with Smith as top seeds, lost to Maria Bueno and Darlene Hard 6-8, 7-9. Singles quarter-final 1964 as eighth seed, lost to Bueno 4-6, 1-6 |
| Australian singles | Semi-finals 1961, 1963 and 1964 |
| Other major finals | Australian doubles 1964 with Smith and 1965 with Billie Jean Moffitt; Australian mixed 1966 with Bill Bowrey |
| Australian Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| US Championships | ||
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
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
The person behind the player.
Kooyong 1961
At the 1961 Australian Championships the 16-year-old beat the sixth seed Maureen Pratt 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and then Val Wicks 6-4, 6-2 to reach the women's semi-finals. There she met the top seed, Margaret Smith, who won 6-2, 6-0 and went on to take the title. The same week Ebbern won the first of her three girls' singles titles.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon and the US Championships, 1963
Ebbern and Smith came to Wimbledon in 1963 as the top-seeded pair and lost the final to Maria Bueno and Darlene Hard 8-6, 9-7. At the US Championships later that summer they met the same pair in the final and this time won, 4-6, 10-8, 6-3.
Source: WikipediaGstaad 1963
In July 1963 she won the singles at the Swiss Championships in Gstaad, beating her compatriot Lesley Turner in straight sets in the final. She then partnered Turner to the doubles title, beating Renée Schuurman and Norma Baylon. The win came in the weeks between her Wimbledon doubles final with Margaret Smith and their US title.
Source: WikipediaKooyong 1965
Ebbern and Owen Davidson reached the mixed doubles final of the 1965 Australian Championships against Margaret Smith and John Newcombe. Bad weather meant the final was never played, and the title was shared between the two pairs. It was her only major mixed title; a year later she and Bill Bowrey lost the final to Judy Tegart and Tony Roche.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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