Victoria Heinicke (born 1945) is an American former

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. She competed under her maiden name Palmer. Raised in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, Palmer is the middle child of five tennis playing siblings. Her elder brother Paul and younger brother Butch both competed on tour. Sisters Patsy and Abigail were top junior players. Palmer won the U.S girls' grass court championships back to back in 1961 and 1962. A baseline player, Palmer made the singles fourth round of the

1962 Wimbledon Championships The 1962 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 25 June until Saturday 7 July 1962. It was the 76th ...

, beating

Robyn Ebbern Robyn Ebbern (born 2 July 1944) is an Australian former tennis player who was active in the 1960s. Biography Born in Brisbane, Ebbern and Margaret Smith won the Australian Championships doubles in 1962 and 1963 and the U.S. Championships doub ...

along the way. She was a semi-finalist at the 1962 U.S. National Championships, with her performance including a win over the second seed Karen Susman. After beating Gwyneth Thomas in the quarter-finals, she was beaten by fifth seed

Darlene Hard Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Champ ...

. She ended the year as the seventh-ranked player in the U.S. Palmer was runner-up to

Nancy Richey Nancy Richey (born August 23, 1942) is an American former tennis player. Richey won two major singles titles (the 1967 Australian Championships and 1968 French Open) and four major women's doubles titles (the 1965 US Championships, 1966 Austral ...

at the

U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Open Clay Courts, known formally as the U.S. Clay Court Championships, was a national tennis championship for women that was sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association. The first edition was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1912, ...

in 1963. In 1964 she was married to

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

student Nye Heinicke. Palmer is considered by many, including journalist

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

, as the first player on tour who would regularly grunt on shots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Victoria 1945 births Living people American female tennis players Tennis players from Arizona Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona