The 1968 Australian Championships was a

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 cov ...

tournament that took place in the outdoor

Kooyong Stadium Kooyong Stadium, at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, is an Australian tennis venue, located in the Melbourne suburb of Kooyong. The stadium, was built in 1927, and has undergone several renovations. It has a seating capacity of slightly more t ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Australia from 19 to 29 January. It was the 56th edition of the Australian Championships (now known as

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...

), the 16th held in Melbourne, and the first

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

tournament of the year. It was also the last Grand Slam tournament to be restricted to

amateurs An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

. The singles titles were won by Australian

William Bowrey William Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian tennis player. Bowrey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Championships in 1968 before the tournament ope ...

and American

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's double ...

Seniors

Men's singles

defeated Juan Gisbert Sr. 7–5, 2–6, 9–7, 6–4
It was Bowrey's only Grand Slam title.

Women's singles

defeated

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

6–1, 6–2
It was King's 13th Grand Slam title.

Men's doubles

Dick Crealy Richard Crealy (born 18 September 1944) is an Australian former tennis player most notable for reaching the final of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team, and winning three Grand Slam titles in do ...

Allan Stone Allan Stone (born 14 October 1945) is a former tennis player from Australia. He played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked as high as world No. 36 in singles and world No. 12 in doubles on the ATP rankings. S ...

defeated

Terry Addison Terry Addison (born 11 January 1946) is an Australian former international tennis player. He competed in the Australian Open three times, from 1967 to 1969.

Ray Keldie Ray Keldie (born 17 January 1946) is a former tennis player from Australia. He competed in the Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the fir ...

10–8, 6–4, 6–3
It was Crealy's 1st Grand Slam title. It was Stone's 1st Grand Slam title.

Women's doubles

Karen Krantzcke Karen Krantzcke (1 February 1946 – 11 April 1977) was an Australian tennis player. She achieved a world top ten singles ranking in 1970. In her short career, she made the quarterfinals or better at each of the four Grand Slam championships i ...

Kerry Melville Kerry Melville Reid (née Melville; born 7 August 1947) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. During her 17-year career, Reid won one Grand Slam singles title and 26 other singles titles and was the runner-up in 40 singles to ...

defeated

Judy Tegart Judy Tegart Dalton (née Tegart; born 12 December 1937) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She won nine major doubles titles, and completed the career Grand Slam in women's doubles. Five of her doubles titles were with Margar ...

/ Lesley Turner 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
It was Krantzcke's only Grand Slam title. It was Melville's 1st Grand Slam title.

Mixed doubles

defeated

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It was Crealy's 2nd Grand Slam title. It was King's 14th Grand Slam title.

Juniors

Boys' singles

Phil Dent Philip Clive Dent (born 14 February 1950) is a former professional tennis player. Dent's high water mark as a pro singles player was reaching the Australian Open final in 1974, which he lost to Jimmy Connors in four sets. Dent was also the men ...

Girls' singles

Lesley Hunt Lesley Hunt (born 29 May 1950) is a former tennis player from Perth, Western Australia. Particularly noted as a junior player, in 1964 at the age of 14 she won a rare double in the Western Australian Women's open, taking both the Open and Jun ...

References

External links

Australian Open official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Championships,1968

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

January 1968 sports events in Australia 1968,Australian Championships Sports competitions in Melbourne Tennis in Victoria (Australia)