Deborah Jevans

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 20 May 1960) is a British former

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player and current sports executive.

Career

Jevans is a former junior Wimbledon champion and played in ten Grand Slam singles draws between 1979 and 1983, with her best result being the fourth round of Wimbledon, losing to fifth-seeded

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all fo ...

. In 1978 she reached the quarter finals of the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon with her future husband and Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett. In 1987, at the age of 27, Jevans took up a role of director of the Women's Game at the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. there are 211 nat ...

and in 1991 became general secretary. In 2003 she was appointed as director of sports for

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. After the London Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

, she took over the post of chief executive for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

. In 2014 she topped the list of the 50 most influential women in British sport created by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Jevans stepped down from her Rugby World Cup role in March 2015 citing personal reasons. She had reportedly fallen out with members of the RFU and received a £150,000 payoff when she left. She is a member of the board of the

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championsh ...

(AELTC). Jevans is also a non-executive director of the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

having been appointed this role in 2014. When Ian Lenagan resigned as chairman of the organisation, Jevans was appointed interim chair in September 2018 until a new chairperson was elected in 2019. Jevans was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

"for services to Sport and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games", in her role as Director of Sport at

LOCOG The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) was the organisation responsible for overseeing the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was jointly established by the UK Gov ...

.The United Kingdom: In July 2023, Jevans became the first chairwoman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Board who succeeded Ian Hewitt after the conclusion of the

2023 Wimbledon Championships The 2023 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), major tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Tournament The tournament was played on grass courts, wi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jevans, Debbie 1960 births Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English female tennis players British female tennis players Tennis players from London English Football League office holders 20th-century English sportswomen