Lesley Rosemary Turner Bowrey, AM (née Turner; born 16 August 1942) is a retired professional

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 from Australia. Her career spanned two decades from the late 1950s until the late 1970s. Turner Bowrey won the singles title at the

French Championships The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events eve ...

, one of the four

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

events, in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. In addition she won 11 Grand Slam events in doubles and mixed doubles. Turner Bowrey achieved her highest singles ranking of No. 2 in 1964.

Career

Bowrey won 13

titles during her career: two in singles, seven in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She lost in the finals of 14 other Grand Slam events. Bowrey twice won the singles title at the

. In 1963, she defeated

Ann Haydon-Jones Ann Shirley Jones, (born Adrianne Haydon; 17 October 1938), also known as Ann Haydon-Jones, is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in wome ...

in the final, and in 1965, she defeated Margaret Smith in the final. Bowrey was the runner-up at four Grand Slam singles tournaments. She lost in the final of the French Championships to Court in 1962 and to

Françoise Dürr Françoise Dürr (born 25 December 1942; sometimes referred to by English writers as Frankie Durr) is a retired French tennis player. She won 50 singles titles and over 60 doubles titles. Durr played with an unorthodox backhand, which she pla ...

in 1967. She lost in the final of the

Australian Championships The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, held be ...

to Court in 1964 and 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 Austra ...

in 1967. She was runner-up at the Italian Championships in 1961, 1963 and 1964, and she won the title in 1967 against Maria Bueno and in 1968 against Margaret Court. Bowrey captained the Australian Fed Cup team from 1994 to 2000.

Honours and awards

Bowrey was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985. She was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions in 1994. She was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

and received the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award in 1997. The award is given to the female player who by character, sportsmanship, manners, and spirit of cooperation has contributed to the growth of the game of tennis. In 1998 she was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 Bowrey was appointed as

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

"for service to tennis as a player, coach and mentor to junior players, and to the community". She married fellow Australian tennis star

Bill Bowrey William Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 8 in 1967. Bowrey was born in Sydney, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Open, Australian Championship ...

on 23 February 1968. They are the parents of tennis player

Michelle Bowrey Michelle Bowrey (born 12 July 1970) is a retired professional female tennis player from Australia who competed on the WTA Tour. She competed in the Australian Open three times and attained a career-high ranking of #233 in January 1989. Bowre ...

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

Doubles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December. Bowrey participated only in the January edition.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner Bowrey, Lesley Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia People from the Orana (New South Wales) Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from New South Wales United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) 1942 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions Sportswomen from New South Wales 20th-century Australian sportswomen