The 1968 Australian Championships was a tennis tournament that took place in the outdoor Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne, 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 Open. Th ...

), the 16th held in Melbourne, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was also the last Grand Slam tournament to be restricted to amateurs. 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 o ...

and American

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

Seniors

Men's singles

defeated

Juan Gisbert Sr. Juan Gisbert Sr. (born 5 April 1942) is a retired amateur and professional tennis player from the 1960s and 1970s. He won one ATP singles title (plus at least three others before the Open era) and reached the finals at the Australian Champion ...

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

Women's singles

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

Men's doubles

Dick Crealy / Allan Stone 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 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 rack ...

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 in ...

/ Kerry Melville defeated Judy Tegart / 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

Dick Crealy /

defeated Allan Stone / Margaret Court by walkover
It was Crealy's 2nd Grand Slam title. It was King's 14th Grand Slam title.

Juniors

Boys' singles

Phil Dent

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 Juni ...

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. * Januar ...

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