Beatrice Mary Seal (nee Watson; 13 January 1914 — 13 January 2011) was a Belgian-born British

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.

Early life

Seal was born in

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

but was sent to school in England. Her father, Belgian

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

player George Watson, was in the country working in the

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

industry. The whole family fled to England at the onset of the German invasion.

Tennis

A regular at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, Seal began competing on tour in the 1930s. Her best performances included a fourth round appearance in singles at the

1946 Wimbledon Championships The 1946 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 24 June until Saturday 6 July 1946. It was the 60th ...

. She was a two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist in women's doubles, with Mary Halford in 1948 and Doreen Spiers in 1956. Seal was non-playing captain of the British

Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate ...

team from 1959 to 1963. She was also a tournament referee, who in 1972 was involved in an incident with

Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), known sometimes as Richard Gonzales, was an American tennis player. He won 15 major singles titles, including two U.S. National Singles Championships in 1948 and 1949, and 13 P ...

while overseeing the 1972 Queen's Club Championships. Gonzales, playing in a semi-final, demanded that a linesman be replaced following a series of disputed line calls. When she refused, there was a stand off which ended with Gonzales being disqualified.

Personal life

Married three times, Seal's first marriage was to a Mr Carris. She wed

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

tennis correspondent Gerry Walter in 1948. Her final marriage was to Vernon Seal, who predeceased her in the 1990s. She died on her 97th birthday in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal, Bea 1914 births 2011 deaths British female tennis players Sportspeople from Kortrijk British expatriates in Belgium