Christine O'Neil (born 19 March 1956) is an Australian former professional

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. O'Neil is best known for her singles victory at the

1978 Australian Open The 1978 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, Australia and was held from 25 December 1978 to 3 January 1979. It was the 67th edition of the Australian Open and the ...

, and was the last Australian to win the title until

Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley (given name), Ashley, which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Notable people B *Ashleigh Ball (born 1983), Canadian ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. She also became the first unseeded woman to win the title in the

Open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

. O'Neil is also one of the few players who have won both the Australian Open junior (1973) and senior (1978) titles. In 2007, along with her brothers Keith and William, O'Neil took over the Morisset Sports & Tennis Centre located in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

. The centre was subsequently renamed the O'Neil School of Tennis. She then moved on to operate O'Neil's School of Tennis in Cessnock, New South Wales. She has since moved to

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

and currently coaches.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Singles

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneil, Chris Australian female tennis players Australian Open (tennis) champions Australian Open (tennis) junior champions Tennis people from New South Wales 1956 births Living people Sportswomen from New South Wales Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles 20th-century Australian women