Daphne Seeney (2 February 1933 – 18 September 2020), married name Daphne Fancutt, was an Australian 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 whose career spanned the 1950s. Seeney was a doubles finalist in the 1956 Wimbledon Championships with partner

Fay Muller Fay Muller (born 4 November 1933) is a former international tennis player from Australia. She competed in the Australian Championships nine times, from 1952 to 1963. At the 1956 Wimbledon Championships she partnered with Daphne Seeney to reach ...

; they were defeated in the final by Angela Buxton and

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African America ...

in straight sets. In 1957, she married South African tennis player

Trevor Fancutt Trevor Fancutt (14 July 1934 – 23 December 2022) was a South African tennis player. In 1960 Fancutt, partnering Jan Lehane, won the mixed doubles title of the Australian Championships, defeating Christine Truman and Martin Mulligan in straig ...

in Johannesburg. Four years later, they moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and opened the Fancutts Tennis Centre, which they operated until 2015 when it was sold to make way for a retirement village. In January 1995, Seeney received the

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

(AM) award "in recognition of service to the sport of tennis as a player, coach and administrator". In September 2000, she received the Australian Sports Medal. Seeney died from natural causes on 18 September 2020, at the age of 87.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeney, Daphne 1933 births 2020 deaths Australian female tennis players Tennis people from Queensland Members of the Order of Australia