Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (née Fromholtz; born 10 August 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 who reached a highest singles ranking of world No. 4 in 1979.
Career
Fromholtz began playing tennis at the age of seven. She left school at the age of 16 to play in international tournaments. She turned pro in 1973 and joined the
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
.
At the age of 17, she actively participated in the professional tennis circuit, winning the singles title at a dozen tournaments in 1973, but the rules at the time did not permit prize money to be paid to participants under 18 years of age.
She reached the finals of the Australian Open in January 1977, losing to fellow Australian
Kerry Melville Reid
Kerry Melville Reid (née Melville; born 7 August 1947) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. During her 17-year career, Reid won one Grand Slam singles title and 26 other singles titles and was the runner-up in 40 singles tou ...
in two sets. She was a semifinalist at the French Open in 1979 and 1980. She also reached the semifinals of the
US Open in 1976.
Fromholtz won 8 WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 in 1979. Partnering with
Helen Gourlay Cawley
Helen Gourlay Cawley (''née'' Gourlay; born 23 December 1946) is a retired tennis player from Australia.
Personal
Helen Gourlay was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She married Richard Leon Cawley in January 1977, and married William ...
, she won the Australian Open women's doubles in January 1977. She had career wins over
Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...
,
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
,
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 ...
,
Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s.
At the age of 19, she won the French Open singl ...
,
Margaret Court
Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...
,
Virginia Wade
Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all f ...
,
Pam Shriver
Pamela Howard Shriver (born July 4, 1962) is an American former professional tennis player and current tennis broadcaster and pundit. During the 1980s and 1990s, Shriver won 133 titles, including 21 singles titles, 111 women's doubles titles, an ...
, and
Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 ...
. She holds an 8–7 career record over King.
Fromholtz met French businessman Claude Balestrat at a New Year's Eve party in 1981, and the couple wed in
Dural
Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills District. ...
on 26 December 1982.
On 30 August 2000, Fromholtz was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...
for her commitment to tennis.
Grand Slam finals
Singles: (1 runners-up)
Doubles: (1 title)
Mixed doubles: (1 runner-up)
WTA career finals
Singles: 24 (8–16)
Doubles: 12 (5-1–6)
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
See also
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Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fromholtz, Dianne
1956 births
Living people
Australian female tennis players
Australian Open (tennis) champions
Sportspeople from Albury
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Tennis players from Sydney
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles