Jean Drysdale (née Forbes; 23 September 1939 — 31 March 1984) was a South African

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. Drysdale grew up on a sheep farm in

Burgersdorp Burgersdorp is a medium-sized town in Walter Sisulu in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. In 1869 a Theological Seminary was established here by the ''Gereformeerde Kerk'', but in 1905 it was moved ...

and the family had a tennis court as part of the property, where she practised with elder brothers

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

and Jack Forbes, both tour players. As a 15-year old in 1955 she made a surprise run to the singles final of the

Queen's Club Championships The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for male tennis players, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) T ...

, a precursor tournament to

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 * ...

. She defeated two players who gained high seedings at Wimbledon,

Darlene Hard Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Champ ...

and

Dorothy Knode Alice Dorothy Head Knode (née Head; July 4, 1925 – October 25, 2015), also known as Dottie Head Knode, was an American tennis player who reached the women's singles final of the French International Championships in 1955, losing to Angela Mor ...

, but was unable to compete at the championships herself due to an age restriction. Drysdale's best performance at the Wimbledon Championships came in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

when she reached the fourth round of the singles and while partnering brother Gordon made the mixed doubles quarter-finals. In 1967 she married tennis player

Cliff Drysdale Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a well-known tennis announcer. Drysdale won the singles title at t ...

in London. She had another tennis playing relation at this time in

Valerie Koortzen Valerie Koortzen (born 15 February 1937) is a South African former professional tennis player. Koortzen, active on tour in the 1950s and 1960s, twice made it to the singles third round of the Wimbledon Championships. She was a women's doubles q ...

, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, who was her sister-in-law during her marriage to Gordon Forbes. Drysdale settled in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, working as a teaching pro at Lakeway World of Resorts. Around 1982 she separated from husband Cliff, with whom she had two children. She died at the age of 44 in 1984 of an undisclosed illness.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drysdale, Jean 1939 births 1984 deaths South African female tennis players Sportspeople from the Eastern Cape People from Burgersdorp