Karen Krantzcke (1 February 1946 – 11 April 1977) was an Australian

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. She achieved a world top ten singles ranking in 1970. In her short career, she made the quarterfinals or better at each of the four

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

championships in both singles and doubles. She also won the Australian Open in doubles, and assisted Australia to victory in the

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

. At the age of 31, Krantzcke died from a heart attack while

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

.Time Magazine – Ready, Set, Sweat – 6 January 1977
/ref>

Early career

Krantzcke, a tall right-handed player, achieved much junior success including winning the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

junior singles title in 1966.ITF Database
/ref>

Professional career

Her most successful season came in 1969/70. After reaching the US Open quarterfinals, she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the French Open and then reached the quarterfinals 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 * ...

. At these tournaments, she upset highly ranked players like

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 ...

Françoise Dürr Françoise Dürr (born 25 December 1942; sometimes referred to by English writers as Frankie Durr) is a retired French tennis player. She won 50 singles titles and over 60 doubles titles. According to Lance Tingay, Bud Collins, and the Women' ...

, and

Judy Tegart Dalton Judy Tegart Dalton (née Tegart; born 12 December 1937) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She won nine major doubles titles, and completed the career Grand Slam in women's doubles. Five of her doubles titles were with Marga ...

.Sporting Heroes – Karen Krantzcke
/ref> During this time, she also combined with Dalton to win the

for Australia, remaining undefeated in singles and doubles on the German clay.Fed Cup profile – Karen Krantzcke
/ref> After Wimbledon in 1970, 'Kran' took eighteen months off the tour after discovering she was

hypoglycemic Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar, is a fall in blood sugar to levels below normal, typically below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Whipple's triad is used to properly identify hypoglycemic episodes. It is defined as blood glucose belo ...

. On returning to the tour, she was never able to get back to her best form. She continued to do well in her home Australian championship and reached the semi-finals for the second time in 1977. During her career she defeated

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 ...

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 ...

four times,

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 ...

twice,

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 ...

four times, and

. At the New South Wales Open in 1974 Krantzcke defeated Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final 6-2, 6-3 and at Strathfield in 1969 she defeated Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the final 6-3, 6-4.

Death

While playing on the Challenger circuit in the USA in 1977, Krantzcke suffered a heart attack while jogging. In response to her untimely death, the WTA instituted the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award which is still awarded annually to a female professional tennis player. A street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb of

Nicholls, Australian Capital Territory Nicholls is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin. It was named after Sir Douglas Nicholls (1906–1988) who was born at Cummeragunja Aboriginal mission, New South Wales. Nicholls was a footballer, pastor, activist, and a for ...

, Krantzcke Crescent, is named after the tennis star.ACT Legislation 2000
/ref>

Team results

Krantzcke played twice in

for Australia; in 1966 and 1970. She also represented Australia in the Bonne Bell Cup in 1974.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krantzcke, Karen 1946 births 1977 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian female tennis players Tennis players from Brisbane Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions Sportswomen from Queensland