Laurie Rowley (born June 14, 1955) is an American 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. She competed under her maiden name Laurie Fleming until her marriage to Pike Rowley.

Biography

Early life

Born in 1955, Rowley grew up in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

as a close childhood friend of

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 ...

, with whom she often drew comparison due to their identical two-handed backhands and similar appearance. Rowley's sister, Carrie Fleming, also competed on the professional tennis tour and was a four-time All-American college player for the

Trinity Tigers The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The school mascot is LeeRoy, a Bengal tiger ...

Rowley, an

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

champion in the girls' 14s and 16s, was also a national hardcourt champion in both those divisions, in 1969 and 1971.

Professional tennis

From 1973 to 1975 she toured professionally and then spent some time away from the circuit while she started a family. Her best results include quarter-final appearances at the 1973 Family Circle Cup and 1974 Virginia Slims of San Francisco. While competing in grand slam tournaments, she registered wins over

Laura duPont Laura duPont (May 4, 1949 – February 20, 2002) was a female American tennis player. She was the first woman to win a national title in any sport for the University of North Carolina,

and Christina Sandberg, at the US Open and French Open respectively. In 1979 she made a brief comeback on tour.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Laurie 1955 births Living people American female tennis players Tennis players from Florida Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida 21st-century American women