Lesley Rosemary Turner Bowrey, AM (née Turner; born 16 August 1942) is a retired 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 from Australia. Her career spanned two decades from the late 1950s until the late 1970s. Turner Bowrey won the singles title at the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, one 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 ...

events, in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. In addition she won 11 Grand Slam events in doubles and mixed doubles. Turner Bowrey achieved her highest singles ranking of No. 2 in 1964.

Career

Bowrey won 13

titles during her career: two in singles, seven in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She lost in the final of 14 other Grand Slam events. Bowrey twice won the singles title at the

. In 1963, she defeated

Ann Haydon-Jones Ann Shirley Jones, (née Adrianne Haydon on 17 October 1938, also known as Ann Haydon-Jones) is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in wome ...

in the final, and in 1965, she defeated

Margaret Smith Margaret Smith or Maggie Smith may refer to: People *Margaret Smith Court, known as Margaret Court (born 1942), Australian tennis player *Margaret A. Smith, superintendent of Volusia County Schools *Margaret Bayard Smith (1778–1844), American aut ...

in the final. Bowrey was the runner-up at four Grand Slam singles tournaments. She lost in the final of the French Championships to Court in 1962 and to

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' ...

in 1967. She lost in the final of the

Australian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

to Court in 1964 and to

Nancy Richey Nancy Richey (born August 23, 1942) is an American former tennis player. Richey won two major singles titles (the 1967 Australian Championships and 1968 French Open) and four major women's doubles titles (the 1965 US Championships, 1966 Austral ...

in 1967. She was runner-up at the Italian Championships in 1961, 1963 and 1964 before winning the title in 1967, against Maria Bueno, and 1968, against

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 ...

. Bowrey captained the Australian Fed Cup team between 1994 and 2000.

Honours and awards

Bowrey was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1985. She was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions in 1994. She was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

and received the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award in 1997. The award is given to the female player who by character, sportsmanship, manners, and spirit of cooperation has contributed to the growth of the game of tennis. In 1998 she was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 Bowrey was appointed as

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 ...

"for service to tennis as a player, coach and mentor to junior players, and to the community". She married fellow Australian tennis star

Bill Bowrey William Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian tennis player. Bowrey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Championships in 1968 before the tournament o ...

on February 23, 1968. They are the parents of tennis player Michelle Bowrey.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

Doubles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December. Bowrey participated only in the January edition.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner Bowrey, Lesley Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of Australia People from the Orana (New South Wales) Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from New South Wales United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) 1942 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions