Marlene Gerson (born June 1940) is a female former

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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

who was active in the late 1950s and the first half of the 1960s. Her best singles result at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

was reaching the third round in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. Partnering Australian

Eva Duldig Eva Ruth de Jong-Duldig (nee Duldig; born 11 February 1938) is an Austrian-born Australian and Dutch former tennis player, and current author. From the ages of two to four, she was detained by Australia in an isolated internment camp, as an enemy ...

, she reached the quarterfinal of the doubles event in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. At the

1961 Maccabiah Games The 6th Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961, with 1,100 athletes from 27 countries competing in 18 sports. The Games were officially opened in an Opening Ceremony on August 29, 1961, in Ramat Gan Stadium by Israeli President Yit ...

in Israel, she won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Career

In 1962 Gerson won the

All England Plate The All England Plate, also referred to as the Wimbledon Plate, was a tennis competition held at the Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is ...

, a competition held at the

consisting of players who were defeated in the first or second rounds of the singles competition. Gerson had lost in the first round of the singles event against Kaye Dening in straight sets after having qualified for the

1962 Wimbledon Championships The 1962 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 25 June until Saturday 7 July 1962. It was the 76th ...

at a

grass court A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. Although grass c ...

tournament in

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

. At the All England Plate event she won all five rounds in straight sets, including the final against Margaret Hellyer. Her best singles result at Wimbledon was reaching the third round in

which she lost in straight sets to

Rosie Reyes Rosa María "Rosie" Reyes Darmon (''née'' Reyes; born 23 March 1939) is a retired tennis player from Mexico who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of her success came on clay on which she won the women's doubles title at the 1958 French Ch ...

. Partnering Australian

she reached the quarterfinal of the doubles event in

, in which they were beaten by the fourth-seeded team of Sally Moore and Lesley Turner. Gerson is Jewish, and at the

in Israel, she won a gold medal in women's doubles, and playing with South African

Rod Mandelstam Alan Rodney 'Rod' Mandelstam (born 8 April 1942) is a former South African tennis player. Mandelstam won the 1960 Wimbledon Boys' Singles title. At the 1961 Maccabiah Games in Israel he won a gold medal in mixed doubles, and a silver medal in m ...

she won the mixed doubles gold medal. In singles, she won a silver medal. At the Dutch Open in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

she reached the semifinal of the singles event in 1962 which she lost to compatriot Sandra Price in two sets. Together with Price she won the doubles final against

Judy Tegart Judy Tegart Dalton (née Tegart; born 12 December 1937) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She won nine Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major doubles titles, and completed the Grand Slam (tennis)#Career Grand Slam, career Gra ...

and Eva de Jongh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerson, Marlene 1940 births Jewish South African sportspeople Jewish tennis players South African female tennis players Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Maccabiah Games gold medalists for South Africa Maccabiah Games silver medalists for South Africa Maccabiah Games medalists in tennis Competitors at the 1961 Maccabiah Games South African Jews