Shirli-Ann Valentine (born 20 June 1974), formerly Shirli-Ann Siddall, is a British 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.

Biography

Siddall, who was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, had a promising junior career. In 1990 she won seven out of eight national titles in the under-16 and under-18 divisions. Based in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, Siddall played professionally in the 1990s. In 1995 she featured in

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...

ties for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

against both

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in Murcia, Spain. She competed regularly in the main draw of 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 ...

and once at the US Open in 1997, partnering

Barbara Schett Barbara Schett Eagle (; born 10 March 1976) is an Austrian former professional tennis player, who reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 7 in September 1999. Between 1993 and 2004 she played in 48 matches for the Austria Fed Cup team, ...

in the women's doubles. She made the second round of Wimbledon in both 1992 and 1994. Her most famous match came against

Jennifer Capriati Jennifer Maria Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. A member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she won three singles Grand Slam titles and was the gold medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics. C ...

in the first round of the

1993 Wimbledon Championships The 1993 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 107th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from ...

. Playing as a wildcard, Siddall took the first set off the seventh seeded Capriati, but was unable to secure the upset, as the young American came back to win in three. She was most successful in the mixed doubles draw at Wimbledon, with two appearances in the round of 16, both times with

Danny Sapsford Danny Sapsford (born 3 April 1969) is a former professional tennis player from Great Britain, who turned professional in 1989. He won one doubles title (1996, Nottingham) during his career. The right-hander reached his highest singles ATP-ranki ...

. The only other occasion she partnered Sapsford at Wimbledon was in 1995 when she had to be carried off the court in a stretcher after fainting from heat exhaustion during their first round match, played in record temperatures. Siddall retired from professional tennis in 1998. She had been suffering from a persistent back injury. In 2002, she married Nick Valentine at All Saints Church in Bournemouth. Their wedding took place on the same day as the Wimbledon ladies final. She lives with her family in the town of

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

in Dorset.

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 11 (7-4)

Doubles: 23 (14-9)

References

External links