Dianne Evers (born 9 November 1956) is a retired female

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. With her partner Judy Chaloner, she won the 1979 Australian Open Doubles title and had a career high singles ranking of No. 42.

Tennis career

Evers began playing tennis at Lauriston Lawn Tennis Club in 1965 at the age of nine, and then at

Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Kooyong Stadium, at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, is an Australian tennis venue, located in the Melbourne suburb of Kooyong. The stadium, was built in 1927, and has undergone several renovations. It has a seating capacity of slightly more t ...

from 1967. She started competing in tournaments and interstate competitions at age 11. Her coach and father Bill Evers owned a tennis centre in Murrumbeena, Victoria.

Juniors

As a junior player for the state of Victoria, Evers won all the junior titles she played in. In 1974 she won the Netherlands Open Junior Girls Singles in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and the Irish Open Junior girls singles in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. In 1975 Evers won the Australian Junior Girls Doubles at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club with partner Nerida Gregory (Aus) and was the runner-up in the Australian Junior Girls Singles title.

Professional

In 1974, at the age of 17, Evers turned professional and played in the Women's Professional Tour ( WTA) where she competed in England, Holland, Ireland and France. She reached the third round of ladies's doubles 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 * ...

with partner Nerida Gregory but lost to

Helen Gourlay Helen Gourlay Cawley (''née'' Gourlay; born 23 December 1946) is a retired tennis player from Australia. Personal Helen Gourlay was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She married Richard Leon Cawley in January 1977, and married William ...

and

Karen Krantzcke Karen Krantzcke (1 February 1946 – 11 April 1977) was an Australian tennis 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 championships in ...

. Evers won the Australian Women's Hardcourt Doubles Championship in Gympie with partner Nerida Gregory, defeating Cynthia Doerner and Kathy Walker in straight sets. At the

1977 French Open The 1977 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 81st staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam ...

, Evers reached the women's doubles quarterfinals with partner

Mary Carillo Mary Carillo (born March 15, 1957) is an American sportscaster and former professional tennis player. She is an analyst for '' Tennis on NBC'' and a reporter for NBC Olympic broadcasts. Career Tennis Carillo played on the women's professional ...

. The next year she advanced to the

French Open 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 ...

Mixed Doubles semifinals with partner Paul McNamee. 1978 saw her upset No. 1 seeded

Sue Barker Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

in the women's singles quarterfinals of the

Australian Open 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 ...

before losing to eventual champion Chris O'Neil in the semifinals in two sets. Evers had a very successful doubles season in 1979. She won the

Doubles title with partner Judy Chaloner and the Austrian Open doubles title with partner

Helena Anliot Helena Anliot (born 26 September 1956) is a Swedish 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 te ...

. Evers also captured the

Swiss Open The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...

, Canadian Open, and

Western Australian Open The Western Australian Open, also known as the WA Open, is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It had been a tour event every year since 2009 with the exception of 2019. History The first Western Australian Amateur Championship wa ...

doubles titles. Evers top singles ranking was 42 and in the top 10 doubles ranking. Throughout her professional career Evers has played tennis in singles, doubles and mixed doubles in different countries at minor and major tournaments such as

, US Open,

, and Italian, Canadian, Austrian, and English WTA Tournaments. She has been involved in tennis for over five decades at every level of the game and has won over 80 state and national titles and won over 20 international titles. Evers is the last Australian female player to win an Australian Open title when it was played at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, and held the Doubles title for 21 years before another Australian player would win in 2000. She retired in 1983 and moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

in America and took up a career as a tennis coach at the Indianapolis Racquet Club and qualified with the USPTA. Evers moved back permanently to Australia in 2012 and now lives in the Gold Coast in the State of Queensland and is a tennis coach at KDV Sports Center. In May 2016, Evers received her retrospective Australian Open Trophy from

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Limited is the governing body for Tennis in Australia. It is owned by Australian states and territories. The association organises national and international Tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, the Australian Open ...

and at the 2017

, Evers finally got to hold the Women's Doubles Trophy for the first time at a private presentation organized by the President of Tennis Australia', Steve Healey. Dianne & Judy

In 2019 Evers, as the last Australian woman to have won a Championship Trophy at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, donated her Australian Open Women's Doubles Trophy to Kooyong LTC. It has been placed in a cabinet next to trophies donated by Evonne Goolagong-Cawley AC MBE. In 2019 Evers and Judy Chaloner after 40 years got to hold the Australian Open Women's Doubles Trophy together for the first time as there was no trophy presentation in 1979.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 4 (1 title)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Dianne Evers fan page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evers, Dianne 1956 births Living people Australian Open (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Australian female tennis players Tennis players from Melbourne Australian Open (tennis) junior champions Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia)