Annette Van Zyl
Country (sports)South Africa South Africa
Born (1943-09-25) 25 September 1943
Pretoria, South Africa
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career recordno value
Career titles11
Highest rankingNo. 6 (1965, 1966)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1965)
French OpenSF (1967, 1968)
WimbledonQF (1966)
US OpenQF (1967)
Doubles
Career recordno value
Career titles4
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1965)
French OpenF (1967)
WimbledonQF (1963)
US OpenSF (1967)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open3R (1965)
French OpenW (1966)
WimbledonSF (1966, 1967)

Annette Van Zyl (born 25 September 1943 in Pretoria), also known by her married name as Annette du Plooy, is a South African former tennis player. She was ranked in the top ten female players during the mid 1960s, and in 1966 she won the French Open Mixed Doubles title [1] with Frew McMillan, defeating Ann Haydon-Jones and Clark Graebner in three sets.

Tennis career

In January 1965 she won the singles title at the Natal Championships in Durban.[2] In April 1965 Van Zyl reached the final of the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth but was beaten in straight sets by Ann Haydon-Jones. In June of the same year she won the singles title at the grass court tournament in Cheltenham and later that month she was victorious at the London Grass Court Championship played at the Queen's Club, defeating Christine Truman in the final. In July she won the Welsh title also against Truman in the final.[3] She reached the semifinal of the French Open singles in 1967, beating Billie Jean King in the quarterfinal before losing to Lesley Turner Bowrey.[4]

In July 1968, she won the singles title at the Swiss Open after defeating Julie Heldman in the final with the loss of just one game. In August she beat Judy Tegart in straight sets in the final of the singles event at the German Championships in Hamburg and also won the doubles and mixed doubles events.[5] Van Zyl reached the final of the South African Championships singles event on three occasions, winning the title in 1963 and 1975 and ending as runner–up in 1965. Between 1964 and 1976, she played in 11 ties for the South African Federation Cup team and compiled a 12–7 win-los record.

According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Van Zyl was ranked in the world top ten in 1965, 1966, and 1968, reaching a career high of World No. 6 in those rankings in 1965 and 1966.[6]

Tournament finals

Singles 13 (11 titles – 2 runner-ups)

Result No. Date Tournament Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1965 British Hard Court Championships United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones 5–7, 1–6
Loss 2. 1966 Italian Championships United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones 6–8, 1–6
Win 1. 1965 London Championships United Kingdom Christine Truman 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Win 2. Jun 1967 Swiss International Championships Australia Jan Lehane O'Neill 6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Win 3. Jan 1968 Natal Championships[5] United States Carole Graebner 6–1, 6–1
Win 4. June 1968 Swiss International Championships[5] West Germany Helga Niessen 6–3, 6–3
Win 5. Jul 1968 Gstaad International Championships[5] United States Julie Heldman 6–0, 6–1
Win 6. Aug 1968 German Championships[7] Australia Judy Tegart 6–1, 7–5
Win 7. Aug 1968 Kitzbühel Championships [8] Hungary Erzsébet Polgár 6–1, 6–0
Win 8. Nov 1974 South Transavaal Championships South Africa Brenda Kirk 6–3, 6–2
Win 9. Nov 1975 South African Open South Africa Brigitte Cuypers 6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win 10. Nov 1975 South Transavaal Championships South Africa Yvonne Vermaak 6–3, 6–2
Win 11. Nov 1977 South Transavaal Championships South Africa Brenda Kirk 6–4, 0–6, 6–3

Doubles 7 (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Result No. Date Tournament Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1965 Rome, Italy Australia Madonna Schacht Italy Silvana Lazzarino
Italy Lea Pericoli		 2–6, 6–2, 12–10
Win 2. 1966 Rome, Italy Argentina Norma Baylon United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones
United Kingdom Liz Starkie		 6–3, 1–6, 6–2
Loss 3. 1967 French Open, France South Africa Pat Walkden France Françoise Dürr
France Gail Sherriff		 2–6, 2–6
Loss 4. 1968 Rome, Italy South Africa Pat Walkden Australia Margaret Court
United Kingdom Virginia Wade		 2–6, 5–7
Win 3. 1968 German Championships South Africa Pat Walkden United Kingdom Winnie Shaw
Australia Judy Tegart		 6–3, 7–5
Win 4. Jun 1976 Beckenham, England South Africa Brigitte Cuypers Soviet Union Natasha Chmyreva
Soviet Union Olga Morozova		 9–7, 6–4
Loss 5. Jul 1976 Gstaad, Switzerland South Africa Brigitte Cuypers United States Betsy Nagelsen
Australia Wendy Turnbull		 4–6, 4–6

Mixed doubles 1

Result No. Date Tournament Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1966 French Championships South Africa Frew McMillan United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones
United States Clark Graebner		 1–6, 6–3, 6–2

Personal life

On 20 April 1968, Van Zyl married Jan du Plooy in Pretoria.[9] She is currently a head coach at the Brooklyn Union Tennis Club in Brooklyn, Pretoria, South Africa.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "French Open – Past Mixed Doubles Champions". Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
  2. ↑ Russell Eldridge, ed. (1977). Tennis : The South African Story. Owen Williams. p. 111. OCLC 86066820.
  3. ↑ "Miss Van Zyl Takes Welsh Tennis Title". The New York Times. 17 July 1965.
  4. ↑ French Open 1967, women, singles. Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 3 4 John Barrett, ed. (1969). BP Yearbook of World Tennis. London: Ward Lock. pp. 103–105, 173, 177. ISBN 978-0706318241. OCLC 502175694.
  6. ↑ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 703. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
  7. ↑ "DuPIooy Takes Title In W, German Tennis". The Bridgeport Telegram. 14 August 1968. p. 17.
  8. ↑ "Cops Tennis Crown Kitzbuehel". The Ottawa Journal. 20 August 1968. p. 14.
  9. ↑ "Uit alle sporthoeken". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 2 April 1968. p. 11 – via Delpher.
  10. ↑ Profile, butc.co.za. Accessed 8 January 2024.
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