Annette Van Zyl

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.

Annette Van Zyl
Country (sports) 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 titles6
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)

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 Van Zyl 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 8 (6 titles – 2 runner-ups)
Result No. Date Tournament Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1965 British Hard Court Championships Ann Haydon-Jones 5–7, 1–6
Loss 2. 1966 Italian Championships Ann Haydon-Jones 6–8, 1–6
Win 1. Jan 1968 Natal Championships [5] Carole Graebner 6–1, 6–1
Win 2. June 1968 Int. Swiss Championships [5] Helga Niessen 6–3, 6–3
Win 3. Jul 1968 Gstaad Championships [5] Julie Heldman 6–0, 6–1
Win 4. Aug 1968 German Championships [7] Judy Tegart 6–1, 7–5
Win 5. Aug 1968 Kitzbühel Championships [8] Erzsébet Polgár 6–1, 6–0
Win 6. Nov 1975 South African Open Brigitte Cuypers 6–3, 3–6, 6–4

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

Mixed doubles 1
Result No. Date Tournament Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1966 French Championships Frew McMillan Ann Haydon-Jones
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 head coach at Brooklyn Union Tennis Club.[10]

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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. 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 0-942257-41-3.
  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. "Brooklyn Union Tennis Cub". BUTC.
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