Lesley Hunt
Encyclopedia
Lesley Hunt is a former tennis
player from Perth, Western Australia
.
Particularly noted as a junior player, in 1964 at the age of 14 she won a rare double in the Western Australian Women's open, taking both the Open and Junior titles. She won the Australian junior championship in 1967 and 1968 and reached the final of the Wimbledon
Junior Invitational in 1968. That year she also won the French
and United States Junior Championships. In 1968 she won the Australian
and French Open Junior titles and the Australian Open Junior title again the following year.
In 1974 she was ranked number 3 in Australia and number 7 in the world in open divisions. Between 1967 and 1979 she was never outside the top six in Australia, while playing amongst contemporaries in Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong
, Kerry Reid
and Wendy Turnbull
.
Hunt was seeded once in the United States championships (number 8 in 1974); twice at the French Championships (number 4 in 1976 & 7 in 1977; and once at the Australian Championships (number 5 in 1974), but was never seeded at Wimbledon. She was runner-up in the 1971 Virginia Slims tournament
, losing to Margaret Court and in 1976 reached the final of the Italian Open
. Two years later in 1978 she made her first international open victory with a win in the Swiss Open. She reached the finals of the Canadian and Italian Opens in the same year, as well as the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.
As a doubles player she won the U.S Open Hardcourt and Claycourt titles with Evonne Goolagong.
In December 1970 she joined with Court and Goolagong in the 1971 Federation Cup
victory over Great Britain at Royal King's Park Tennis Club
. In the final match she partnered with Court, beating Virginia Wade
and Winnie Shaw
.
Hunt was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions
in 1993.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Particularly noted as a junior player, in 1964 at the age of 14 she won a rare double in the Western Australian Women's open, taking both the Open and Junior titles. She won the Australian junior championship in 1967 and 1968 and reached the final of the Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
Junior Invitational in 1968. That year she also won the French
French Open (tennis)
The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are...
and United States Junior Championships. In 1968 she won the Australian
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
and French Open Junior titles and the Australian Open Junior title again the following year.
In 1974 she was ranked number 3 in Australia and number 7 in the world in open divisions. Between 1967 and 1979 she was never outside the top six in Australia, while playing amongst contemporaries in Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong
Evonne Goolagong
Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles , six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.-Early life:Goolagong is the...
, Kerry Reid
Kerry Reid
Kerry Melville Reid, MBE, is a former professional tennis player from Australia. During her 17-year career, Reid won one Grand Slam singles title and 26 other singles titles and was the runner-up in 40 singles tournaments. Reid was included in the year-end world top ten rankings for 12...
and Wendy Turnbull
Wendy Turnbull
Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull...
.
Hunt was seeded once in the United States championships (number 8 in 1974); twice at the French Championships (number 4 in 1976 & 7 in 1977; and once at the Australian Championships (number 5 in 1974), but was never seeded at Wimbledon. She was runner-up in the 1971 Virginia Slims tournament
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
, losing to Margaret Court and in 1976 reached the final of the Italian Open
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
. Two years later in 1978 she made her first international open victory with a win in the Swiss Open. She reached the finals of the Canadian and Italian Opens in the same year, as well as the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.
As a doubles player she won the U.S Open Hardcourt and Claycourt titles with Evonne Goolagong.
In December 1970 she joined with Court and Goolagong in the 1971 Federation Cup
1971 Federation Cup (tennis)
The 1971 Federation Cup was the 9th edition of what is now known as the Fed Cup. 14 nations participated in the tournament, which was held at the Royal King's Park Tennis Club in Perth, Australia, from 26–29 December 1970...
victory over Great Britain at Royal King's Park Tennis Club
Kings Park, Western Australia
Kings Park is a park located on the western edge of Perth, Western Australia central business district. The park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mount Eliza with two thirds of the grounds conserved as native bushland. With panoramic views of the Swan...
. In the final match she partnered with Court, beating Virginia Wade
Virginia Wade
Sarah Virginia Wade, OBE is a former English tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships. She won the women's singles championship at Wimbledon on 1 July 1977, in that tournament's centenary year, the last time any Briton has won a...
and Winnie Shaw
Winnie Shaw
Winifred Mason Shaw was a Scottish tennis player. In 2002 she was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. She was born in Glasgow....
.
Hunt was inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions
Western Australian Hall of Champions
In 1983, the Sportswriters' Association of Western Australia proposed a Western Australian Hall of Champions to honour past athletes from the state who had made a significant impact in their sport...
in 1993.
Doubles 3 (1-2)
| Legend | |
| Grand Slam | 0 |
| WTA Championships | 0 |
| Tier I | 0 |
| Tier II | 0 |
| Tier III | 0 |
| Tier IV & V | |
| Olympic Games | 0 |
| Titles by Surface | |
| Hard | 0 |
| Clay | 0 |
| Grass | 1 |
| Carpet | 0 |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | 14 January 1971 | Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... , Australia |
Grass |  Joy Emerson |
Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong Evonne Goolagong Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles , six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.-Early life:Goolagong is the... |
0-6, 0-6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 15 October 1978 | US Indoors US Indoors The US Indoors, known formally as the U.S. Indoor Championships, was a national tennis championship for women that was sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association and held 79 times from 1907 through 2001 at various locations and on various surfaces. The event was affiliated with the WTA... , USA |
Carpet |  Ilana KlossIlana Kloss Ilana Sheryl Kloss is a former professional tennis player and the commissioner of World Team Tennis.-Tennis career:Kloss was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Before turning professional, in 1972 she won the Wimbledon juniors singles title. In 1974 she won U.S... |
Kerry Reid Kerry Reid Kerry Melville Reid, MBE, is a former professional tennis player from Australia. During her 17-year career, Reid won one Grand Slam singles title and 26 other singles titles and was the runner-up in 40 singles tournaments. Reid was included in the year-end world top ten rankings for 12... Wendy TurnbullWendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull... |
3-6, 3-6 |
| Winner | 3. | 26 November 1978 | Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... , New Zealand |
Grass |  Sharon WalshSharon Walsh Sharon Walsh-Arnold is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Walsh enjoyed a long career by modern standards, playing her first Grand Slam singles event in 1969 and her last Grand Slam doubles match in 1990. She was a finalist at the 1979 Australian Open where she lost to... |
 Katja EbbinghausKatja Ebbinghaus Katja Ebbinghaus is a German former professional tennis player active from 1969 to 1982, who reached five Grand Slam quarter-finals in singles, and a Grand Slam final in doubles, and who played for West Germany in the Federation Cup in all but two years between 1970 and 1979.-Career:Ebbinghaus... Sylvia HanikaSylvia Hanika Sylvia Hanika is a former professional tennis player from Germany. She is best remembered for finishing runner-up at the French Open in 1981, and for winning the Avon Championships in 1982. She was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world and played left-handed.-Career:Hanika turned professional in 1977... |
6-1, 7-5 |