Annette Van Zyl

Annette Van Zyl (born 25 September), 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 (age 81) Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	no value
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 6 (1965, 1966)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1965)
French Open	SF (1967, 1968)
Wimbledon	QF (1966)
US Open	QF (1967)
Doubles
Career record	no value
Career titles	4
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (1965)
French Open	F (1967)
Wimbledon	QF (1963)
US Open	SF (1967)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	3R (1965)
French Open	W (1966)
Wimbledon	SF (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, 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	Ann Haydon-Jones	5–7, 1–6
Loss	2.	1966	Italian Championships	Ann Haydon-Jones	6–8, 1–6
Win	1.	1965	London Championships	Christine Truman	6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Win	2.	Jun 1967	Swiss International Championships	Jan Lehane O'Neill	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Win	3.	Jan 1968	Natal Championships[5]	Carole Graebner	6–1, 6–1
Win	4.	June 1968	Swiss International Championships[5]	Helga Niessen	6–3, 6–3
Win	5.	Jul 1968	Gstaad International Championships[5]	Julie Heldman	6–0, 6–1
Win	6.	Aug 1968	German Championships[7]	Judy Tegart	6–1, 7–5
Win	7.	Aug 1968	Kitzbühel Championships[8]	Erzsébet Polgár	6–1, 6–0
Win	8.	Nov 1974	South Transavaal Championships	Brenda Kirk	6–3, 6–2
Win	9.	Nov 1975	South African Open	Brigitte Cuypers	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win	10.	Nov 1975	South Transavaal Championships	Yvonne Vermaak	6–3, 6–2
Win	11.	Nov 1977	South Transavaal Championships	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	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 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. 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.

External links

• Annette Van Zyl at the International Tennis Federation
• Annette Van Zyl at the Billie Jean King Cup