Brenda Kirk

Brenda Kirk (11 January 1951 – 6 September 2015) was a South African tennis player.^[1]

Brenda Kirk

Country (sports)	South Africa
Born	(1951-01-11)11 January 1951 Rhodesia
Died	6 September 2015(2015-09-06) (aged 64)
Singles
Career titles	0
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	1R (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972)
Wimbledon	3R (1971)
US Open	1R (1969, 1972)
Doubles
Career titles	2
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	3R (1969, 1971)
Wimbledon	3R (1971, 1973)
US Open	QF (1972)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	1R (1970)
Wimbledon	4R (1970)
US Open	3R (1969)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1972)

Career

Her best singles result at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the third round at the 1971 Wimbledon Championships.^[2]

In January 1971 she won the singles title of the Natal Sugar Championships.^[3] She won two doubles titles during her career; in July 1971 she won the Swiss Open partnering Laura Rossouw and in July 1972 she won the Irish Open with Pat Walkden.

She played for the South African Fed Cup team in 15 ties between 1969 and 1973 comprising a record of 17 wins and 10 losses. She was part of the South African team that won the Federation Cup in 1972 after a victory in the final over Great Britain at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[4]

Personal life

Kirk married Jimmy Dimitriou in 1975 and the couple had two children.^[5] They divorced and she later married Iain Bryson with whom she had one child. Kirk died in her sleep on 6 September 2015.^[5]

Career finals

Doubles: 10 (2 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Result	W-L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Apr 1971	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Laura Rossouw	Margaret Smith Evonne Goolagong	3–6, 2–6
Win	1–1	Jul 1971	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Laura Rossouw	Françoise Dürr Lea Pericoli	8–6, 6–3
Loss	1–2	May 1972	Bournemouth, UK	Hard	Betty Stöve	Evonne Goolagong Helen Gourlay	5–7, 1–6
Loss	1–3	Jun 1972	London (Queens), UK	Grass	Pat Walkden	Rosie Casals Billie Jean King	7–5, 0–6, 2–6
Win	2–3	Jul 1972	Dublin, Ireland	Grass	Pat Walkden	Evonne Goolagong Karen Krantzcke	6–3, 8–10, 6–2
Loss	2–4	Jul 1972	Hoylake, UK	Grass	Pat Walkden	Evonne Goolagong Helen Gourlay	Prize divided (rain)
Loss	2–5	Aug 1972	Cincinnati, US	Clay	Pat Walkden	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong	4–6, 1–6
Loss	2–6	Aug 1972	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Pat Walkden	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Loss	2–7	Aug 1972	Haverford (Merion), US	Grass	Pat Walkden	Virginia Wade Sharon Walsh	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Loss	2–8	Nov 1972	Torquay, UK	Carpet	Sharon Walsh	Margaret Court Virginia Wade	4–6, 4–6

References

1. "WTA – Player profile". WTA.
2. "Wimbledon players archive – Brenda Kirk". AELTC.
3. Russell Eldridge, ed. (1977). Tennis : The South African Story. Owen Williams. p. 111. OCLC 86066820.
4. "S. Africa Takes Federations Cup". The New York Times. 26 March 1972.
5. "Brenda Kirk, one of South Africa's great tennis legends". tennissa.co.za. Tennis South Africa. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

External links

• Brenda Kirk at the Women's Tennis Association
• Brenda Kirk at the International Tennis Federation
• Brenda Kirk at the Billie Jean King Cup