Lesley Turner Bowrey

Updated on Oct 08, 2024

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ITF name Lesley Bowrey Name Lesley Bowrey Country (sports) Australia Role Tennis player		Grand slams won (singles) 2 Australian Open F (1964, 1967) Highest ranking 2

Full name Lesley Rosemary Turner Bowrey Born 16 August 1942 (age 82) Trangie, New South Wales, Australia ( 1942-08-16 ) Plays Right-handed (1-handed backhand) Similar People Margaret Court, Darlene Hard, Judy Tegart, Fred Stolle, Bill Bowrey
Int. Tennis HoF 1997 (member page)

Lesley Rosemary Turner Bowrey, AM (née Turner; born 16 August 1942) is a retired female tennis player from Australia. Her career spanned two decades from the late 1950s until the late 1970s. Turner Bowrey won the singles title at the French Championships, one of the four Grand Slam events, in 1963 and 1965. In addition she won 11 Grand Slam events in doubles and mixed doubles. Turner Bowrey achieved her highest singles ranking of No. 2 in 1964.

Career

Bowrey won 13 Grand Slam titles during her career: two in singles, seven in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She lost in the final of 14 other Grand Slam events.

Bowrey twice won the singles title at the French Championships. In 1963, she defeated Ann Haydon-Jones in the final, and in 1965, she defeated Margaret Court in the final.

Bowrey was the runner-up at four Grand Slam singles tournaments. She lost in the final of the French Championships to Court in 1962 and to Françoise Dürr in 1967. She lost in the final of the Australian Championships to Court in 1964 and to Nancy Richey in 1967.

She was runner-up at the Italian Championships in 1961, 1963 and 1964 before winning the title in 1967, against Maria Bueno, and 1968, against Margaret Court.

Bowrey was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and received the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award in 1997. The award is given to the female player who by character, sportsmanship, manners, and spirit of cooperation has contributed to the growth of the game of tennis. In 1998 she was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 Bowrey was appointed as Member of the Order of Australia For service to tennis as a player, coach and mentor to junior players, and to the community.

She married fellow Australian tennis star Bill Bowrey on February 23, 1968. They are the parents of tennis player Michelle Bowrey.