Ann Jones

Ann Jones

Ann Jones waited fourteen Wimbledons for the one that counted. In 1969, aged 30, she came from a set down to beat top seed Margaret Court 10-12, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinal, then from a set down again to beat three-time defending champion Billie Jean King 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final, the first left-handed woman to win the title. Her third major, and the only one inside the era these records cover: her Roland Garros titles of 1961 and 1966 predate open tennis.

Few champions arrived by her route. She was a world-class table tennis player first, reaching three finals at the 1957 world championships as a teenager, losing all three, then choosing the bigger court. In 1968 she turned professional with the National Tennis League alongside King, Rosie Casals and Francoise Durr, the first women pros of the open era, and reached back-to-back Roland Garros finals in 1968 and 1969. She later commentated for the BBC for over three decades and chaired the Women's International Tennis Council.