Judy Tegart

Judy Tegart

Judy Tegart beat second seed Margaret Court, then third seed Nancy Richey, to reach the 1968 Wimbledon final, the first held in the Open era. Billie Jean King held her off 9-7, 7-5, a match so tight that photos from the day struggle to show who won. Tegart was 30, ranked a career-high No. 7, and it was as close as she got to a major singles title; semifinals at the 1968 Australian Championships and 1971 Wimbledon were her other deep major runs.

Doubles told a fuller story. Tegart won eight major doubles titles across all four majors, five with Margaret Court, completing the career Grand Slam in the discipline. In September 1970 she flew to Houston as one of the Original 9, signing the one dollar contract that broke away from the tennis establishment and seeded the WTA tour, then finished runner-up to Rosie Casals at the rebel event itself. She retired with 14 career titles; Australia made her a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for that fight.