Wendy Turnbull

Wendy Turnbull

The tour called her Rabbit, for the fastest legs in the game. Wendy Turnbull left school at 15 and worked four years in a Brisbane bank to fund her tennis, turning professional in 1975 at 22. Two years later, seeded 12th at the 1977 US Open, she beat Virginia Wade and then Martina Navratilova 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 back to back, before Chris Evert stopped her in the final. Evert did it again at Roland Garros in 1979 and Hana Mandlikova at the 1980 Australian Open: three major singles finals, none won, beside a career-high of world No. 3.

The silverware came in pairs. She won four major women's doubles titles and five in mixed, nine in all, played a record forty-five Fed Cup ties for Australia, and at 35 took Olympic bronze with Liz Smylie in Seoul in 1988, the year tennis returned to the Games. She retired in 1989 with 18 career titles, later captained the Fed Cup side, and entered the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.