Joyce Williams (tennis)

Joyce Williams (née Barclay; born 22 July 1944) is a retired tennis player from Scotland who was active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Joyce Williams
Country (sports) Great Britain
Born (1944-07-22) 22 July 1944
Dundee, Scotland
Retired1976
Singles
Career record16–16
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open3R (1963)
Wimbledon4R (1965, 1968)
US OpenQF (1971)
Doubles
Career record25–12
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonSF (1972)
US OpenSF (1968)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
WimbledonQF (1976)
US Open3R (1969, 1971)
Team competitions
Wightman CupF (1967, 1970, 1971, 1972)

Career

Her best singles performance at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the quarterfinals at the 1971 US Open. She beat compatriot Winnie Shaw in the second round and eighth-seeded Julie Heldman in the third to reach the quarterfinal, which she lost in straight sets to second-seeded Rosie Casals. At Wimbledon she reached the fourth round in singles in 1965 and 1968 in which she was beaten in two sets by fourth-seeded Nancy Richey and eighth-seeded Lesley Bowrey respectively.[1] At the French Championships, she reached the third round in 1963.

In the Grand Slam doubles competition, Williams made it to the semifinals on three occasions: at the U.S. Championships in 1967 with Winnie Shaw and in 1968 with Virginia Wade and at Wimbledon she reached the semifinals in 1972, partnering Shaw, in which they were defeated in three sets by eventual champions Billie-Jean King and Betty Stöve.[2][3]

Williams competed in the Wightman Cup, a women's team tennis competition between the United States and Great Britain, in 1967, 1970, 1971 and 1972.[4] She was also a member of the British Federation Cup team, playing a total of nine ties in 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1973 and compiling a 6–5 win-loss record.

Williams won nine singles titles at the Scottish Championships and shared the title with Corinne Molesworth in 1972.[5][6] In addition, she won the German Indoor Championships in 1968, defeating Helga Niessen in the final, and the Scandinavian title in 1970.[7][5]

After her retirement as a player in 1976, she became a tennis coach and BBC radio commentator.[2]

Personal life

She married BBC tennis correspondent Gerald Williams in 1964 but later divorced.[8] In all, she married five times.[9]

References
  1. "Players archive – Joyce Hume (Williams)". www.wimbledon.com. All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC).
  2. Tom Lamont (31 May 2009). "Frozen in time". The Guardian.
  3. "A sporting nation". BBC.
  4. "Britain bows, 5-2". The New York Times. 18 June 1972. p. 1.
  5. John Barrett, ed. (1973). World of Tennis '73 : a BP and Commercial Union yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 269, 286. ISBN 9780671216238.
  6. Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 315. ISBN 9780047960420.
  7. John Barrett, ed. (1969). BP Yearbook of World Tennis. London: Ward Lock. p. 160. ISBN 978-0706318241. OCLC 502175694.
  8. Alasdair Steven (28 January 2016). "Obituary: Gerald Williams, BBC tennis correspondent". The Scotsman.
  9. Karen Crouse; Ben Rothenberg (4 July 2018). "At Wimbledon, married women are still 'Mrs.'". The New York Times.
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