Helen Gourlay Cawley (née Gourlay; born 23 December 1946) is a retired tennis player from Australia.

Helen Gourlay
Full nameHelen Gourlay Cawley
Country (sports) Australia
Born (1946-12-23) 23 December 1946 (age 77)
Launceston, Australia
Height168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Retired1978
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career recordno value
Highest rankingNo. 12 (1971)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1977Dec)
French OpenF (1971)
Wimbledon4R (1968, 1972, 1977)
US OpenQF (1970)
Doubles
Career recordno value
Career titles20
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1972, 1976, 1977, 1977)
French OpenF (1971, 1977)
WimbledonW (1977)
US OpenQF (1971, 1974)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (1967)
French OpenSF (1966)
WimbledonSF (1970, 1974)
US OpenQF (1971)

Personal

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Helen Gourlay was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She married Richard Leon Cawley in January 1977, and married William Timothy Cape in October 1986.

Career

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Cawley reached the singles final of two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the 1971 French Open and the December 1977 Australian Open to countrywoman Evonne Goolagong.[2]

An operation on her elbow sidelined her for 10 months in 1973.[3]

In women's doubles, Cawley was a four-time winner of the Australian Open (1972, 1976, 1977 (January), 1977 (December)). She won Wimbledon in 1977 partnering JoAnne Russell and was the runner-up there in 1974 with Karen Krantzcke. Gourlay was twice the runner-up at the French Open in 1971 with Kerry Harris and 1977 with Rayni Fox. In 1977, Gourlay played in four of the five Grand Slam Women's Doubles finals (the Australian Open was contested twice), only failing to reach the US Open final, where she lost in the second round with JoAnne Russell.

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (2 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1971 French Open Clay   Evonne Goolagong 3–6, 5–7
Loss 1977 Australian Open (Dec) Grass   Evonne Goolagong 3–6, 0–6

Doubles (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1971 French Open Clay   Kerry Harris   Françoise Dürr
  Gail Chanfreau
4–6, 1–6
Win 1972 Australian Open Grass   Kerry Harris   Patricia Coleman
  Karen Krantzcke
6–0, 6–4
Loss 1974 Wimbledon Grass   Karen Krantzcke   Evonne Goolagong
  Peggy Michel
6–2, 4–6, 3–6
Win 1976 Australian Open Grass   Evonne Goolagong   Renáta Tomanová
  Lesley Turner Bowrey
8–1
Win 1977(Jan) Australian Open Grass   Dianne Fromholtz   Kerry Melville Reid
  Betsy Nagelsen
5–7, 6–1, 7–5
Loss 1977 French Open Clay   Rayni Fox   Regina Maršíková
  Pam Teeguarden
7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Win 1977 Wimbledon Grass   JoAnne Russell   Martina Navratilova
  Betty Stöve
6–3, 6–3
Win 1977(Dec) Australian Open Grass   Evonne Goolagong   Mona Guerrant
  Kerry Melville Reid
Shared

Note: Evonne Goolagong Cawley occasionally is credited incorrectly with winning the 1977 Ladies Doubles event at Wimbledon, due to the confusion regarding the married name of her compatriot Helen Gourlay who in fact took the trophy. Both women were listed in tournaments as Mrs. R. Cawley (Goolagong was Mrs. R.A. Cawley and Gourlay Mrs. R.L. Cawley). Goolagong Cawley did not participate at Wimbledon 1977.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 Career SR
Australia QF 3R 3R 2R 1R QF A QF SF A 2R 2R SF SF F A A 1R 0 / 14
France A A 1R 3R 3R 2R 1R F 4R A A A A 3R A A A 0 / 8
Wimbledon A A 2R 1R 4R 3R 2R 1R 4R 1R 3R 2R A 4R 2R A A 0 / 11
United States A A A A A A QF 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R 2R A A A 0 / 8
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 5 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 41

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Coaching

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Gourlay was coached by Brian Hudson for over 10 years. She lived with Hudson, his wife Beryl and their children for three years while he coached her for free at his Granville (Sydney) tennis courts (1963-1965). Gourlay and Hudson played mixed doubles at White City (1968) and Wimbledon (1972). Gourlay also was coached by Hudson at his Terranora court, leading into many international events, including Grand Slams. Hudson coached Gourlay in the 1977 Australian Open, in which Gourlay defeated Sue Barker in the semifinals.

Gourlay was one of the inaugural coaches of the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program when it was established in Canberra in 1981.[4] Gourlay left the program in 1986.

Recognition

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In 1987, she was inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame, and in 2000, she received the Australian Sports Medal.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bostic, Stephanie, ed. (1979). USTA Player Records 1978. United States Tennis Association (USTA). p. 181.
  2. ^ "Evonne Goolagong routs Cawley to win 4th lid". Bangor Daily News. 2 January 1978. p. 16.
  3. ^ Jack Gurney (14 April 1974). "Helen Gourlay's Persistence Typifies Aussie Standards". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 4-D.
  4. ^ a b "Helen Gourlay (Cawley)". dpac.tas.gov.au. Tasmanian Government. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
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