Brenda Kirk
{{Short description|South African tennis player (1951–2015)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
| image =
| caption =
| fullname =
| country = {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} South Africa
| residence =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1951|1|11}}
| birth_place = Rhodesia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2015|9|6|1951|1|11}}
| death_place =
| height =
| college =
| turnedpro =
| retired =
| plays =
| careerprizemoney =
| tennishofyear =
| tennishofid =
| website =
| singlesrecord =
| singlestitles = 0
| highestsinglesranking =
| AustralianOpenresult =
| FrenchOpenresult = 1R (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972)
| Wimbledonresult = 3R (1971)
| USOpenresult = 1R (1969, 1972)
| Othertournaments =
| MastersCupresult =
| doublesrecord =
| doublestitles = 2
| highestdoublesranking =
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult =
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 3R (1969, 1971)
| WimbledonDoublesresult = 3R (1971, 1973)
| USOpenDoublesresult = QF (1972)
| OthertournamentsDoubles =
| MastersCupDoublesresult =
| OlympicsDoublesresult =
| Mixed =
| mixedtitles =
| mixedrecord =
| AustralianOpenMixedresult =
| FrenchOpenMixedresult = 1R (1970)
| WimbledonMixedresult = 4R (1970)
| USOpenMixedresult = 3R (1969)
| Team = yes
| FedCupresult = W (1972)
| updated =
}}
Brenda Kirk (11 January 1951 – 6 September 2015) was a South African tennis player.{{cite web|title=WTA – Player profile|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/4201|publisher=WTA}}
Career
Her best singles result at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the third round at the 1971 Wimbledon Championships.{{cite web|title=Wimbledon players archive – Brenda Kirk|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/draws/archive/players/77c827be-6365-405b-826d-55f970133776/index.html|publisher=AELTC}}
In January 1971, she won the singles title of the Natal Sugar Championships.{{cite book|title=Tennis : The South African Story|year=1977|publisher=Owen Williams|oclc=86066820|pages=111|editor=Russell Eldridge}} She won two doubles titles during her career; in July 1971 she won the Swiss Open partnering Laura Rossouw and in July 1972 she won the Irish Open with Pat Walkden.
She played for the South African Fed Cup team in 15 ties between 1969 and 1973 comprising a record of 17 wins and 10 losses. She was part of the South African team that won the Federation Cup in 1972 after a victory in the final over Great Britain at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.{{cite news|title=S. Africa Takes Federations Cup|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/26/archives/s-africa-takes-federation-cup-doubles-victory-in-womens-tennis.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 March 1972}}
Personal life
Kirk married Jimmy Dimitriou in 1975 and the couple had two children.{{cite web|title=Brenda Kirk, one of South Africa's great tennis legends|url=http://www.tennissa.co.za/news/brenda-kirk-one-south-africas-great-tennis-legends|website=tennissa.co.za|publisher=Tennis South Africa|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308125409/http://www.tennissa.co.za/news/brenda-kirk-one-south-africas-great-tennis-legends|archive-date=8 March 2016|url-status=dead}} They divorced and she later married Iain Bryson with whom she had one child. Kirk died in her sleep on 6 September 2015.
Career finals
=Doubles: 10 (2 titles, 8 runner-ups) =
class="sortable wikitable"
!style="width:40px"|Result !style="width:30px" class="unsortable"|W-L !style="width:50px"|Date !style="width:180px"|Tournament !style="width:50px"|Surface !style="width:160px"|Partner !style="width:160px"|Opponents !style="width:140px" class="unsortable"|Score |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 0–1 | Apr 1971 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | {{Nowrap|{{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Laura Rossouw}} | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Smith | 3–6, 2–6 |
style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 1–1 | Jul 1971 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Laura Rossouw | {{flagicon|FRA}} Françoise Dürr | 8–6, 6–3 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1–2 | May 1972 | Bournemouth, UK | Hard | {{flagicon|NED}} Betty Stöve | {{flagicon|AUS}} Evonne Goolagong | 5–7, 1–6 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1–3 | Jun 1972 | London (Queens), UK | Grass | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|USA}} Rosie Casals | 7–5, 0–6, 2–6 |
style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 2–3 | Jul 1972 | Dublin, Ireland | Grass | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|AUS}} Evonne Goolagong | 6–3, 8–10, 6–2 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–4 | Jul 1972 | Hoylake, UK | Grass | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|AUS}} Evonne Goolagong | Prize divided (rain) |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–5 | Aug 1972 | Cincinnati, US | Clay | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court | 4–6, 1–6 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–6 | Aug 1972 | Toronto, Canada | Clay | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court | 6–3, 3–6, 5–7 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–7 | Aug 1972 | Haverford (Merion), US | Grass | {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} Pat Walkden | {{flagicon|GBR}} Virginia Wade | 6–3, 3–6, 5–7 |
style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–8 | Nov 1972 | Torquay, UK | Carpet | {{flagicon|USA}} Sharon Walsh | {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court | 4–6, 4–6 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{WTA}}
- {{ITF}}
- {{Fed Cup player}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Brenda}}