Billy Knight (tennis)

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Billy Knight
Full nameWilliam Arthur Knight
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born (1935-11-12) 12 November 1935 (age 85)
Northampton, England
Turned pro1952 (amateur tour)
Retired1968
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record0–0
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (1954, 1957)
French OpenQF (1959)
Wimbledon4R (1957, 1959, 1961, 1964)
US Open4R (1958, 1962)
Doubles
Career record1–1
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1957)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenF (1957)
French OpenW (1959)
Team competitions
Davis CupSF (1963)

William Arthur Knight (born 12 November 1935) is a former tennis player from Great Britain who competed on the amateur tour in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tennis career[]

Juniors[]

Before focusing on tennis Knight also played table tennis and won the English singles title in 1951.[1] As a tennis junior he won both the 1953 Wimbledon and 1954 Australian Championships Boys' Singles tournaments.[2][3]

Amateur tour[]

Knight's best slam performance was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1959 French Championships. He won the mixed doubles at the same tournament, partnering Yola Ramírez.

He won the singles title at the German Championships in Hamburg in 1959.

Knight was a frequent member of the British Davis Cup team between 1955 and 1964, reaching the Inter-Zonal group in 1963.[4]

Grand Slam finals[]

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)[]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1957 Australian Championships Grass Australia Australia Fay Muller
Australia Mal Anderson 		5–7, 6–3, 1–6
Win 1959 French Championships Clay Mexico Yola Ramírez Australia Rod Laver
South Africa Renée Schuurman 		6–4, 6–4

Junior Grand Slam titles[]

Singles: 2[]

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1953 Wimbledon Grass India Ramanathan Krishnan 7–5, 6–4
Win 1954 Australian Open Grass Australia Roy Emerson 6–3, 6–1

References[]

  1. ^ "History of Northampton Table Tennis League". Northampton Table Tennis League.
  2. ^ Tournament Profile: Australian Open, ITF Juniors
  3. ^ "Nerves and Knight beat Emerson". Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954). 2 February 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ Ball, Robert (1963). "Not Quite All Right, Jack", Sports Illustrated, 7 October 1963.

External links[]


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