Wendy Turnbull - Career

Career

Turnbull turned professional in 1975. Her career high rankings were third in singles and fifth in doubles. She was ranked in the year-end world top 20 for ten consecutive years (1977 through 1986) and in the year-end world top 10 for eight consecutive years from 1977 to 1984. She was nicknamed "Rabbit" by her peers because of her foot speed around the court.

Turnbull was a singles runner-up at the 1977 US Open, the 1979 French Open, and the 1980 Australian Open. She won four women's doubles titles and five mixed doubles titles at Grand Slam events.

She was a 12-time runner-up in Grand Slam doubles events: eleven times in women's doubles and one time in mixed doubles. Nine of her eleven women's doubles losses were to teams that included Martina Navratilova.

Turnbull teamed with Elizabeth Smylie to win the bronze medal in women's doubles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She is one of very few players to have a winning record against Steffi Graf and leads 2–1 in head-to-head matches.

Turnbull was a member of Australia's Fed Cup team from 1977 through 1988, compiling a 46–16 overall win–loss record (17–8 in singles and 29–8 in doubles). She was the captain or coach of the team from 1985 through 1993.

Turnbull was appointed to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Olympic Committee in 1991, the only player appointed to the committee. She also serves on the ITF's Fed Cup Committee.

In December 1993, Turnbull was honored by the city of Brisbane with the dedication of a public park in her honor. She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1984. She was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.