Sandra Reynolds Price (née Reynolds; born 4 March 1934) is a South African former tennis player who won four Grand Slam women's doubles championships and one Grand Slam mixed doubles championship. Her best Grand Slam singles result was reaching the 1960 Wimbledon final, losing to Maria Bueno 8–6, 6–0. Reynolds is the only South African woman to reach the Wimbledon singles final, and is one of three to have reached a major singles final. In 1961, she was seeded No. 1 for the Wimbledon singles event, making her the only South African player (man or woman) ever to be seeded first in a singles major. She was the runner-up at the 1959 U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships, losing to Sally Moore in the final. Price won the German Championships in 1960, 1961, and 1962. She was the runner-up at the 1959 Italian Championships, having defeated Bueno in the semifinals, then losing to Christine Truman in the final.

Sandra Reynolds
Full nameSandra Reynolds Price
Country (sports)South Africa South Africa
Born (1934-03-04) 4 March 1934 (age 90)
Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, Union of South Africa
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1960)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1959)
French OpenSF (1959, 1960)
WimbledonF (1960)
US OpenQF (1959, 1962)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1959)
French OpenW (1959, 1961, 1962)
WimbledonF (1960, 1962)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1959)
French OpenQF (1962)

According to Lance Tingay of the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Price was ranked in the world top 10 from 1959 through 1962, reaching a career high of world no. 3 in 1960.[1]

Price teamed up with fellow South African Renée Schuurman to win all four of her Grand Slam women's doubles titles. They won the Australian Championships in 1959 and the French Championships in 1959, 1961, and 1962. In addition, they were the runners-up at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1962. Price teamed with Bob Mark to win the mixed doubles title at the 1959 Australian Championships, defeating Schuurman and Rod Laver in the final in three sets.

On 28 October 1961, she married Lowell Price, a horse breeder, in Bloemfontein, and they have one daughter.[2][3]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 1 runner-up

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1960 Wimbledon Grass   Maria Bueno 6–8, 0–6 [4]

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1959 Australian Championships Grass   Renée Schuurman   Lorraine Coghlan
  Mary Carter Reitano
7–5, 6–4 [5]
Win 1959 French Championships Clay   Renée Schuurman   Yola Ramírez
  Rosie Reyes
2–6, 6–0, 6–1
Loss 1960 Wimbledon Grass   Renée Schuurman   Maria Bueno
  Darlene Hard
4–6, 0–6 [6]
Win 1961 French Championships Clay   Renée Schuurman   Maria Bueno
  Darlene Hard
walkover
Win 1962 French Championships Clay   Renée Schuurman   Justina Bricka
  Margaret Smith
6–4, 6–4
Loss 1962 Wimbledon Grass   Renée Schuurman   Billie Jean Moffitt
  Karen Susman
7–5, 3–6, 5–7 [6]

Mixed Doubles: 1 title

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1959 Australian Championships Grass   Bob Mark   Renée Schuurman
  Rod Laver
4–6, 13–11, 6–1 [7]

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 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A QF A A A 0 / 1
French Championships A 2R 4R SF SF 4R QF 0 / 6
Wimbledon 2R QF 2R SF F SF 3R 0 / 7
US Championships A A A QF A A QF 0 / 2
SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 16

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 703. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
  2. ^ "Sandra Reynolds, a South African tennis champion is born". South African History Online.
  3. ^ "The Passing of Giants". Sporting Post. 14 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Ladies' Singles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Australian Open Results Archive / Women's doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Ladies' Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Australian Open Results Archive / Mixed Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
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