12 June 2018 | Tennis ACT

Last month we tested your knowledge of the history of tennis in the ACT.

So how did you go?  Here are the answers

1. Who (pictured) were these leading Canberra players for many years in the post-WW2 era? (L. to R.) Laurie Manning, Bruce Larkham, Cres Roberts and Sir Eric Bycroft
2. Which South African born tennis player, now resident in Canberra, played Tom Cavendish in the 2004 movie Wimbledon? Alun Jones
3. In 1980 I was the first female to be honoured with Life Membership of the ACT Tennis Association – who am I? Isobel Watson
4. I hold the record number of Resident Championship titles (22) in Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Who am I? Reg “Blackie” Bennett with six singles titles, 10 doubles and six mixed. He also won the ACT Open singles twice, doubles three times and mixed doubles four times. All achieved between 1936 and 1961; (imagine if WW2 hadn’t intervened)
5. My mother served as President of the Ladies Auxiliary and my sister and I were budding tennis juniors in the 1950s – winning at least one junior Resident doubles title together. Playing ever since and a regular volunteer, I was acknowledged at the 2010 ACT Tennis Awards with a special award for services to the tennis community. Who am I? Barbara McCluskey (nee Pitt)
6. Having once been banned from ACT Open Championships and pennant competitions, I was awarded the “Outstanding Coach” Award at the 75^th Tennis ACT Anniversary dinner in 1998. Who am I? John Southwell
7. Who as Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Sport opened new clubhouse extensions and the Ken Willis Lounge at Lyneham Tennis Centre in 1990? Bernard Collaery
8. “As I never tire of saying tennis is so much more than just sport. A fine tennis match is like a play by Shakespeare, a drama about life. At Lyneham this week there have been so many Shakespearean matches”. Written by whom and when? Ian Warden, March 2018
9. In 1994 the ACT won the Wilson Cup – at the time the most prestigious national event for junior girls- for the first time. Who were the three members of the team? Annabel Ellwood, Jodi Richardson, and captain, Jenny Popovic
10. Who was the coach of the team in Q9; now a resident of Canberra, an ACT Open winner, with a career high singles ranking of No. 12 in the world? Helen Gourlay
11. I played in the 1953 NSW Men’s Singles Championships reaching the second round. An event won by Lew Hoad and with the calibre of players such as Anderson, Rose, Trabert, Rosewall, Seixas and Hartwig. Known as a “gentleman” of the game and a “stalwart of diplomacy through tennis”. Who am I? Fernando ‘Ferdie’ Ribeiro
12. As an active player, umpire, official and administrator I have been acknowledged as the “driving force of ACT schools tennis” from the 1970s to the 1990s. Who am I? Bruce Podmore
13. In 1998 as a fifteen year old I was the youngest player to ever win a Fed Cup match going through undefeated in the win over Argentina in Canberra. My recent autobiography makes for sobering reading. Who am I?  Jelena Dokic
14. Currently a coach with Australia’s Fed Cup team I was the other singles team member in the 5-0 win over Argentina in 1998. Who am I? Nicole Pratt
15. Whilst best known in a Davis Cup context I was a Wimbledon champion and ranked the number one amateur in the two consecutive years I won the ACT Tennis Open. Who am I? Neale Fraser
16. A parliamentary draughtsman, and Secretary of the Tennis Association for many years, I was the architect of the new Association constitution adopted in 1968. I was awarded Life Membership in 1971. Who am I? Ted Tudor
17. I am not a tennis player but I am a former AIS Scholarship holder, a Newcombe night award winner and have appeared at all four tennis grand slams. Who am I? Emma Walter
18. Who were the members of the first ACT team to win an Australian Seniors Teams Tennis Championship in 2011? John Stark (c), John Greenup, Greg Holcombe, Colin Holgate, Neville Rodwell and Alan Wilmshurst
19. Described as a tennis prodigy and with a YouTube tennis video as a six year old, I am now ranked number 2 in Australia in my birth year. Who am I? Charlie Camus
20. Winning my first Resident Singles title as a 16 year old, I won a total of six Resident Singles titles in an outstanding ACT tennis career. Who am I? Barbara Winder (nee Walsh)