Haydon Jones, Adrianne

Adrianne Shirley Haydon Jones “Ann”
Born: October 07, 1938
Hometown: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Handed: Left
Inducted: 1985

Grand Slam Record
French Singles 1961, 66
Singles finalist 1963, 68, 69
Doubles 1963, 68, 69
Doubles finalist 1960
Mixed finalist 1960, 66, 67

Wimbledon Singles 1969
Singles finalist 1967
Doubles finalist 1968
Mixed 1969
Mixed finalist 1962

U.S. Singles finalist 1961, 67

Australian Mixed finalist (shared) 1969

Tournament Record
Wightman Cup   1957-1967, 1970, 1975

Fed Cup   1963-67, 1971

Italian Singles 1966
Singles finalist 1960
Doubles 1969
Doubles finalist 1960, 65

The first left-handed woman to win Wimbledon, Adrianne Shirley Haydon Jones had to cool a rampaging Billie Jean King to do it in the final, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. King had won three straight times and 24 straight matches. Before that, Ann had shown her all-around value and steadiness by winning the French in 1961 and 1966. She could attack or stay back, and had a compact service motion with little windup. In 1967, despite a leg injury that hobbled her, she pushed King hard (11-9, 6-4) in the U.S. final, gamely extricating herself from nine set points before losing the first, and two match points at the end.

A buxom blonde, 5-foot-7, 135 pounds, Ann was always a stalwart in playing for her country in Federation and Wightman Cups. In 1975,at 37, after she’d stopped touring, she set aside motherhood for a weekend to play a small but important doubles role in Britain’s 5-2 Wightman triumph at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium. She and Virginia Wade beat Julie Anthony and Janet Newberry, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6. Deciding to go for dollars, she and King, Françoise Durr and Rosie Casals became the first professional female touring troupe with George MacCall, promoter of the National Tennis League, in 1968.

Jones was born October 7, 1938, in Birmingham, England, to parents who were outstanding table tennis players. She followed in their paddling five-time finalist for various world championship titles. But she was to make her name in tennis after winning the British junior of championships 1954 and 1955, moving on to place in the World Top Ten every year between 1957 and 1970 (except for 1964), No. 2 in 1967 and 1969.

Her Wimbledon triumph was a gem of persistence–Ann won on her 14th try–and, fourth-seeded beat the 5th, 1st and 2nd seeds in the stretch to do so: Nancy Richey, 6-2, 7-5; Margaret Court 10-12, 6-3, 6-2; and King. Jones matches at Wimbledon: 57-13 in singles, 33-15 in doubles, 29-10 in mixed. She married P.F. Jones in 1962 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1985.

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