Dianne Fromholtz

Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat

Fromholtz in 1989
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Melbourne, Australia
Born	(1956-08-10) 10 August 1956 (age 69) Albury, Australia
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Turned pro	1973
Retired	1990
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$1,145,377
Singles
Career record	429–223
Career titles	8
Highest ranking	No. 4 (19 March 1979)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	F (1977Jan)
French Open	SF (1979, 1980)
Wimbledon	QF (1979, 1987)
US Open	SF (1976)
Doubles
Career record	134–141
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 56 (14 September 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1977)
French Open	SF (1979)
Wimbledon	QF (1979)
US Open	QF (1979)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	QF (1987, 1988)
French Open	SF (1975)
Wimbledon	F (1980)
US Open	2R (1983)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1974)

Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (née Fromholtz; born 10 August 1956) is an Australian former professional tennis player who reached a highest singles ranking of world No. 4 in 1979.

In 2019, Fromholtz was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, commemorated by a bronze bust.

Career

Fromholtz began playing tennis at the age of seven. She left school at the age of 16 to play in international tournaments. She turned pro in 1973 and joined the WTA Tour.^{[ citation needed ]}

At the age of 17, she participated in the professional tennis circuit, winning the singles title at a dozen tournaments in 1973, but the rules at the time did not permit prize money to be paid to participants under 18 years of age. ^[1]

She reached the finals of the Australian Open in January 1977, losing to fellow Australian Kerry Melville Reid in two sets. She was a semifinalist at the French Open in 1979 and 1980. She also reached the semifinals of the US Open in 1976.

Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat in Wimbledon Mixed Doubles with Tom Okker in the background, 1985

Fromholtz won eight WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in 1979. Partnering with Helen Gourlay Cawley, she won the Australian Open women's doubles in January 1977. She had career wins over Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Margaret Court, Virginia Wade, Pam Shriver, and Gabriela Sabatini. She holds an 8–7 career record over King.

Fromholtz met French businessman Claude Balestrat at a New Year's Eve party in 1981, and the couple wed in Dural on 26 December 1982. ^[2]

On 30 August 2000, Fromholtz was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for her commitment to tennis. ^[3]

In 2019, Fromholtz was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, commemorated by a bronze bust located in Garden Square, within Melbourne Park. ^[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: (1 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1977(J)	Australian Open	Grass	Kerry Melville Reid	5–7, 2–6

Doubles: (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1977(J)	Australian Open	Grass	Helen Gourlay	Kerry Melville Reid Betsy Nagelsen	5–7, 6–1, 7–5

Mixed doubles: (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1980	Wimbledon	Grass	Mark Edmondson	Tracy Austin John Austin	6–4, 6–7(6–8), 3–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 24 (8–16)

Winner – Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (8–15)

Titles by surface Hard (0–4) Grass (4–5) Clay (3–1) Carpet (1–6)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	May 1973	Guildford, UK	Clay	Kazuko Sawamatsu	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Win	2–0	Jun 1973	Chichester, UK	Grass	Brigitte Cuypers	6–1, 6–0
Win	3–0	Jun 1973	Beckenham, UK	Grass	Janet Newberry	7–5, 0–6, 6–1
Loss	3–1	Jul 1973	Newport, US	Grass	Julie Heldman	6–1, 1–6, 9–11
Loss	3–2	Nov 1973	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Janet Young	5–7, 1–6
Win	4–2	Nov 1973	Sydney, Australia	Clay	Ann Kiyomura	6–1, 7–5
Loss	4–3	Aug 1974	South Orange, US	Grass	Pam Teeguarden	5–7, 3–6
Loss	4–4	Nov 1974	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Kerry Melville	3–6, 5–7
Loss	4–5	Aug 1975	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Chris Evert	3–6, 4–6
Loss	4–6	Octr 1976	Phoenix, US	Hard	Chris Evert	1–6, 5–7
Win	5–6	Nov 1976	Sydney, Australia	Clay	Leanne Harrison	6–1, 6–0
Loss	5–7	Dec 1976	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Kerry Melville Reid	6–3, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	5–8	Jan 1977	Australian Open	Grass	Kerry Melville Reid	5–7, 2–6
Loss	5–9	Oct 1977	Atlanta, US	Carpet	Chris Evert	3–6, 2–6
Loss	5–10	Feb 1978	Detroit, US	Carpet	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 2–6
Win	6–10	Dec 1978	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Kerry Melville Reid	6–1, 1–6, 6–4
Win	7–10	Dec 1978	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Wendy Turnbull	6–2, 7–5
Loss	7–11	Jan 1979	Hollywood, US	Carpet	Greer Stevens	4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win	8–11	Mar 1979	Boston, US	Carpet	Sue Barker	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Loss	8–12	Mar 1979	Carlsbad, US	Hard	Chris Evert	6–3, 3–6, 1–6
Loss	8–13	Oct 1979	Minneapolis, US	Carpet	Evonne Goolagong	3–6, 4–6
Loss	8–14	Sep 1980	Minneapolis, US	Carpet	Tracy Austin	1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	8–15	May 1985	Sydney, Australia	Carpet	Pam Shriver	3–6, 4–6
Loss	8–16	Mar 1987	Phoenix, US	Hard	Anne White	1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 12 (5-1–6)

Winner – Legend Grand Slam tournaments (1–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (4–1-6)

Titles by surface Hard (2–2) Grass (1-1–3) Clay (2–1) Carpet (0–0)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Draw	1.	Jul 1973	Newport, US	Grass	Julie Heldman	Patti Hogan Sharon Walsh	1–5 shared – final rained out
Loss	1.	Dec 1973	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Jackie Fayter	Helen Gourlay Karen Krantzcke	2–6, 1–6
Win	1.	Apr 1974	Phoenix, US	Hard	Janet Young	Ann Kiyomura Betsy Nagelsen	w/o
Loss	2.	Nov 1974	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Margaret Court	Ilana Kloss Kerry Melville	3–6, 5–7
Win	2.	May 1975	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Paulina Peisachov Kazuko Sawamatsu	6–3, 6–2
Win	3.	Mar 1976	Tallahassee, US	Hard	Julie Anthony	Virginia Ruzici Mariana Simionescu	6–2, 7–5
Loss	3.	Dec 1976	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Renáta Tomanová	Helen Gourlay Betsy Nagelsen	4–6, 1–6
Win	4.	Jan 1977	Australian Open	Grass	Helen Gourlay	Kerry Melville Reid Betsy Nagelsen	5–7, 6–1, 7–5
Loss	4.	Sep 1977	Hilton Head, US	Clay	Virginia Wade	Evonne Goolagong Kerry Melville Reid	2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	5.	May 1979	Vienna, Austria	Clay	Marise Kruger	Ilana Kloss Betty Ann Stuart	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Loss	5.	Nov 1979	Melbourne, Australia	Grass	Anne Smith	Billie Jean King Wendy Turnbull	3–6, 3–6
Loss	6.	Feb 1983	Palm Springs, US	Hard	Betty Stöve	Kathy Jordan Ann Kiyomura	2–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

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	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	Career SR
Australian Open (Jan)	1R	A	QF	2R	3R	A	F	Held in December								NH	3R	1R	1R	1R	0 / 13
French Open	A	A	A	3R	3R	A	A	A	SF	SF	3R	A	A	A	1R	A	2R	A	A	A	0 / 7
Wimbledon	A	A	1R	1R	1R	4R	A	4R	QF	4R	3R	A	1R	A	2R	4R	QF	2R	1R	A	0 / 14
US Open	A	A	A	3R	2R	SF	4R	3R	4R	4R	1R	2R	1R	A	1R	A	1R	2R	A	A	0 / 13
Australian Open (Dec)	Held in January						A	A	A	A	1R	2R	A	2R	3R	NH	Held in January
SR	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 47
Year-end ranking					20	5	8	10	6	12	38	32	75	99	30	25	21	56	112	NR

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players since 1978 who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

1. "Dianne's tenth title of year", Sydney Morning Herald, 3 December 1973
2. "Fromholtz Marries". The Canberra Times . 31 December 1982. p. 14. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
3. "Dianne Balestrat". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . Retrieved 6 January 2012.
4. "Albury tennis product Dianne Balestrat inducted into Hall of Fame". The Border Mail (subscription required). 22 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

External links

• Dianne Fromholtz (Balestrat) at the Women's Tennis Association
• Dianne Balestrat at the International Tennis Federation
• Dianne Balestrat at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived)
• Dianne (Fromholtz) Balestrat at Tennis Australia