Francoise Durr

Francoise Durr is a former female tennis player who hailed from France. She is most remembered for ranking as the World No. 3 during 1967. She also ranked several times in the top 10 for a period of 11 years. She was also the second highest earning female player in 1971 – just under Billie Jean King.

Durr won the French Open Singles in 1967 against Maria Bueno. She ranked as a Singles semi-finalist during the 1972 and the 1973 games. She has also won mixed doubles and doubles in the same Open several times from 1967 to 1973. In her entire French open rally, she has won eight doubles titles – she won five of those consecutively. She shares that record of winning 5 straight doubles with Gigi Fernandez and Martina Narvatilova.

In Wimbledon, Durr won in mixed doubles during the 1976 games. She also finished as a finalist in Doubles and a semifinalist in singles and in mixed doubles several times starting from 1965 to 1978. She became a semifinalist in the US open singles in 1967 and won doubles in 1969 and 1972.

She was a member of the French Fed Cup Team for several years and was captain in 1996. She received a WTA honorary membership award in 1988 and she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1993 she became the first director of Women’s Tennis for France’s tennis federation.

Aside from her pinpoint accuracy on the court, Durr is also remember for being the first female player to travel the tennis circuit with her dog named Topspin. The dog also became a star because it carried Durr’s racquet for her into the court.