1969 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit

The 1969 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit  was the 56th season since the formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1913, and the 95th season since the first women's tournaments were held in 1876.

Also known as the World Tennis  Circuit or simply the ILTF Circuit consisted of a worldwide series of 291 tennis tournaments played across 6 continental tennis circuits and administered by the ILTF and its associate members.

The circuit began on 1 January 1969 in East London, South Africa and ended on 28 December 1969 in Paris, France.

Summary of season
From 1888 until 1912 Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), grew in status and influence to become the de facto international tennis governing body before the proper International Lawn Tennis Federation commenced operations. Despite the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) forming in 1881 a good seven years before the LTA, it was the British body that set laws, settled disputes and organized the increasingly complicated tournament calendar before the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) formed in March, 1913.

After the formation of the ILTF the world tennis circuit going forward was a highly organised and structured network of national and international tournaments. Most tennis tournaments were usually mixed events for men and women, and the women's international tennis circuit certainly up to 1923 was composed mainly of tournaments on the British and European Circuits. After the USNLTA joined the ILTF this would later change with more and more tournaments being staged globally. Women tennis players on the world circuit up to the open era were funded by their national associations enabling them to travel and take part in international tournaments.

The 1969 ILTF women's tennis circuit began on 1 January with the Border Championships, East London, South Africa. In the four most important tournaments of the year Margaret Court defeated the defending champion Billie Jean King in the final to win the women's singles tennis title at the Australian Open. It was her eighth Australian Open title and her fourteenth major title overall. In Paris French Open at Roland Garros. Margaret Court defeated Ann Jones in the final to win the women's singles tennis title. It was her third French Open title, her second major title of the year, and her fifteenth major overall.

In early summer in London, England at the Wimbledon Championships Britain's Ann Haydon Jones defeated the three-time defending American champion Billie Jean King in the final, to win the ladies' singles tennis title. It was her first Wimbledon title, and her third and last Grand Slam singles title overall. In New York the final Grand Slam tournament of the year is played at the US Open Australia's Margaret Court defeated Nancy Richey in the final, to win the women's singles tennis title. It was her third major singles title of the year, her third US Open singles title and her sixteenth singles major title overall. The circuit ended on 28 December 1969 at the Michel Bivort Cup tournament, Paris, France that was played indoors.

Schedule
This is a calendar of all official events that were administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation in the year 1969, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage where sources permit. The table also includes Grand Slam events, and tournaments on the African, Asian, Australasia, Central American & Caribbean, European, and South American ILTF regional circuits, as part of the annual world tennis circuit. Team events such as the Federation Cup and Wightman Cup are included.


 * Key

World rankings
These are the Top 10 World Rankings for 1969 by tennis journalists, magazines and authors. WTA Rankings did not begin until 1974/75.

Tournament winners (singles)
This is a list of winners by the total number of singles titles won for 1969:
 * 🇦🇺 Margaret Court – Australian Open, Berkeley, Bournemouth, Bristol, Caracas, Charlotte, Chestnut Hill, French Open, Frinton-On-Sea, Haverford, Houston, Hurlingham, Locust Valley, Melbourne, Newport, Perth, San Juan, Sydney, US Open (19)
 * 🇺🇸 Billie Jean King – Binghamton, Dublin, Durban, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Los Angeles II, Midland, Oakland, Portland, St Louis, Stockholm (11)
 * Helga Niessen Masthoff – Bielefeld, Buenos Aires, Düsseldorf, Leverkusen, Nuremberg, Poertschach, Santiago, São Paulo, Stuttgart, Stuttgart II, Travemunde (11)
 * 🇬🇧 Ann Haydon Jones – Aix-En-Provence, Auckland, Brussels, London, Monte Carlo, Nagoya, Osaka, Wembley, Wimbledon (9)
 * 🇺🇸 Peaches Bartkowicz – Bastad, East London II, Monte Carlo, Nice, Reggio Emilia, Richmond, Sopot, Stuttgart, Warsaw (9)
 * 🇺🇸 Alice Tym – Casablanca, Chicago, Jaipur, Madras, Natanya, New Delhi, Tel Aviv, Visakhapatnam. Wellington (9)
 * 🇺🇸 Julie Heldman – Barranquilla, Curaçao, La Costa, Moscow, Pompano Beach, Rome, Tel Aviv, Torquay (8)
 * 🇬🇧 Virginia Wade – Cape Town, Hoylake, London, Paris, Perth, Port Talbot, Stalybridge (7)
 * 🇦🇺 Kerry Melville – Barcelona, Guildford, Hilversum, Hobart, Rockdale, Rome, St. Petersburg (7)
 * Patricia Walkden – Bloemfontein, Brumana, East London, Istanbul, Tehran (5)
 * 🇺🇸 Mary Ann Curtis – Agawam, Brookville, Manchester, Surbiton, Winchester (5)
 * 🇺🇸 Stephanie DeFina – Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach (4)
 * 🇦🇺 Karen Krantzcke – Adelaide, Brisbane, Launceston, Strathfield (4)
 * Marie Neumannová – Klamovka, Palermo, Prague, Reggio Calabria (4)
 * 🇺🇸 Betty Ann Grubb – Ojai, Overland Park, Tulsa, Wimbledon II, (4)
 * 🇦🇺 Evonne Goolagong – Cowra, Grafton, Manuka, Sydney (4)
 * 🇸🇪 Christina Sandberg – Cologne, Helsinki, Stockholm, Viareggio (4)
 * 🇬🇧 Sally Holdsworth – Beersheba, Haifa, Natanya, Thessaloniki (4)
 * 🇺🇸 Nancy Richey – Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix (3)
 * 🇦🇺 Lesley Turner Bowrey – Cincinnati, Kansas City, Kingston (3)
 * Olga Morozova – Moscow, Moscow II, Moscow III (3)
 * 🇯🇵 Kazuko Sawamatsu – Den-en-Chofu, Senigallia, Tokyo (3)
 * 🇧🇪 Ingrid Loeys – Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Brussels, Lyon (3)
 * 🇧🇷 Suzana Petersen – Brooklands, Cardiff, Lisbon (3)
 * 🇺🇸 Emilie Burrer – Mobile, Northfield, Tucson (3)
 * 🇪🇸 Ana María Estalella – Palma, Madrid, San Sebastian (3)
 * Judith Dibar – Amritsar, New Delhi, (2)
 * 🇦🇺 Judy Tegart – Hamburg, Kitzbuhel (2)
 * 🇦🇹 Trude Schonberger – Salzburg, Zell am See (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Winnie Shaw – Brisbane, Toowoomba (2)
 * Olga Lendlova – Champéry, Geneva (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Joan Wilshere – Santander, Vigo (2)
 * 🇺🇸 Linda Tuero – Chattanooga, Rochester (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Corinne Molesworth – Barnes, Chingford (2)
 * 🇺🇸 Marjorie Gengler – Mamaroneck, Port Washington (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Nell Truman – Alexandria, Cheltenham (2)
 * 🇺🇸 Eliza Pande – Sacramento, San Francisco II (2)
 * 🇪🇨 María Guzmán – Quito, Rome (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Susan Tutt – Birmingham, Havant (2)
 * 🇫🇷 Gail Chanfreau – Indianapolis, Manly (2)
 * 🇺🇸 Mary Struthers – La Jolla, Seattle (2)
 * 🇬🇧 Shirley Brasher – Cranleigh, Southport (2)
 * 🇺🇸 Chris Evert – Delray Beach (1)
 * 🇦🇺 Lesley Hunt – Montana (1)
 * Betty Stöve – Paris (1)
 * Esmé Emmanuel – Fresno (1)
 * Marijke Schaar – Cannes (1)
 * 🇮🇹 Lea Pericoli – Cairo (1)
 * 🇲🇽 Elena Subirats – San Luis Potosí (1)
 * Anne-Marie Studer – Lugano (1)
 * 🇦🇷 Beatriz Araujo – Buenos Aires (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Rosie Casals – Baltimore (1)
 * Mari Ann Bloch Jorgensen – Copenhagen (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Barbara Downs – Diablo Valley (1)
 * 🇫🇷 Francoise Durr – Gstaad (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Patti Hogan – South Orange (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Christine Truman Janes – Nottingham (1)
 * 🇳🇿 Beverly Vercoe –  Auckland (1)
 * 🇯🇵 Kimiyo Hatanaka – Forest Hill (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Stephanie Grant – West Hollywood (1)
 * 🇦🇺 Val Bermingham – South Yarra (1)
 * 🇳🇿 Sue Blackwood – Hamilton (NZ) (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Louise Gonnerman – New Haven (1)
 * 🇦🇺 Lynne Nette – Melbourne (1)
 * 🇮🇱 Paulina Peisachov – Nicosia (1)
 * 🇨🇦 Vivienne Strong – Toronto (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Tina Lyman – Mountain View (1)
 * 🇦🇺 Wendy Gilchrist – Newcastle (1)
 * 🇵🇱 Barbara Kral – Lodz (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Janice MacFarlane – Edgbaston (1)
 * Fiorella Bonicelli – La Coruña (1)
 * Ana María Arias – Le Touquet (1)
 * 🇮🇹 Maria Nasuelli – Catania (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Valerie Ziegenfuss – Mexico City (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Joyce Williams – Hampstead (1)
 * 🇦🇷 Anna-Maria Cavadini – Madrid (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Marcie Louie – San Francisco (1)
 * 🇫🇷 Gail Chanfreau – Naples (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Janice Townsend – Droitwich (1)
 * Alena Palmeova – Ostrava (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Janet Newberry – Los Angeles (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Robin Lloyd – St Anne's on Sea (1)
 * Heide Orth – Bremen (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Bonnie Logan – St Louis (1)
 * 🇨🇦 Louise Brown – Toronto II (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Lesley Charles – Malvern (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Denise Carter – Beckenham (1)
 * Ada Bakker – Siófok (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Chris Beck – Wilmington (1)
 * Anita Van Deventer – Felixstowe (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Nadine Netter – Mamaroneck II (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Connie Capozzi – Birmingham (US) (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Elizabeth Graham – Durham (1)
 * 🇬🇧 Marjorie Love – Edinburgh (1)
 * 🇮🇹 Maria Teresa Riedl – Verona (1)
 * 🇺🇸 Carole Graebner– Anaheim (1)

Singles

 * Total Tournaments (291)
 * Most Titles: 🇦🇺 Margaret Court (19)
 * Most Finals: 🇦🇺 Margaret Court (20)
 * Most Matches Played: 🇦🇺 Margaret Court (109)
 * Most Matches Won: 🇦🇺 Margaret Court (103)
 * Match Winning %: 🇦🇺 Margaret Court (94.5%)
 * Most Tournaments Played: 🇦🇺 Karen Krantzcke (33)
 * Most Head 2 Heads Meets: 🇺🇸 Billie Jean King vs. 🇬🇧 Ann Haydon Jones & 🇬🇧 Virginia Wade vs. 🇺🇸 Julie Heldman (10)

Selected Sources

 * Barrett, John, ed. (1970). BP year book of World Tennis 1970 (Results for 1969). London: Clipper Press. ISBN 0851080049. OCLC 502255545. OL 21635829M.
 * Newspapers.com by Ancestry. Historical Newspaper Archive 1700s to 2000s Lindon, Utah, United States. via the Wikipedia Library.
 * Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. ISBN 0047960426.