Playing in heavy, ankle-length, tight-at-the-waist skirts with long sleeved blouses – all common at the time – Kathleen Le Messurier was a stylish player. She reached the Australian championship singles and doubles finals in 1932.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Kathleen Le Messurier was ranked in the top 10 of women players in Australia, the highest ranking being No. 4 in 1932.
Playing in heavy, ankle-length, tight-at-the-waist skirts with long sleeved blouses – all common at the time – Kathleen Le Messurier was a stylish player.
She was a runner-up in the 1932 Australian Championships women’s singles, losing in the final to Sydney-sider Coral McInnes Buttsworth in straight sets, 4–6, 7–9.
She also reached the doubles final in 1924, 1925, 1928 and 1932 but lost on all four occasions.
That year, 1932, the Australian Championships were played in Adelaide on the grass courts of Memorial Drive.
Clearly Kathleen performed best on home soil, reaching the singles and doubles final that year.
She exceled in women’s doubles, often partnered by Dorothy Weston, and mixed doubles also, partnered by Don Turnbull or Ron Hone.
Throughout her Pennant career, she played for three clubs – Methodist Ladies College, then Semaphore, and finally with East Torrens.
She took out the SA Championships in Adelaide in 1928 and has been inducted into Tennis SA’s Legends Club.
