Elizabeth Smylie

Elizabeth Smylie
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	11 April 1963 (age 61); Perth, Australia
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1982
Retired	1997
Plays	Right-handed
Prize money	US$ 1,615,247
Singles
Career record	181–213
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 20 (14 September 1987)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1987)
French Open	2R (1983)
Wimbledon	4R (1984, 1985)
US Open	2R (1986, 1987, 1989)
Doubles
Career record	483–215
Career titles	36
Highest ranking	No. 5 (28 March 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1993)
French Open	SF (1984)
Wimbledon	W (1985)
US Open	F (1987)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1990)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1990, 1991)
French Open	SF (1993)
Wimbledon	W (1991)
US Open	W (1983, 1990)
Medal record
Olympic Games

Elizabeth Smylie (née Sayers, born 11 April 1963), sometimes known as Liz Smylie, is a retired Australian tennis player. During her career, she won four Grand Slam titles, one of them in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. She also won three singles titles and 36 doubles titles on the tour.

Career

Smylie turned professional in 1982.^[2] She won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1985 with Kathy Jordan.^[3] In mixed doubles, she teamed with John Fitzgerald to win the 1983 US Open and 1991 Wimbledon titles and with Todd Woodbridge to win the 1990 US Open. She won the Virginia Slims Championships with Jordan in 1990. Her best Grand Slam performance in singles came at the Australian Open in 1987, when she reached the quarterfinals. Her highest ever singles ranking was World No. 20 and her highest in doubles was World No. 5.

She played Federation Cup from 1984 to 1994, and won a bronze medal in women's doubles with Wendy Turnbull at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Over her career, Smylie won three singles titles and 36 doubles titles. She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985 and the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993.

Personal life

She is married to player-manager Peter Smylie and they have three children, Laura, Jordan and Elvis.^[4] She was the long-time tournament director of the Australian Women's Hardcourts and also works as a sports television commentator. Her brother Mervyn Sayers played one first-class cricket game for Western Australia in 1979.

Major finals

Grand Slam tournaments

Doubles: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Betsy Nagelsen	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	7–5, 7–5
Loss	1987	US Open	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1993	Australian Open	Hard	Pam Shriver	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 6–3

Mixed doubles: 8 (3 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1983	US Open	Hard	John Fitzgerald	Barbara Potter Ferdi Taygan	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	1984	US Open	Hard	John Fitzgerald	Manuela Maleeva Tom Gullikson	2–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	1985	Wimbledon	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Martina Navratilova Paul McNamee	7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	1985	US Open	Hard	John Fitzgerald	Martina Navratilova Heinz Günthardt	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1988	US Open	Hard	Patrick McEnroe	Jana Novotná Jim Pugh	7–5, 6–3
Loss	1990	Wimbledon	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Zina Garrison Rick Leach	7–5, 6–2
Win	1990	US Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Natasha Zvereva Jim Pugh	6–4, 6–2
Win	1991	Wimbledon	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Natasha Zvereva Jim Pugh	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–2

Olympics

Doubles: 1 (bronze medal)

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Bronze	1988	Seoul	Hard	Wendy Turnbull	Tied	DNP

Smylie and Turnbull lost their semifinal match to Zina Garrison and Pam Shriver 6–7⁽⁵⁾, 4–6. In 1988, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semifinal pairs received bronze medals.^[5]^[6]

Year-end championships

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1990	New York	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–4

WTA career finals

Singles: 6 (3–3)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–1)
Tier V (0–1)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (3–1)

Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Grass (0–1)
Clay (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	Apr 1982	Sardinia	Clay	Dana Gilbert	6–3, 6–0
Win	2.	Sep 1983	Kansas City	Hard	Anne Minter	6–3, 6–1
Loss	1.	Nov 1984	Brisbane	Grass	Helena Suková	4–6, 4–6
Win	3.	Feb 1987	Oklahoma City	Hard	Lori McNeil	4–6, 6–3, 7–5
Loss	2.	Apr 1989	Tokyo	Hard	Kumiko Okamoto	4–6, 2–6
Loss	3.	Apr 1990	Tokyo	Hard	Catarina Lindqvist	3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 69 (36–33)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1–4)
WTA Championships (1–0)
Tier I (2–1)
Tier II (7–1)
Tier III (2–3)
Tier IV (3–3)
Tier V (3–2)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (17–19)

Finals by surface
Hard (17–10)
Grass (5–12)
Clay (4–1)
Carpet (10–10)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	Oct 1981	Kyoto	Hard	Kim Steinmetz	Nanette Schutte Marianne van der Torre	2–6, 4–6
Win	1.	Feb 1983	Ridgewood	Carpet (i)	Beverly Mould	Rosalyn Fairbank Susan Leo	7–6, 4–6, 7–5
Loss	2.	Jun 1983	Birmingham	Grass	Beverly Mould	Billie Jean King Sharon Walsh	2–6, 4–6
Loss	3.	Jul 1983	Newport	Grass	Barbara Jordan	Barbara Potter Pam Shriver	3–6, 1–6
Win	2.	Sep 1983	Kansas City	Hard	Sandy Collins	Chris O'Neil Brenda Remilton	7–5, 7–6
Loss	4.	Jan 1984	Indianapolis	Carpet (i)	Beverly Mould	Cláudia Monteiro Yvonne Vermaak	7–6⁽⁷⁾, 4–6, 5–7
Loss	5.	Mar 1984	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Barbara Jordan	Ann Kiyomura Pam Shriver	3–6, 7–6⁽⁷⁾, 3–6
Loss	6.	Mar 1984	Dallas	Carpet (i)	Sandy Collins	Leslie Allen Anne White	4–6, 7–5, 2–6
Loss	7.	Jun 1984	Birmingham	Grass	Barbara Jordan	Leslie Allen Anne White	6–7⁽¹⁾, 3–6
Win	3.	Aug 1984	Montreal	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Hana Mandlíková	6–1, 6–2
Win	4.	Sep 1984	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Martina Navratilova	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win	5.	Oct 1984	Tampa	Hard	Carling Bassett	Mary-Lou Piatek Wendy White	6–4, 6–3
Loss	8.	Dec 1984	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Catherine Tanvier	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	4–6, 4–6
Win	6.	Jan 1985	Key Biscayne	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko	6–4, 7–6⁽²⁾
Win	7.	Jan 1985	Marco Island	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Camille Benjamin Bonnie Gadusek	6–3, 6–3
Loss	9.	Mar 1985	Princeton	Carpet (i)	Marcella Mesker	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5–7, 2–6
Win	8.	Apr 1985	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Betsy Nagelsen Anne White	4–6, 7–5, 6–2
Win	9.	May 1985	Sydney	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	7–5, 7–5
Win	10.	May 1985	Melbourne	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	Anne Hobbs Kathy Jordan	6–2, 5–7, 6–1
Loss	10.	Jun 1985	Eastbourne	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5–7, 4–6
Win	11.	Jun 1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	11.	Jul 1985	Newport	Grass	Pam Shriver	Chris Evert Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 6–7⁽²⁾
Win	12.	Aug 1985	Mahwah	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	7–6⁽⁶⁾, 6–3
Win	13.	Sep 1985	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Elise Burgin JoAnne Russell	6–2, 6–2
Loss	12.	Dec 1985	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Marcella Mesker	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	0–6, 4–6
Win	14.	Jan 1986	Key Biscayne	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Betsy Nagelsen Barbara Potter	7–6⁽⁶⁾, 2–6, 6–2
Win	15.	Mar 1986	Princeton	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Hana Mandlíková Helena Suková	6–3, 7–5
Loss	13.	Mar 1986	Nashville	Carpet /u(	Kathy Jordan	Barbara Potter Pam Shriver	4–6, 3–6
Loss	14.	Jun 1986	Birmingham	Grass	Wendy Turnbull	Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank	2–6, 4–6
Win	16.	Aug 1986	Mahwah	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Steffi Graf Helena Suková	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–3
Loss	15.	Dec 1986	Brisbane	Grass	Betsy Nagelsen	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 3–6
Win	17.	Jan 1987	Sydney	Grass	Betsy Nagelsen	Jenny Byrne Janine Thompson	6–7⁽⁵⁾, 7–5, 6–1
Loss	16.	Mar 1987	Piscataway	Carpet (i)	Betsy Nagelsen	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	1–6, 4–6
Win	18.	May 1987	Geneva	Clay	Betsy Nagelsen	Laura Gildemeister Catherine Tanvier	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	17.	Jun 1987	Eastbourne	Grass	Rosalyn Fairbank	Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko	6–7⁽⁶⁾, 6–4, 5–7
Loss	18.	Jun 1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Betsy Nagelsen	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	5–7, 5–7
Loss	19.	Aug 1987	Mahwah	Hard	Anne Hobbs	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	3–6, 2–6
Loss	20.	Aug 1987	US Open	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Win	19.	Jun 1988	Eastbourne	Grass	Eva Pfaff	Belinda Cordwell Dinky Van Rensburg	6–3, 7–6⁽⁶⁾
Loss	21.	Jan 1989	Sydney	Hard	Wendy Turnbull	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3–6, 3–6
Loss	22.	Jan 1989	Auckland	Hard	Janine Thompson	Patty Fendick Jill Hetherington	4–6, 4–6
Win	20.	Feb 1989	Wellington	Hard	Janine Thompson	Tracey Morton Heidi Sprung	7–6⁽³⁾, 6–1
Loss	23.	Feb 1989	Oklahoma City	Hard (i)	Elise Burgin	Lori McNeil Betsy Nagelsen	w/o
Win	21.	Apr 1989	Singapore	Hard	Belinda Cordwell	Ann Henricksson Beth Herr	6–7⁽⁶⁾, 6–2, 6–1
Win	22.	Apr 1989	Tokyo	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Ann Henricksson Beth Herr	6–1, 6–3
Win	23.	May 1989	Rome	Clay	Janine Thompson	Manon Bollegraf Mercedes Paz	6–4, 6–3
Win	24.	May 1989	Berlin	Clay	Janine Thompson	Lise Gregory Gretchen Magers	5–7, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	24.	Jul 1989	Newport	Grass	Wendy Turnbull	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	3–6, 6–7⁽⁵⁾, 5–7
Loss	25.	Sep 1989	Tokyo	Carpet	Wendy Turnbull	Gigi Fernández Robin White	2–6, 2–6
Win	25.	Jan 1990	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Gigi Fernández	Jo-Anne Faull Rachel McQuillan	6–2, 6–2
Win	26.	Mar 1990	San Antonio	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Gigi Fernández Robin White	7–5, 7–5
Win	27.	Apr 1990	Tokyo	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Michelle Jaggard Hu Na	6–0, 3–6, 6–1
Loss	26.	May 1990	Strasbourg	Clay	Kathy Jordan	Nicole Provis Elna Reinach	1–6, 4–6
Loss	27.	Jun 1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	3–6, 4–6
Win	28.	Nov 1990	VS Championships	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–4
Win	29.	Jan 1991	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	Mary Joe Fernández Robin White	4–6, 6–0, 6–3
Win	30.	May 1991	Geneva	Clay	Nicole Provis	Cathy Caverzasio Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière	6–1, 6–2
Win	31.	Jun 1991	Birmingham	Grass	Nicole Provis	Sandy Collins Elna Reinach	6–3, 6–4
Win	32.	Jan 1993	Sydney	Hard	Pam Shriver	Lori McNeil Rennae Stubbs	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 6–2
Loss	28.	Jan 1993	Australian Open	Hard	Pam Shriver	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	4–6, 3–6
Loss	29.	Jun 1993	Birmingham	Grass	Pam Shriver	Lori McNeil Martina Navratilova	3–6, 4–6
Win	33.	Jul 1993	Stratton Mountain	Hard	Helena Suková	Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière Mercedes Paz	6–1, 6–2
Loss	30.	Aug 1993	San Diego	Hard	Pam Shriver	Gigi Fernández Helena Suková	4–6, 3–6
Win	34.	Jan 1994	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	Manon Bollegraf Martina Navratilova	6–3, 3–6, 7–6⁽³⁾
Loss	31.	Feb 1994	Osaka	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	Larisa Neiland Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 7–6⁽²⁾, 5–7
Win	35.	Jul 1994	Stratton Mountain	Hard	Pam Shriver	Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–6⁽⁴⁾, 2–6, 7–5
Loss	32.	Aug 1994	Montreal	Hard	Pam Shriver	Meredith McGrath Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–2, 2–6, 4–6
Loss	33.	Aug 1994	Schenectady	Hard	Pam Shriver	Meredith McGrath Larisa Neiland	2–6, 2–6
Win	36.	Jun 1996	Birmingham	Grass	Linda Wild	Lori McNeil Nathalie Tauziat	6–3, 3–6, 6–1

Grand Slam performance timelines

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.

Singles

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	Career SR
Australian Open	1R	A	1R	2R	1R	2R	NH	QF	1R	1R	3R	3R	A	1R	1R	0 / 12
French Open	A	A	A	2R	1R	A	1R	1R	A	1R	1R	1R	A	1R	A	0 / 8
Wimbledon	A	2R	1R	1R	4R	4R	3R	3R	1R	3R	1R	3R	A	2R	1R	0 / 13
US Open	A	1R	A	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	A	2R	1R	1R	A	1R	A	0 / 10
SR	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 0	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 43
Year-end ranking	96	225	115	73	36	43	114	27	154	66	53	115	336	119	194

Doubles

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	Career SR
Australian Open	QF	2R	1R	2R	1R	2R	NH	1R	SF	QF	3R	QF	A	F	SF	A	1R	1R	0 / 15
French Open	A	A	3R	2R	SF	A	A	QF	A	1R	2R	2R	A	2R	2R	A	3R	A	0 / 10
Wimbledon	A	A	1R	1R	2R	W	QF	F	QF	3R	F	3R	1R	SF	QF	A	SF	1R	1 / 15
US Open	A	1R	2R	3R	3R	2R	QF	F	1R	2R	SF	2R	2R	3R	3R	A	1R	A	0 / 15
SR	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	1 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 0	0 / 4	0 / 2	1 / 55
Year-end ranking					13	7	8	8	20	12	10	14	54	9	13	NR	27	NR

NR = not ranked

Mixed doubles

Tournament	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	Career SR
Australian Open	NH	NH	NH	NH	2R	QF	QF	SF	SF	A	QF	2R	A	1R	1R	0 / 9
French Open	2R	QF	A	A	1R	A	A	3R	A	A	SF	2R	A	A	A	0 / 6
Wimbledon	A	SF	F	QF	QF	SF	2R	F	W	2R	3R	QF	A	3R	A	1 / 12
US Open	W	F	F	SF	2R	F	2R	W	2R	1R	2R	1R	A	1R	A	2 / 13
SR	1 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	1 / 4	1 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 0	0 / 3	0 / 1	3 / 40

References

^ ^a ^b ^c John Barrett, ed. (1984). World of Tennis 1984 : The Official Yearbook of the International Tennis Federation. London: Willow Books. p. 339. ISBN 0002181223.
^ "Elizabeth (Sayers) Smylie". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ "Smylie doubles triumph". The Age. 8 July 1985. p. 27. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ Pearce, Linda (15 January 2006). "The two of us". The Age. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ "Shriver, Garrison gain doubles final". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 28 September 1988. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ Craig, Gabriel (1 October 1988). "Gold gives Mecir his biggest thrill". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

External links

Elizabeth Smylie at the Women's Tennis Association
Liz Smylie at the International Tennis Federation
Elizabeth Smylie at the Billie Jean King Cup
Elizabeth (Sayers) Smylie at Tennis Australia

[wot1984-1] John Barrett, ed. (1984). World of Tennis 1984 : The Official Yearbook of the International Tennis Federation. London: Willow Books. p. 339. ISBN 0002181223.

[2] "Elizabeth (Sayers) Smylie". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[3] "Smylie doubles triumph". The Age. 8 July 1985. p. 27. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[4] Pearce, Linda (15 January 2006). "The two of us". The Age. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[5] "Shriver, Garrison gain doubles final". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 28 September 1988. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[6] Craig, Gabriel (1 October 1988). "Gold gives Mecir his biggest thrill". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

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