Dale_Houston_(tennis)
Dale Houston (tennis)
Australian tennis player
Dale Houston (born 15 November 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.
| Full name | Dale Houston |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
| Born | (1961-11-15) 15 November 1961 (age 62) Sydney, Australia |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 2-3 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 280 (17 June 1985) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1984) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 1-2 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 229 (24 June 1985) |
Houston was born in Sydney but played his junior tennis in Queensland.[1] In the early 1980s he took up a tennis scholarship to Wichita State University in Kansas. After graduating in June 1984 he competed for two years on the professional tour.[2]
At the 1984 Australian Open, just months after turning professional, Houston made it through to the third round, where he lost a competitive match to the defending champion Mats Wilander. Playing as a qualifier, Houston had straight set victories over Craig Miller and former Australian Open winner Mark Edmondson, which put him up against the Swedish second seed in the third round.[3][4] He managed to take Wilander to four sets, winning the second 6–2 and getting to a tiebreak in the third.[5] Wilander won it in the fourth and went on to win the tournament.[6]
Following his performances at the Australian Open, he gained entry to Grand Prix tournaments in Sydney and Melbourne, for a first round exit in each.[7] In Melbourne he also competed in the doubles with John Frawley and made it to the quarter-finals.
In 1985 his appearances were restricted to Challengers, although he made it to the second round of qualifying at Wimbledon and played doubles at a Brisbane Grand Prix tournament. Mid-year he reached his highest ranking, 280 in the world. His loss to Mark Kratzmann in the Australian Open qualifying round that year was his final professional match.[8]
- "Tennis: Qld title to Masur". The Canberra Times. 3 December 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Wildander Triumphs". The New York Times. 29 November 1984. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- "Wilander survives scare". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- "The Canberra Times". The Canberra Times. 2 December 1984. p. 27. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- Pye, Steven (30 January 2015). "Remembering the 1984 Australian Open, a tournament played in a different era". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- "Fitzgerald reaffirms his tennis reputation". The Canberra Times. 12 December 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
