| Intro | South African tennis player |
| Is |
Athlete Tennis player |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
| Birth | 12 March 1956, Johannesburg |
| Age: | 64 years |
Ilana Sheryl Kloss (born 22 March 1956) is a former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and the current commissioner of World TeamTennis, a position that she has held since 2001.
Tennis career
Kloss was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Before turning professional, in 1972 she won the juniors singles title at Wimbledon. In 1974 she won US Open juniors singles title. She was the youngest No. 1 player in South African history. In 1973, she won the title in Cincinnati with Pat Walkden, defeating Evonne Goolagong and Janet Young in the final.
Kloss was ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles and No. 19 in singles in 1976. That year, she won doubles titles at the US Open, the Italian Open, the US Clay Courts, the German Open, the British Hard Courts Championship, and Hilton Head, as well as the mixed doubles title at the French Open. Linky Boshoff was her most frequent doubles partner. In 1977 she won the Canadian and German championships and the British clay court championship.
In 1999 Kloss won the US Open doubles and mixed doubles championship on the 35-and-over tour.
Federation Cup
In the 1970s she was 12–5 in Federation Cup matches.
Hall of Fame
Kloss, who is Jewish, was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. She also played in the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
World Team Tennis
Kloss joined the San Francisco Golden Gaters WTT team in 1974, and reached the WTT Finals with the team in 1975. She left the Golden Gaters prior to the 1976 season to team in order to fully participate in clay-court tournaments in Europe which conflicted with the WTT schedule. Kloss returned to the Golden Gaters for the 1978 season. In 1983, she coached the Chicago Fyre to a WTT Championship and was named Coach of the Year. In 1985, Kloss was a player and coach for the Miami Beach Breakers, and became vice-president of WTT in 1987, and executive director in 1991. Since 2001, she has been the chief executive officer and commissioner of World TeamTennis.
Personal life
Kloss is the daughter of Ruth and Shlaim Kloss. She has a sister, Yvette Merle Blackman (née Kloss), now married to Richard Blackman with two children, Lara and Joshua Blackman.
Kloss is the partner of Billie Jean King, the US tennis player. She currently resides near the Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Grand Slam tournament finals
Women’s doubles: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1976 | US Open | Clay | Linky Boshoff |
Olga Morozova Virginia Wade |
6–1, 6–4 |
Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1976 | French Open | Clay | Kim Warwick |
Linky Boshoff Colin Dowdeswell |
5–7, 7–6, 6–2 |