Dale Houston (tennis)

Dale Houston (born 15 November 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.

Dale Houston
Full nameDale Houston
Country (sports) Australia
Born (1961-11-15) 15 November 1961
Sydney, Australia
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record2-3
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 280 (17 June 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1984)
Doubles
Career record1-2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 229 (24 June 1985)

Biography

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]

References
  1. "Tennis: Qld title to Masur". The Canberra Times. 3 December 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "BIO". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. "Wildander Triumphs". The New York Times. 29 November 1984. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. "Wilander survives scare". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "The Canberra Times". The Canberra Times. 2 December 1984. p. 27. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Pye, Steven (30 January 2015). "Remembering the 1984 Australian Open, a tournament played in a different era". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. "Fitzgerald reaffirms his tennis reputation". The Canberra Times. 12 December 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Australian Open - 25 November - 08 December 1985". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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