Helen Crook (born 20 November 1971) is a British former professional tennis player.

Helen Crook
Country (sports) Great Britain
Born (1971-11-20) 20 November 1971 (age 53)
Essex, England
Height1.75 cm (5 ft 9 in)
PlaysRight handed
CollegeUniversity of South Carolina
Prize money$98,388
Singles
Career record140–161
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 257 (16 July 2001)
Doubles
Career record192–178
Career titles0 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 155 (24 May 1999)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon2R (2003)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon1R (2001, 2003)

Biography

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Before turning professional, Crook attended college in the United States, as a journalism student at the University of South Carolina. She formed a doubles partnership in college tennis with another British player, Victoria Davies. The pair made the semifinals of the 1994 NCAA Doubles Championships.[1]

Crook, who was based in Essex, began competing on the international circuit in 1996. All of her WTA Tour and Wimbledon main-draw appearances were in doubles, a format in which she reached No. 155 in the world. She made two WTA Tour doubles quarterfinals, both with regular doubles partner Victoria Davies, at the 1999 Warsaw Cup and the 2001 Birmingham Classic. She featured in the women's doubles at Wimbledon on eight occasions and twice in mixed doubles. Her only grand slam win came when partnering Anna Hawkins at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, with the pair overcoming Barbara Schett and Patty Schnyder, before being beaten in the second round by Martina Navratilova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.[2]

She was one of the founders of GB Tennis Girls, an organisation supporting women's tennis.[3]

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles (0–2)

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$50,000 tournaments
$40,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Result No. Date Location Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 17 January 1996 Miami, United States Hard   Alina Jidkova 2–6, 5–7
Loss 2. 23 July 2000 Frinton-on-Sea, Great Britain Grass   Samantha Smith 3–6, 0–6

Doubles (11–15)

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Result No. Date Location Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 11 July 1994 Frinton-on-Sea, Great Britain Grass   Victoria Davies   Natalia Egorova
  Svetlana Parkhomenko
6–3, 6–2
Loss 2. 10 July 1995 Felixstowe, Great Britain Grass   Victoria Davies   Robyn Mawdsley
  Shannon Peters
1–6, 1–6
Win 3. 28 August 1995 Istanbul, Turkey Hard   Victoria Davies   Duygu Akşit Oal
  Zsofia Csapó
6–4, 6–4
Win 4. 27 January 1996 Istanbul, Turkey Hard (i)   Victoria Davies   Frances Hearn
  Leyla Ogan
7–6(3), 7–6(4)
Win 5. 26 April 1996 Edinburgh, Great Britain Clay   Victoria Davies   Julie Pullin
  Lorna Woodroffe
6–2, 6–0
Loss 6. 1 June 1996 Istanbul, Turkey Hard   Victoria Davies]   Emily Bond
  Emanuela Brusati
6–7(4), 4–6
Loss 7. 11 July 1997 Felixstowe, Great Britain Grass   Victoria Davies   Surina De Beer
  Lizzie Jelfs
5–7, 5–7
Win 8. 26 September 1997 Sunderland, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Mareze Joubert   Victoria Davies
  Limor Gabai
6–2, 6–4
Win 9. 6 December 1997 Pretoria, South Africa Hard   Mareze Joubert   Lucinda Gibbs
  Giselle Swart
6–2, 7–5
Loss 10. 26 March 1998 Wodonga, Australia Grass   Victoria Davies   Lisa McShea
  Alicia Molik
4–6, 4–6
Win 11. 19 April 1998 Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Clay   Victoria Davies   Yvette Basting
  Magdalena Zděnovcová
6–3, 6–3
Loss 12. 31 July 1998 Ilkley, Great Britain Grass   Victoria Davies   Lizzie Jelfs
  Mareze Joubert
3–6, 4–6
Loss 13. 26 September 1998 Sunderland, Great Britain Hard (i)   Victoria Davies   Lizzie Jelfs
  Mareze Joubert
1–6, 1–6
Loss 14. 3 October 1998 Glasgow, Great Britain Hard (i)   Victoria Davies   Eva Dyrberg
  Lydia Steinbach
4–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss 15. 2 April 2000 Pontevedra, Spain Hard   Victoria Davies   Natasha Galouza
  Vanesa Krauth
3–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss 16. 23 April 2000 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Clay   Victoria Davies   María Fernanda Landa
  Romina Ottoboni
4–6, 6–7(7)
Loss 17. 14 May 2000 Tampico, Mexico Hard   Victoria Davies   Melody Falcó
  Carla Tiene
4–6, 3–6
Win 18. 22 July 2000 Frinton-on-Sea, Great Britain Grass   Victoria Davies   Mareze Joubert
  Nicole Sewell
6–2, 6–4
Win 19. 3 February 2001 Tipton, Great Britain Hard (i)   Victoria Davies   Eleni Daniilidou
  Maria Geznenge
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 20. 20 May 2001 Edinburgh, Great Britain Clay   Victoria Davies   Julie Pullin
  Lorna Woodroffe
2–6, 1–6
Loss 21. 10 February 2002 Redbridge, Great Britain Hard (i)   Sun Tiantian   Magda Mihalache
  Ekaterina Sysoeva
6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win 22. 8 March 2003 Nuevo Laredo, Mexico Hard   Christina Zachariadou   Caroline-Ann Basu
  Kildine Chevalier
6–3, 4–6, 6–2
Win 23. 22 March 2003 Monterrey, Mexico Hard   Christina Zachariadou   Caroline-Ann Basu
  Kildine Chevalier
6–2, 6–0
Loss 24. 12 April 2003 Coatzacoalcos, Mexico Hard   Christina Zachariadou   Erica Krauth
  Sarah Stone
4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 25. 15 February 2004 Sunderland, Great Britain Hard (i)   Martina Müller   Claire Curran
  Kim Kilsdonk
4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 26. 11 July 2004 Felixstowe, Great Britain Grass   Karen Paterson   Hannah Collin
  Anna Hawkins
4–6, 4–6

References

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  1. ^ "USC Women's Tennis Gearing Up For NCAA Regionals". CBS Sports Network. 8 May 2006. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Relentless Navratilova has British pair in awe". The Daily Telegraph. 28 June 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Casting the net in hope of 'filling gaps in system'". The Independent. 26 June 2004. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
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