News

Liz James shares her tennis journey from Wales to Wimbledon

Our Penarth Sporting Memories Club members were brought into the Wimbledon spirit with the visit of former tennis player Liz James at a recent session. 

Liz played at the famous championships at Wimbledon on several occasions during the 1970s, was on hand to share some of the details of her playing days with our members alongside other anecdotes from her career in the sport.

Sharing a career in tennis

Liz’s career in the sport followed the journey of her mother, Barbara Ernest, who played at Wimbledon during the 1950s.

Liz spoke to our Penarth Club members about her career in tennis, which spanned across the 1960s and 70s. This included making the Ladies singles draw at The Championships on several occasions across the decades, making the second round twice consecutively in 1970 and 1971. Lis also made the third round of the mixed doubles competition in SW19 in 1970 too.

Liz recalled those days at the greatest grass competition in the world, but also mentioned some of the other matches she played during her career against the likes of tennis greats such as Margaret Court and the American Billie Jean King.

Liz also represented Wales at an international level, helping her country defeat England in 1979, which brought great joy with some of the members of our Penarth Club.

Connected to a Welsh sporting legend

Connecting to Welsh sporting greats, Liz also shared details of when she partnered the great JPR Williams in several mixed doubles events early in her career. JPR Williams was known for being a top tennis prospect before he chosen to follow a career in rugby, for which he became a national hero!

It was an enjoyable session for our Penarth members, with many asking Liz questions about her time playing some of the greats of the game as well as her time representing her nation on the court.

A great session

Rob Baker, Project Coordinator for Sporting Memories in Wales, reflected on an entertaining session in Penarth.

“It’s always great when we can welcome people from the world of sport to our Clubs, and our members in Penarth were delighted to welcome Liz to one of their recent sessions.

“Liz shared some great stories from her Tennis career, including her connections to the Welsh rugby legend that is JPR Williams, which made for a brilliant afternoon.”