Ilana Sheryl Kloss | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1956-03-22)22 March 1956 (age 69) Johannesburg, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | ||||||||||||||||||
Tennis career | ||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1973 | |||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||
| Prize money | US$ 38,384 | |||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 19 (1979) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | 2R (1976,1979) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (1975,1976,1978) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | 3R (1973,1978) | |||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 2–4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 19 | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (1983) | |||||||||||||||||
| French Open | SF (1976, 1979) | |||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | SF (1976) | |||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1976) | |||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1976) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Ilana Sheryl Kloss (born 22 March 1956) is aSouth African former professionaltennis player, tennis coach, and administrator. She was the World's No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979.[1] She won theWimbledon juniors singles title in 1972, theUS Open juniors singles title in 1974, and the US Open Doubles andFrench Open Mixed Doubles titles in 1976. She won three gold medals at the1973 Maccabiah Games in Israel. After her playing career, Kloss was the commissioner ofWorld TeamTennis from 2001–2021.[2]
Before turning professional, Kloss won the juniors singles title atWimbledon in 1972.[3] She won the SA doubles title withLinky Boshoff in 1973, 1975, and 1977.[4]
She also played in theMaccabiah Games in Israel, winning gold medals in the singles, women's doubles (with Helen Weiner defeating silver medalistsVicki Berner and Pam Gullish of Canada in the finals), and the mixed doubles in the1973 Maccabiah Games.[5] She also won a silver medal in mixed doubles in the1977 Maccabiah Games, losing toPeter Rennert andStacy Margolin.[6][7][8][9]
In 1974, she won theUS Open juniors singles title.[1] She was the youngest No. 1 player in South African history.[10][11] In 1973, she won the title inCincinnati with Pat Walkden, defeatingEvonne Goolagong andJanet 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, theItalian Open, the US Clay Courts, theGerman Open, the British Hard Courts Championship, andHilton Head, as well as the mixed doubles title at theFrench Open.[11] Linky Boshoff was her most frequent doubles partner.[11] In 1977 she won the Canadian and German championships and the British clay court championship.[11]
In 1999, Kloss won the US Open doubles and mixed doubles championship on the 35-and-over tour.[11]
Kloss was inducted into the US National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. She was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.[1][12][13]
From 1973 until 1977, Kloss was a member of theSouth African team that competed in theFederation Cup. She compiled a 12–5 win–loss record.[14]
Kloss joined theSan Francisco Golden GatersWTT team in 1974,[15] and reached the WTT Finals with the team in 1975.[16] She left the Golden Gaters prior to the 1976 season to team in order to fully participate inclay-courttournaments inEurope which conflicted with the WTT schedule.[17] 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 Team Tennis.[2]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1976 | US Open | Clay |  Linky Boshoff |  Olga Morozova Virginia Wade | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1976 | French Open | Clay |  Kim Warwick | Linky Boshoff Colin Dowdeswell | 5–7, 7–6, 6–2 |
Kloss and her spouseBillie Jean King became minority owners of theLos Angeles Dodgers baseball team in September 2018[18] - so Kloss has threeWorld Series championships to her credit (2020,2024, and2025).[19] - andAngel City FC, aLos Angeles–based team that began play in theNational Women's Soccer League in 2022.[20]
Kloss, along with King, is a member of the Advisory Board of theProfessional Women's Hockey League, which was formed in 2023.[21] The MVP award for the PWHL playoffs was named theIlana Kloss Playoff MVP award, first awarded to Minnesota forward,Taylor Heise.
Kloss was born inJohannesburg, South Africa.
On October 18, 2018, Kloss married American tennis playerBillie Jean King.[22] The ceremony was performed by former New York City MayorDavid Dinkins. King and Kloss had been together for over 40 years as of 2021.[23]
