The ITF was saddened to hear of the death of Sylvia Bauwens, who died earlier this month at the age of 74. Bauwens was a main-stay on the ITF seniors circuit for more than two decades, having first competed in 1995.

Bauwens was a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles across different age categories. In singles, she reached the No. 1 ranking in the 55-and-over category in December 2003 and in the 70-and-over category in April 2016. She also became the world No. 1 in doubles in the 65-and-over category in April 2012.

In total, Bauwens played 497 singles matches on the seniors circuit, and won 77% of them. She won 39 singles titles – including victories at the European Championships on two occasions, when she won back-to-back titles in the 60-and-over category in 2009-10. She also won six doubles titles during her 25 years on the circuit.

Bauwens represented Germany in numerous ITF World Team Championship events, after first appearing at the competition in 1995. 

Bauwens was as friendly as she was successful, and was popular among her fellow players. She will be greatly missed by the ITF seniors community.