Melville began her Grand Slam tennis career in 1963 when she reached the third round of the Australian Championships.

Melville was the women's singles runner-up at the 1970 Australian Open, losing to Margaret Court in the final in straight sets.

Melville was the singles runner-up at the US Open in 1972, losing to King after defeating Chris Evert in the semifinal in straight sets.

In 1972, Melville reached the final of the inaugural WTA Tour Championships, where she lost to Evert in two sets.

Reid defeated Navratilova in a Family Circle Cup semifinal in two sets, then lost to Tracy Austin in the final.

Melville Reid won the Australian Open women's doubles title twice, outright in 1968 and shared in December 1977.

During that run, she beat several top players, including Rosemary Casals (1976 final on carpet), Wade (1977 semifinal on grass in Eastbourne just weeks before Wade's Wimbledon victory), Austin (1978 final in Melbourne on grass) and Hana Mandlíková (1979 semifinal on clay).

Reid was a member of the "Houston 9", the breakaway group led by Gladys Heldman in 1971 that formed the nucleus of the women's professional tennis tour.

[7] Reid anchored a World TeamTennis team for each season of its inaugural incarnation (Boston Lobsters 1974–1976 and San Diego Friars 1977–1978).