The amateur years
United States · born Los Angeles, 1936 · died 2021 · twice US champion, seven Wimbledon titles in doubles and mixed
All playersBack to the rankings
7
Wimbledon titles, all in doubles and mixed
2
US singles titles, 1960 and 1961
6
US women's doubles titles, 1958 to 1969
21
Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed
0-6, 0-2
Deficit overturned in the 1969 US Open final
Darlene Hard was born in Los Angeles in 1936 and learned the game from her mother, Ruth, on public courts. At Pomona College she won the first US collegiate singles title in 1958. Between 1957 and 1962 she reached seven major singles finals and won three: the French and US Championships in 1960 and the US title again in 1961. She was ranked in the world top ten each year from 1957 to 1963, peaking at No. 2. Her 21 major titles include 13 in women's doubles and five in mixed. She played in four winning Wightman Cup teams and the first Federation Cup winners in 1963, then left the amateur game in 1964 to teach. From 1981 she worked in student publications at the University of Southern California. She died in 2021.
| Major singles titles | 2: US (1960, 1961) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 4: Wimbledon 1957, Wimbledon 1959, US 1958, US 1962 |
| Other grass singles titles | 5: Kent 2 (1956, 1959); Northern Championships 2 (1960, 1962); Pennsylvania Championships (1963) |
| Major doubles titles | 10 doubles (Wimbledon 4, US 6), 3 mixed (Wimbledon 3) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1957 with Althea Gibson; 1959 with Jeanne Arth; 1960 and 1963 with Maria Bueno |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1957 with Mervyn Rose; 1959 and 1960 with Rod Laver |
| US doubles | 1958 and 1959 with Jeanne Arth; 1960 and 1962 with Maria Bueno; 1961 with Lesley Turner; 1969 with Françoise Dürr |
| Wimbledon singles finals | 1957: lost to Althea Gibson 6-3, 6-2. 1959: lost to Maria Bueno 6-4, 6-3 |
| Finals to remember | 1960 US Championships, Forest Hills: beat Maria Bueno 6-4, 10-12, 6-4. 1961: beat Ann Haydon 6-3, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Women's doubles | with Althea Gibson |
| 1957 | Mixed doubles | with Mervyn Rose |
| 1959 | Women's doubles | with Jeanne Arth |
| 1959 | Mixed doubles | with Rod Laver |
| 1960 | Women's doubles | with Maria Bueno |
| 1960 | Mixed doubles | with Rod Laver |
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Maria Bueno |
| US Championships | ||
| 1958 | Women's doubles | with Jeanne Arth |
| 1959 | Women's doubles | with Jeanne Arth |
| 1960 | Women's doubles | with Maria Bueno |
| 1960 | Women's singles | |
| 1961 | Women's doubles | with Lesley Turner Bowrey |
| 1961 | Women's singles | |
| 1962 | Women's doubles | with Maria Bueno |
| 1969 | Women's doubles US Open | with Françoise Dürr |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1960 | Women's singles†| |
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1959 | Women's singles†| |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"She was the best doubles player of her generation."
The person behind the player.
Los Angeles, 1950s
As a girl she mowed lawns to help with the family finances, and at one point she left high school for a time to work as a waitress. Her mother, who had been one of the better players in the Los Angeles area, taught her the game at Griffith Park.
Source: Encyclopedia.com, Women in World HistoryWimbledon 1957
Althea Gibson beat her 6-3, 6-2 in the singles final, and at the Centre Court presentation Hard planted a kiss on the new champion's cheek. The two then won the ladies' doubles together, and Hard added the mixed with Mervyn Rose.
Source: Pomona College MagazineLos Angeles, late 1950s
The coach Clyde Walker asked her to practise with a teenage Billie Jean Moffitt. Hard drove 40 miles from Pomona to collect her. King remembered waiting for "her red Chevy convertible" with "a twin-pipe hot rod muffler that announced she was near", and using the drive to ask whether Wimbledon was as great as people said.
Source: Pomona College MagazineWimbledon 1959 and 1960
Rod Laver, her partner for two Wimbledon mixed titles, said he told opponents he would not have to hit any overheads: "Darlene would hit them all." Word got round, he said, and the advice became "You better hit the ball at Laver."
Source: ITFAustralia, 1962
She spoke her mind, which did not always please officials. On tour in Australia she complained that the national association treated her like a "puppet" and called its allowance of $4.20 a day "ludicrous". Players and spectators liked her all the same.
Source: Encyclopedia.com, Women in World HistoryUS Open 1969
A teaching pro by then, she could not partner her amateur student, so Pancho Gonzalez introduced her to Françoise Dürr. In the final they lost the first set 6-0 to Margaret Court and Virginia Wade and trailed 0-2, then won 12 of the next 17 games. Her prize of $1,000 took her career earnings to $1,200.20.
Source: Manly Lawn Tennis ClubFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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