The amateur years
United States · born St. Louis, 1925 · died 2015 · Wimbledon champion 1951 · ten Wimbledon titles
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10
Wimbledon titles in singles, doubles and mixed
3
Wimbledon finals won on 7 July 1951
6-1, 6-0
1951 Wimbledon final against Shirley Fry
35
Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed
14-0
Wightman Cup singles record, 1946 to 1955
Born in St. Louis in 1925 and raised in Coral Gables, Florida, Hart played her first major tournament at 15 in 1940 and won the US girls' singles in 1942 and 1943. She won 35 major titles: six in singles, 14 in women's doubles and 15 in mixed. She completed the career Grand Slam in singles and was the first player to win the singles, doubles and mixed at all four majors. Ranked world No. 1 in 1951, she won all 14 of her Wightman Cup singles matches between 1946 and 1955. She retired in late 1955, at 30, to become a teaching professional, the year her book Tennis with Hart appeared. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1969 and died in Coral Gables in 2015.
| Major singles titles | 4: Wimbledon (1951); Australian (1949); US (1954, 1955) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 9: Wimbledon 1947, Wimbledon 1948, Wimbledon 1953, Australian 1950, US 1946, US 1949, US 1950, US 1952, US 1953 |
| Other grass singles titles | 9: Eastern Grass Court Championships 4 (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953); Northern Championships 3 (1951, 1953, 1955); NSW Championships (1948); Victorian Championships (1948) |
| Major doubles titles | 9 doubles (Wimbledon 4, Australian 1, US 4), 12 mixed (Wimbledon 5, Australian 2, US 5) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1947 with Pat Todd; 1951, 1952 and 1953 with Shirley Fry |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1951 and 1952 with Frank Sedgman; 1953, 1954 and 1955 with Vic Seixas |
| Wimbledon singles finals | 1947 lost to Margaret Osborne 6-2, 6-4; 1948 lost to Louise Brough 6-3, 8-6; 1951 beat Shirley Fry 6-1, 6-0 in 34 minutes; 1953 lost to Maureen Connolly 8-6, 7-5 |
| Finals to remember | US Championships 1954: beat Louise Brough 6-8, 6-1, 8-6, a match she called her toughest |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Women's doubles | with Patricia Canning Todd |
| 1951 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1951 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| 1951 | Women's singles | |
| 1952 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1952 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| 1953 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1953 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1954 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1955 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| US Championships | ||
| 1951 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1951 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| 1952 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1952 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| 1953 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1953 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1954 | Women's doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| 1954 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1954 | Women's singles | |
| 1955 | Mixed doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1955 | Women's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1949 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| 1949 | Women's singles | |
| 1950 | Women's doubles | with Louise Brough |
| 1950 | Mixed doubles | with Frank Sedgman |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1949 | Women's singles†| |
| 1950 | Women's singles†| |
| 1952 | Women's singles†| |
| 1953 | Women's singles†| |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1951 | Women's singles†| |
| 1953 | Women's singles†| |
| 1955 | Women's singles†| |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1948 | Women's singles†| |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1948 | Women's singles†| |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1950 | 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
"The greatest feat, I think, in women's tennis."
The person behind the player.
Florida · 1930s
Her older brother Bud coached her from the age of ten. He had her practise at the net and on half-volleys inside a line drawn two feet behind the baseline, and told her: "If you return them you won't get hit. Get back to the net." She later wrote that she was never going to be a retriever.
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1947
Her first major title came in the Wimbledon women's doubles of 1947. Partnering Pat Todd, she beat the holders, Margaret Osborne and Louise Brough, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, the deciding set turning on a disputed line call. She also reached the singles final that year, losing to Osborne.
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1951
Rain delays left Hart with the singles, doubles and mixed finals all on 7 July. She beat Shirley Fry 6-1, 6-0 in 34 minutes, won the doubles with Fry and the mixed with Frank Sedgman, and dropped one set in the whole fortnight. "I wasn't tired," she said. "I was on cloud nine."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameOn tour · 1950s
According to Shirley Fry, it was Hart's brother Bud who suggested the partnership, because Fry could run down lobs. The two became best friends, roomed together on the road and won Wimbledon three years running from 1951. It did not stop them meeting in singles: Hart beat Fry in the 1951 Wimbledon final and again at Forest Hills in 1954.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameWimbledon
Dan Maskell, the All England Club's teaching professional, changed his own forehand to copy Hart's. He called her "one of the most outstanding women ever to grace a tennis court." Vic Seixas, her mixed doubles partner for three Wimbledon titles, put her game more simply: "The crux of it is that she could do everything except run."
Source: Tennis Abstract1944 to 1955
Hart appeared in Collier's magazine in September 1944, and Spalding made a signature Doris Hart racquet in white ash with a turquoise handle. In 1955, the year she left amateur tennis to teach, she published her own book, Tennis with Hart.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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