The amateur years
Australia · born 1934 · Australian junior champion 1951 and 1952 · Australian champion 1956 and 1959
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2
Australian girls' singles titles, 1951 and 1952
2
Australian singles titles, 1956 and 1959
9-7
Final set of the 1956 final
1961
Australian doubles champion with Margaret Smith
6
Further Australian singles semi-finals
Mary Carter was born in November 1934 and taught herself the game on a neighbour's court. She won the Australian girls' singles in 1951 and 1952 and the girls' doubles in 1952 and 1953. In 1956 at Milton in Brisbane she won the Australian singles title, beating Thelma Long 9-7 in the third set. She married Sydney Reitano in February 1958 and, as Mary Reitano, won the title again in 1959 at Memorial Drive in Adelaide, beating Renée Schuurman. She reached six more Australian singles semi-finals, toured Europe with Australian teams in 1955 and 1959, reached the French quarter-finals in 1959 and won the 1961 Australian doubles with Margaret Smith. In 1962 she turned professional as a coach and taught in Sydney. She entered the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2021.
| Major singles titles | 2: Australian (1951, 1952) |
|---|---|
| Major doubles titles | 2: Australian (1952, 1953) |
| Australian girls' doubles | 1952 with Betty Holstein; 1953 with Barbara Warby |
| Australian singles titles | 1956: beat Thelma Long 3-6, 6-2, 9-7, saving a match point. 1959: beat Renée Schuurman 6-2, 6-3 |
| Australian singles semi-finals | 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962 |
| Australian doubles | Champion 1961 with Margaret Smith, beat Mary Bevis Hawton and Jan Lehane 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Runner-up 1956, 1959, 1962 |
| Australian mixed doubles | 1961: runner-up with John Pearce |
| Wimbledon singles | Fourth round in 1955; also played 1958, 1959 and 1961 |
| Australian Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Women's singles | |
| 1959 | Women's singles | |
| 1961 | Women's doubles | with Margaret Court |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1955 | Women's singles†| |
| 1956 | 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
"It wasn't really a poker face, I just didn't show any emotion when I played."
The person behind the player.
Childhood
She was largely self-taught. As a girl she learned the game by climbing over a fence to use a neighbour's court, and from there she went on to win the Australian junior title in 1951 and again in 1952. "I liked the independence of the sport," she said.
Source: Tennis TourTalk, from an Australian Open releaseAustralian courts, 1950s
Her serious expression on court led the press to call her Little Miss Poker Face. She saw it differently. "It wasn't really a poker face, I just didn't show any emotion when I played," she said more than six decades later, when the nickname came up again on her election to the Hall of Fame.
Source: Tennis TourTalk, from an Australian Open releaseBrisbane 1956 · Semi-final
Men's matches ran long, and officials moved her semi-final against Daphne Feeney to an outside court. The two women refused. "We decided to sit in the dressing room and wait until the men finished," she said. The match was put on a show court the next morning, which she called a win for them.
Source: Tennis TourTalk, from an Australian Open releaseBrisbane 1956 · Final
Against the veteran Thelma Long she lost the first set, levelled at 6-2 and then saved a match point in the third before winning it 9-7. It was her first national title, won at 21 on the grass at Milton.
Source: WikipediaMelbourne Park 2021
She was elected to the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in February 2021, more than six decades after her second title. Covid restrictions kept her from the ceremony on Rod Laver Arena. "I thought everyone had forgotten about me," she said, "so it is lovely to be remembered and honoured this way."
Source: Tennis TourTalk, from an Australian Open releaseFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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