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Revision as of 20:16, 24 August 2006 by Tennis expert (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Doris Hart (born on June 2, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a tennis champion in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles, and is in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. As a child, she suffered from an illness that resulted in an impaired leg. She started playing tennis when she was 10 years old, greatly encouraged by her brother Bud. Hart's first Grand Slam singles title came in the 1949 Australian championships. She went on to win the French singles in 1950 and 1952, Wimbledon in 1951, and the U.S. singles in 1954 and 1955. In 1951, she beat her long-time doubles partner, Shirley Fry in the Wimbledon finals. She reached at least the quarterfinals in 32 of the 34 Grand Slam singles tournaments she played, failing to reach that round only in her first two tournaments (when she was 15 and 16 years old). She won 6 of the 18 Grand Slam singles finals she contested. She was the champion of the last Grand Slam singles tournament she played, the 1955 U.S. Championships. Her last Grand Slam doubles tournament was the 1969 U.S. Open, where she and partner Carole Graebner lost in the first round.
She had great success in women's doubles, winning the championship at Wimbledon in 1947 and from 1951 through 1953; at the French championships in 1948 and from 1950 to 1953, at the U.S. championships from 1951 to 1954, and in Australia in 1950. Hart won most of those titles with Shirley Fry.
In mixed doubles, Hart won championships at Wimbledon from 1951 to 1956 and at the U.S. Nationals from 1951 to 1955, giving her a total of 34 Grand Slam titles.
Hart is one of three players, all women, to have a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles—every possible title (singles, same-sex doubles, and mixed doubles) from all four Grand Slam events. The others are Margaret Smith Court and Martina Navratilova.
Grand Slam record
- Australian Championships
- Singles champion: 1949
- Singles finalist: 1950
- Doubles champion: 1950
- Doubles finalist: 1949
- Mixed champion: 1949, 1950
- French Championships
- Singles champion: 1950, 1952
- Singles finalist: 1947, 1951, 1953
- Doubles champion: 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
- Doubles finalist: 1946, 1947
- Mixed champion: 1951, 1952, 1953
- Mixed finalist: 1948
- Wimbledon Championships
- Singles champion: 1951
- Singles finalist: 1947, 1948, 1953
- Doubles champion: 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953
- Doubles finalist: 1946, 1948, 1950, 1954
- Mixed champion: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955
- Mixed finalist: 1948
- U.S. Championships
- Singles champion: 1954, 1955
- Singles finalist: 1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953
- Doubles champion: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
- Doubles finalist 1941-45, 47-50,55
- Mixed champion: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955
- Mixed finalist: 1945, 1950
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (6)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1949 | Australian Championships |  Nancye Wynne Bolton |
6-3, 6-4 |
| 1950 | French Championships |  Patricia Todd |
6-4, 4-6, 6-2 |
| 1951 | Wimbledon Championships | Shirley Fry |
6-1, 6-0 |
| 1952 | French Championships (2) | Shirley Fry |
6-4, 6-4 |
| 1954 | U.S. Championships | Louise Brough |
6-8, 6-1, 8-6 |
| 1955 | U.S. Championships (2) |  Patricia Ward |
6-4, 6-2 |
Runner-ups (12)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1946 | U.S. Championships | Pauline Betz |
11-9, 6-3 |
| 1947 | French Championships | Patricia Todd |
6-3, 3-6, 6-4 |
| 1947 | Wimbledon Championships | Margaret Osborne |
6-2, 6-4 |
| 1948 | Wimbledon Championships | Louise Brough |
6-3, 8-6 |
| 1949 | U.S. Championships | Margaret Osborne duPont |
6-3, 6-1 |
| 1950 | Australian Championships | Louise Brough |
6-4, 3-6, 6-4 |
| 1950 | U.S. Championships | Margaret Osborne duPont |
6-4, 6-3 |
| 1951 | French Championships | Shirley Fry |
6-3, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 1952 | U.S. Championships | Maureen Connolly |
6-3, 7-5 |
| 1953 | French Championships | Maureen Connolly |
6-2, 6-4 |
| 1953 | Wimbledon Championships | Maureen Connolly |
8-6, 7-5 |
| 1953 | U.S. Championships | Maureen Connolly |
6-2, 6-4 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | Career Championships / Total Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | DNP | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | DNP | DNP | DNP | W | F | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 1 / 2 |
| French Championships | NH | R | R | R | R | DNP | QF | F | SF | DNP | W | F | W | F | DNP | DNP | 2 / 7 |
| Wimbledon | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | QF | F | F | DNP | SF | W | QF | F | SF | SF | 1 / 9 |
| U.S. Championships | 2R | 1R | QF | SF | QF | SF | F | SF | QF | F | F | SF | F | F | W | W | 2 / 16 |
| Yearly Championships / Total Played | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 2 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 2 | 1 / 2 | 6 / 34 |
NH = not held
R = restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation
DNP = did not participate in the tournament