Darlene Hard

Darlene Hard

Hard congratulates Althea Gibson at the 1957 Wimbledon Women's Singles Championships. The pair were Wimbledon Women's Doubles Champions that same year.
Full name	Darlene Ruth Hard
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1936-01-06) January 6, 1936 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Plays	Right-handed
Int. Tennis HoF	1973 (member page)
Singles
Career record	no value
Highest ranking	No. 2 (1957)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (1962)
French Open	W (1960)
Wimbledon	F (1957, 1959)
US Open	W (1960, 1961)
Doubles
Career record	no value
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1962)
French Open	W (1955, 1957, 1960)
Wimbledon	W (1957, 1959, 1960, 1963)
US Open	W (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1962)
French Open	W (1955, 1961)
Wimbledon	W ( 1957, 1959, 1960)
US Open	F (1956, 1957, 1961)
Team competitions
Wightman Cup	W (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963)
Medal record Pan American Games 1963 São Paulo Singles 1963 São Paulo Doubles

Darlene Hard (born January 6, 1936) is an American former professional tennis player. Known for her volleying ability and strong serves, she captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Championships in 1960 and 1961.

With eight different partners, she won a total of 13 women's doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments. Her last doubles title, at the age of 33 at the 1969 US Open, came six years after she had retired from serious competition to become a tennis instructor. She also played the US Open singles tournament in 1969, losing in the second round to Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–3.

Career

Queen Elizabeth II presents the Wimbledon championship trophy to Althea Gibson as Darlene Hard, at left, looks on (July 6, 1957)

According to Lance Tingay of the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Hard was ranked among the top ten in the world from 1957 through 1963, reaching a career high of number 2 in those rankings in 1957, 1960, and 1961.^[1] Hard was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1954 through 1963. She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1960 through 1963.^[2]

In 1964 Hard won the singles title at the South African Championships, defeating Ann Haydon-Jones in the final, and soon afterwards turned professional when she became a teaching pro. She later owned two tennis stores.^[3]

Hard was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1973.

She has worked for the University of Southern California since 1981.^[3][4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Althea Gibson	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	1958	U.S. Championships	Grass	Althea Gibson	6–3, 1–6, 2–6
Runner-up	1959	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Bueno	4–6, 3–6
Winner	1960	French Championships	Clay	Yola Ramírez Ochoa	6–3, 6–4
Winner	1960	U.S. Championships	Grass	Maria Bueno	6–4, 10–12, 6–4
Winner	1961	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ann Haydon	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	1962	U.S. Championships	Grass	Margaret Smith	7–9, 4–6

Doubles: 18 (13 titles, 5 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1955	French Championships	Clay	Beverly Baker	Shirley Bloomer Pat Ward	7–5, 6–8, 13–11
Runner-up	1956	French Championships	Clay	Dorothy Head	Angela Buxton Althea Gibson	8–6, 6–8, 1–6
Winner	1957	French Championships	Clay	Shirley Bloomer	Yola Ramírez Rosie Reyes	7–5, 4–6, 7–5
Winner	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Althea Gibson	Mary Bevis Hawton Thelma Coyne Long	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	1957	U.S. Championships	Grass	Althea Gibson	Louise Brough Margaret Osborne	2–6, 5–7
Winner	1958	U.S. Championships	Grass	Jeanne Arth	Maria Bueno Althea Gibson	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	1959	Wimbledon	Grass	Jeanne Arth	Beverly Baker Christine Truman	2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	1959	U.S. Championships	Grass	Jeanne Arth	Althea Gibson Sally Moore	6–2, 6–3
Winner	1960	French Championships	Clay	Maria Bueno	Pat Ward Ann Haydon Jones	6–2, 7–5
Winner	1960	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Bueno	Sandra Reynolds Renee Schuurman	6–4, 6–0
Winner	1960	U.S. Championships	Grass	Maria Bueno	Althea Gibson Deidre Catt	6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	1961	French Championships	Clay	Maria Bueno	Sandra Reynolds Renee Schuurman	default
Winner	1961	U.S. Championships	Grass	Lesley Turner	Edda Buding Yola Ramírez	6–4, 5–7, 6–0
Runner-up	1962	Australian Championships	Grass	Mary Carter Reitano	Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith	4–6, 4–6
Winner	1962	U.S. Championships	Grass	Maria Bueno	Karen Hantze Billie Jean King	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	1963	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Bueno	Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith	8–6, 9–7
Runner-up	1963	U.S. Championships	Grass	Maria Bueno	Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith	6–4, 8–10, 3–6
Winner	1969	US Open	Grass	Françoise Dürr	Margaret Smith Virginia Wade	0–6, 6–3, 6–4

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

External links

• Darlene Hard at the Women's Tennis Association
• Darlene Hard at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Darlene Hard at the International Tennis Federation
• Darlene Hard at the Fed Cup