Thelma Coyne Long

Thelma Coyne Long
Long in 1932
Full name Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long
Country (sports)  Australia
Born (1918-10-14)14 October 1918
Sydney, Australia
Died 13 April 2015(2015-04-13) (aged 96)
Sydney, Australia
Plays Right-handed
Int. Tennis HoF 2013 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 7 (1952, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1952, 1954)
French Open QF (1951)
Wimbledon QF (1952)
US Open QF (1952)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958)
French Open F (1958)
Wimbledon F (1957)
US Open SF (1958)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (1951, 1952, 1954, 1955)
French Open W (1956)
Wimbledon F (1952)
US Open F (1938, 1952)

Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long (née Coyne; 14 October 1918 – 13 April 2015) was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career she won 19 Grand Slam tournament titles. In 2013 Long was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[2]

Tennis career

Thelma Coyne packing for her overseas tour in 1938 as a member of the Australian Women's Tennis Team.

At the Australian Championships, Long won singles titles in 1952 and 1954 and was a singles finalist in 1940, 1951, 1955 and 1956.[3] In women's doubles, she won ten titles with Nancye Wynne Bolton (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1952) and two titles with Mary Bevis Hawton (1956 and 1958). Long was a women's doubles finalist with Bolton in 1946 and 1950. She won mixed doubles titles in 1951, 1952 and 1955 with George Worthington and in 1954 with Rex Hartwig. She was a mixed doubles finalist in 1948 with Bill Sidwell.

At Wimbledon, Long was a women's doubles finalist in 1957 with Hawton and a mixed doubles finalist in 1952 with Enrique Morea. At the age of 52, Long teamed with Lorraine Coghlan to lose in the first round of women's doubles at Wimbledon in 1971.

At the French Championships, Long was a women's doubles finalist in 1958 with Hawton, won the mixed doubles title in 1956 with Luis Ayala, and was a mixed doubles finalist in 1951 with Mervyn Rose.

At the 1953 tournament in Cincinnati, Long won the singles title (defeating Anita Kanter 7–5, 6–2 in the final) and the women's doubles title with Kanter.

According to Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Long was ranked in the world top ten in 1952 and 1954 (no rankings issued from 1940 to 1945), reaching a career high of World No. 7 in those rankings in 1952.[1]

Long became a teaching professional in 1960 and spent many years coaching promising New South Wales junior players. In 1985, her achievements were recognized by Tennis NSW when she was awarded Life Membership of the State Association.

Honours and awards

On 30 August 2000, Long was awarded the Australian Sports Medal. She was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Melbourne Park during the Australian Open on Australia Day in 2002. In 2013, Thelma was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame symbolizing recognition of her extraordinary career.[4]

Personal life

She was born in Sydney, Australia on 14 October 1918, the only child of Tom and Dorrie Coyne and was schooled at the Sydney Girls High School.[5]

On 30 January 1941, she married Maurice Newton Long of Melbourne.[6] The marriage did not continue after the end of the Second World War.

In May 1941, during the Second World War, Long joined the Red Cross as a transport driver and worked in Melbourne. On 19 February 1942, she joined the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) and rose to the rank of captain in April 1944.[7] For her service in the AWAS, she was awarded the War Medal 1939–1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939–1945.

Long worked as a volunteer at the State Library of New South Wales, and she received the Volunteer Service Award in 1999, The Year of the Volunteer.

Coyne died on 13 April 2015 at the age of 96.[8][5]

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent Score
Runner-up1940Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Nancye Wynne Bolton7–5, 4–6, 0–6
Runner-up1951Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Nancye Wynne Bolton1–6, 5–7
Winner1952Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Helen Angwin6–2, 6–3
Winner1954Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Jenny Staley Hoad6–3, 6–4
Runner-up1955Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Beryl Penrose4–6, 3–6
Runner-up1956Australian ChampionshipsAustralia Mary Carter6–3, 2–6, 7–9

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Thelma Coyne (l) and Nancye Wynne Bolton (r) in Adelaide (1938)
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament193619371938193919401941 – 194419451946119471194819491950195119521953195419551956195719581959Career SR
Australian Championships SF SF QF SF F NH NH QF SF 2R SF QF F W A W F F A 2R 1R 2 / 17
French Championships A A 2R A NH R A A A A A A QF A A A A 3R A 4R A 0 / 4
Wimbledon A A 3R A NH NH NH A A A 4R 3R 1R QF A A A 1R 1R 4R A 0 / 8
U.S. Championships A A 3R A A A A A A A A A A QF 3R A A A A 2R A 0 / 4
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 1 / 3 0 / 1 1 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 1 2 / 33

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.

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

1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 702. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
  2. ↑ "Thelma Coyne Long inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame". ITF Tennis. 26 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Thelma Long, 17 Tries, now Champ". Sunday Mail. Brisbane. 27 January 1952. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Hall of Famers – Thelma Coyne Long". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Tennis great Thelma Coyne Long's lengthy career included 19 Grand Slams". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Miss Thelma Coyne Married". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 31 January 1941. p. 5 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Australian Tennis Star Is Now A.W.A.S. Lieut". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 12 September 1942. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Thelma Long". smh.com.au. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
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