Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(née Mortimer; born 21 April 1932) is a British former world No. 1

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Mortimer won three

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

singles titles: the 1955 French Championships, the 1958 Australian Championships, and

1961 Wimbledon Championships The 1961 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 26 June until 8 July.2010 Wimbledon Compendium, by Alan Little ( ...

when she was 29 years old and partially deaf. Mortimer also teamed with Anne Shilcock to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1955, her only women's doubles title at a major. She teamed with Coghlan to reach the women's doubles final at the 1958 Australian Championships. Mortimer and Peter Newman reached the mixed doubles final at the 1958 Australian Championships, her only mixed doubles final at a major. She is married to the former player and broadcaster John Barrett. Following the death of

Shirley Fry Shirley June Fry Irvin (née Fry; June 30, 1927 – July 13, 2021) was an American tennis player. During her career, which lasted from the early 1940s until the mid-1950s, she won the singles title at all four Grand Slam events, as well as 13 dou ...

in 2021, Mortimer became the longest still surviving Wimbledon ladies singles champion.

Career

Mortimer reached the quarterfinals of the US National Championships, then lost to second seed Doris Hart. At Wimbledon in 1953, seeded no. 5, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to

Dorothy Knode Alice Dorothy Head Knode (née Head; July 4, 1925 – October 25, 2015), also known as Dottie Head Knode, was an American tennis player who reached the women's singles final of the French International Championships in 1955, losing to Angela Mor ...

. She also reached the quarterfinals in 1954, 1956 (losing to countrywoman Pat Ward Hales), 1959 (when she was seeded no. 2 but lost to

Sandra Reynolds Sandra Reynolds Price (née Reynolds; born 4 March 1934) is a South African former tennis player who won four Grand Slam women's doubles championships and one Grand Slam mixed doubles championship. Her best Grand Slam singles result was reachin ...

), and 1960 (losing to champion

Maria Bueno Maria Esther Andion Bueno (11 October 1939 – 8 June 2018) was a Brazilian professional tennis player. During her 11-year career in the 1950s and 1960s, she won 19 Grand Slam titles (seven in women's singles, 11 in women's doubles, and one in ...

). At Wimbledon in 1958, unseeded, she beat the former champion Margaret DuPont in the quarterfinals, then French champion

Zsuzsa Körmöczy Zsuzsa Körmöczy (25 August 1924 – 16 September 2006) was a female tennis player from Hungary. She reached a career high of World No. 2 in women's tennis, and won the 1958 French Open at the age of 34. Early life She was born in Pély, Hunga ...

6–0, 6–1 in the semifinals, and lost the final against the defending champion

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American ...

in straight sets. In 1961, she won the title, defeating top-seeded Sandra Reynolds 11–9, 6–3 in the semifinals and then Christine Truman in the final in three sets.Angela Mortimer, My Waiting Game (Frederick Muller Ltd, London, 1962) utobiography/ref> Not fully fit in 1962, she lost to eventual finalist Vera Sukova in the fourth round. In 1955, she was the first British woman since 1937 to win one of the Grand Slams when she defeated Dorothy Knode in the final of the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

. During the long final set, she has said that she was given new heart when she heard her opponent asking for a brandy on court. Defending her title the following year, she reached the final, losing to Althea Gibson in two sets. During this year, she experienced a severe illness, not returning to full form until 1958. She won the Australian title in 1958 when recuperating, defeating

Lorraine Coghlan Lorraine Coghlan Robinson (née Coghlan; born 23 September 1937) is a former tennis player from the state of Victoria in Australia. In 1956, she won the Australian Championships Girls' Singles title. Coghlan teamed with Bob Howe to win the mix ...

in the final. Her best result in the U.S. Championships was in 1961 when she reached the semifinals, losing to Ann Haydon. She won three times against Althea Gibson in her career, and she made her farewell in the Torquay tournament of 1962, beating Ann Haydon Jones in the final. Her game was played mainly from the baseline, as described in her tennis autobiography ''My Waiting Game''. She always played in shorts, refusing designer Teddy Tinling's offer to design dresses for her. Ultimately, he designed shorts, and later she joined his staff. According to

Lance Tingay Lance Tingay (15 July 1915 – 10 March 1990) was a British sports journalist, historian, and author of several tennis books. For many years his annual ranking of top tennis players was "the only one that counted" before ATP rankings were introduc ...

, Mortimer was ranked in the world top 10 from 1953 through 1956 and from 1958 through 1962, reaching a career high of world No. 1 in 1961. Mortimer was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) for services to Lawn Tennis in the

1967 New Year Honours Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. She was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1993. On 27 July 2014, she received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Merton.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Angela 1932 births Living people Australian Championships (tennis) champions Deaf tennis players English female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions Sportspeople from Plymouth, Devon International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Members of the Order of the British Empire British female tennis players Deaf people from England Tennis people from Devon World number 1 ranked female tennis players