Doris Hart (June 20, 1925 – May 29, 2015) was an American

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 c ...

player from who was active in the 1940s and first half of the 1950s. She was ranked world No. 1 in 1951. She was the fourth player, and second woman, to win a Career Grand Slam in singles. She was the first of only three players (all women) to complete the career "

Boxed Set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

" of Grand Slam titles, which is winning at least one title in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events. Only she and

Margaret Court Margaret Court ('' née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 m ...

achieved this during the amateur era of the sport. Hart played collegiate tennis for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

Tennis career

Hart reached 67 Grand Slam finals and won 35 titles, tying with Louise Brough for sixth on the all-time list (behind Margaret Smith Court (64), Martina Navratilova (59),

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United State ...

(39),

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...

(39), and Margaret Osborne duPont (37)). Six of her titles were in women's singles, 14 in women's doubles, and 15 in mixed doubles. Hart is one of only three players, all women, to have a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles — every possible title (singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles) from all four Grand Slam tournaments. The others are Margaret Smith Court and Martina Navratilova. Hart was the first person to accomplish this feat. As a child, Hart suffered from

osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis (OM) is an infection of bone. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The long bones of the arms and legs are most commonly involved in children e.g. the femur and humerus, while the ...

, which resulted in a permanently impaired right leg. She started playing tennis when she was 10 years old, greatly encouraged by her brother Bud. After losing seven Grand Slam finals from 1942 through 1946, Hart won her first Grand Slam title at the

1947 Wimbledon Championships The 1947 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 was held from Monday 23 June until Saturday 5 July 1947. It was the 61st ...

in women's doubles. At that point, she was still a student at the

. Her first Grand Slam singles title came at the 1949 Australian National Championships, where she was the only non-Australian player in the

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anythin ...

. She also won singles titles at the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

and 1952 French International Championships, the

1951 Wimbledon Championships The 1951 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 was held from Monday 25 June until Saturday 7 July 1951. It was the 65 ...

(routing doubles partner Shirley Fry in the final), and the 1954 and

1955 U.S. National Championships The 1955 U.S. National Championships (now known as the US Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills in New York City, United States. The tournament ran from 2 September ...

. The 1955 U.S. singles final was the last Grand Slam singles match of her career. Hart won the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles at the 1951 Wimbledon Championships, playing the finals of all three events on the same day (July 7, 1951). She also won the " triple crown" at the 1952 French International Championships and the 1954 U.S. National Championships. During her

Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to gen ...

career from 1946 through 1955, Hart was a perfect 14–0 in singles matches and 8–1 in doubles matches. Hart did not lose a Grand Slam women's doubles match from the 1951 French International Championships through the semifinals of the

1954 Wimbledon Championships The 1954 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 was held from Monday 21 June until Saturday 3 July 1954. It was the 68th ...

, 43 matches in total, although she skipped 4 Grand Slam tournaments during this period. She also did not lose a mixed doubles match at the 13 Grand Slam tournaments she played from the 1951 French International Championships through the 1955 U.S. National Championships. She (and partner

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...

) lost in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

of the

1968 Wimbledon Championships The 1968 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Mo ...

to Frew McMillan and Annette Van Zyl Du Plooy 6–3, 12–10. According to John Olliff and Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Hart was ranked in the world top 10 from 1946 through 1955 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world No. 1 in those rankings in 1951. Hart was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1942 through 1955. She was the top ranked U.S. player in 1954 and 1955. Hart retired from the tour in late 1955 to become a tennis teaching professional. Her autobiography ''Tennis with Hart'' was published that year. She was inducted into the inaugural Class of 1967 inductees to the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and 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 ind ...

in 1969. She died on May 29, 2015 at her home in Coral Gables, Florida at age 89.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (6 titles, 12 runners-up)

Doubles (14 titles, 16 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 19 (15 titles, 4 runners-up)

Grand Slam performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

Mixed doubles

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

.
¹In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.
²Hart did not play at this event. Her opponent got a walkover.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Doris 1925 births 2015 deaths American autobiographers Australian Championships (tennis) champions American female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Miami Hurricanes women's tennis players Tennis players from St. Louis United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Women autobiographers World number 1 ranked female tennis players 20th-century American women