Mimi Arnold, also known by her married name Mary Arnold-Wheeler, (born February 27, 1939) is an American former

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player who was active in the late 1950s and the 1960s.

Personal life

Arnold was born in Hollywood, California, the daughter of tennis player Ethel Burkhardt Arnold who played for the United States in the

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 generat ...

. Her mother taught her tennis at age 9. She attended Sequoia High School in Redwood City.

Career

At age 11 she won the junior U.S. Hardcourt Championships singles title. She became junior singles champion at the

1957 Wimbledon Championships The 1957 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 24 June until Saturday 6 July 1957. It was the 71st ...

after beating

Rosie Reyes Rosa María Reyes Darmon (''née'' Reyes; 23 March 1939 – 4 January 2024) was a Mexican tennis player who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Most of her success came on clay on which she won the women's doubles title at the 1958 Fren ...

in the final. Between 1957 and 1968 Arnold competed in five

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

. Her best singles result was reaching the quarterfinal in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

where she was lost to sixth-seeded

Zsuzsa Körmöczy Zsuzsa Körmöczy (25 August 1924 – 16 September 2006) was a Hungarian tennis player. She reached a career high of World No. 2 in women's tennis, and won the 1958 French Open at the age of 33. Early life She was born in Budapest, Hungary, a ...

in three sets. In doubles she reached the quarterfinals in 1966, partnering compatriots Jane Albert. At the U.S. National Championships her best singles result was reaching the third round in 1965 where she was beaten by fifth-seeded and eventual finalist

Billie Jean Moffitt Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She was a member of the ...

. Like her mother she was selected for the U.S. team in the

, an annual team tennis competition for women contested between the United States and Great Britain. In the 1958 Wightman Cup she played one singles match, against

Ann Haydon Ann Shirley Jones, (born Adrianne Haydon; 17 October 1938), also known as Ann Haydon-Jones, is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in wome ...

, which she lost in three sets. Arnold was inducted into the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Mimi 1939 births Living people American female tennis players People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Tennis players from California Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Wimbledon junior champions 20th-century American sportswomen