Darlene Hard
Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles *les 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 *les in Grand Slam tournaments, and was the finest doubles player of her generation. Her last doubles *le, at the age of 33 at the 1969 US Open, came six years after she had retired from serious compe*ion to become a tennis instructor. She also played the US Open singles tournament in 1969, losing in the second round to Françoise Dürr.
Contents
- 1 Career
- 2 Personal life
- 3 Grand Slam finals
- 3.1 Singles: 7 (3 *les, 4 runners-up)
- 3.2 Doubles: 18 (13 *les, 5 runners-up)
- 4 Grand Slam singles performance timeline
- 5 See also
- 6 References
- 7 External links
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, Hard was ranked among the top 10 in the world from 1957 through 1963, reaching a career high of No. 2 in those rankings in 1957, 1960, and 1961. The Miami Herald ranked her No. 1 for the 1961 season. In 1957, she made her first Wimbledon finals appearance, losing to Althea Gibson.
Hard was included in the year-end top-10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis *ociation from 1954 through 1963. Charles Friedman wrote in The New York Times that year that "as a doubles player, she has no peer." She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1960 through 1963. With her younger doubles partner Billie Jean King, she helped the US team to victory in the 1963 Federation Cup.
Hard graduated from Pomona College in 1961, and became the first woman inducted into the college's athletic hall of fame in 1974.
She was part of the American Wightman Cup team that won the trophy against Great Britain in 1957, 1959, 1962 and 1963.
In 1964, Hard won the singles *le at the South African Championships, defeating Ann Haydon-Jones in the final in straight sets, and soon afterwards turned professional when she became a teaching pro. She later owned two tennis stores.
Hard was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1973.
According to a 2007 published report, she had been working for the University of Southern California since 1981 in the Publications Dept.
Personal life
In later life, Hard lived in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. She worked at the University of Southern California in the Publications Dept. for four decades, aiding in the design and fact-checking of the University Yearbook.
Hard died at the age of 85 on December 2, 2021, from complications after a fall.
Grand Slam finals
N.B. THIS TABLE IS INACCURATE SINCE IT SUGGESTS DARLENE HARD ONLY HAS 16 GRAND SLAM *LES WHEREAS SHE IN FACT HAS 21. THIS APPEARS TO BE BECAUSE HER MIXED DOUBLE *LES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE BELOW LIST.
Singles: 7 (3 *les, 4 runners-up)
Doubles: 18 (13 *les, 5 runners-up)
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.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 *ociation
- Darlene Hard at the International Tennis Federation
- Darlene Hard at the Billie Jean King Cup
- Darlene Hard at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- Russ Adams
- George Adee
- Lawrence Baker
- John Barrett
- Nick Bollettieri
- Vic Braden
- Jane Brown Grimes
- Butch Buchholz
- Philippe Chatrier
- Gianni Clerici
- Bud Collins
- Joseph Cullman
- Allison Danzig
- Mike Davies
- Herman David
- Donald Dell
- Cliff Drysdale
- Steve Flink
- David Gray
- Clarence Griffin
- Gustaf V
- Derek Hardwick
- Gladys Heldman
- William Hester
- Lamar Hunt
- Nancy Jeffett
- Robert Walter Johnson
- Perry T. Jones
- Robert J. Kelleher
- Peachy Kellmeyer
- Al Laney
- Alastair Martin
- Dan Maskell
- William McChesney Martin
- Mark McCormack
- Julian Myrick
- Arthur Nielsen
- Mary Ewing Outerbridge
- Brad Parks
- Charlie Pasarell
- Gene Scott
- Lance Tingay
- Ted Tinling
- Ion Țiriac
- Brian Tobin
- Jimmy Van Alen
- Walter Clopton Wingfield
- Martina Hingis
- Gustavo Kuerten