Darlene Hard
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 6 1936 |
| Place of birth |   Los Angeles, CA |
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for United States |
|||
| Women's Tennis | |||
| Pan American Games | |||
| Bronze | 1963 São Paulo | Singles | |
| Gold | 1963 São Paulo | Doubles | |
Darlene Hard (born January 6, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was a tennis player known for her volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles 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 doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments. Her last doubles title, at the age of 33 at the 1969 U.S. Open, came six years after she had retired from serious competition to become a tennis instructor. She was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1973.
Hard once said, "I was the last of the amateurs. In our day, I won Forest Hills and got my airfare from New York to Los Angeles. Whoopee." But, she added, "I was happy. I loved it. I loved tennis."
She has worked for the University of Southern California since 1981.[1]
Grand Slam record
- Australian Championships
- Women's Doubles finalist: 1962
- Mixed Doubles finalist: 1962
- French Championships
- Singles champion: 1960
- Women's Doubles champion: 1955, 1957, 1960
- Women's Doubles finalist: 1956, 1961
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1955, 1961
- Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1956
- Wimbledon
- Singles finalist: 1957, 1959
- Women's Doubles champion: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1963
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1957, 1959, 1960
- Mixed Doubles finalist: 1963
- U.S. Championships/Open
- Singles champion: 1960, 1961
- Singles finalist: 1958, 1962
- Women's Doubles champion: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969
- Women's Doubles finalist: 1957, 1963
- Mixed Doubles finalist: 1956, 1957, 1961
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (3)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1960 | French Championships |  Yola Ramírez Ochoa |
6-3, 6-4 |
| 1960 | U.S. Championships |  Maria Bueno |
6-4, 10-12, 6-4 |
| 1961 | U.S. Championships | 
Ann Haydon Jones |
6-3, 6-4 |
Runner-ups (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1957 | Wimbledon |
Althea Gibson |
6-3, 6-2 |
| 1958 | U.S. Championships | Althea
Gibson |
3-6, 6-1, 6-2 |
| 1959 | Wimbledon | Maria
Bueno |
6-4, 6-3 |
| 1962 | U.S. Championships |  Margaret Smith Court |
9-7, 6-4 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 - 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
| French Championships | A | A | 2R | 3R | QF | A | A | W | 4R | A | 2R | A | A | A | 1 / 6 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | SF | 3R | F | A | F | QF | A | QF | SF | A | A | A | 0 / 7 |
| United States | 2R | SF | 3R | QF | SF | F | SF | W | W | F | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 2 / 13 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 2 / 3 | 1 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 3 / 27 |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
See also
- Tennis
Sports - Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
External links
- Darlene Hard profile on the WTA Tour's official website
- Darlene Hard Biography
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