- Margaret Molesworth
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Maud Margaret 'Mall' Molesworth (1894–9 July 1985) (née Mutch) was a tennis player from Queensland, Australia who won the inaugural Australasian Championships women's singles title in 1922.
Contents
Tennis career
She won her first major tennis title in 1914 – the Queensland ladies doubles. For much of the next five years, sporting contests in Australia were cancelled due to World War I.
Molesworth won tennis championships in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania beginning in 1919. At the first Australian Championships in 1922, Molesworth defeated fellow Australian Esna Boyd Robertson 6–3, 10–8 in the final. A year later, she successfully defended her title, again defeating Robertson in the final.
Molesworth was unable to compete overseas until 1934 when, at age 40, she reach the last sixteen of the French Championships.
In doubles, Molesworth won three women's titles at the Australian Championships with Emily Hood Westacott, in 1930, 1933, and 1934. She was also runner-up in women's and mixed doubles at the Australian Championships in 1923.
Molesworth was the first Australian woman tennis player to be listed in the world's top ten rankings. Wallis Myers of the Daily Telegraph rated her #10 in 1922 and 1923.
In 1924, mainly for health reasons, Molesworth retired from the sport. She came back a few years later, always considered a threat in Australian tournaments. In 1934, she reached the Australian singles final once more. Later that year, she competed overseas for the first time, playing at Wimbledon and the French Championships.
Retirement
After her retirement from competitive play, Molesworth became one of the first female professional coaches in Australia. Until her death in 1985, she maintained a lifelong interest in the sport of tennis.[1]
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Molesworth was ranked World No. 10 in 1923.[1]
On 19 June 1918, in Brisbane, she married Bevil Hugh Molesworth, an educator and radio broadcaster.[2]
Grand Slam record
- Australian Championships
- Singles champion: 1922, 1923
- Singles runner-up: 1934
- Women's Doubles champion: 1930, 1933, 1934
- Women's Doubles runner-up: 1923
- Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1923
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (2)
Year Championship Opponent in final Score in final 1922 Australian Championships Esna Boyd Robertson
6–3, 10–8 1923 Australian Championships (2) Esna Boyd Robertson
6–1, 7–5 Runner-up (1)
Year Championship Opponent in final Score in final 1934 Australian Championships Joan Hartigan Bathurst
6–1, 6–4 Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
Tournament 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 Career SR Australian Championships W W QF A A A QF QF QF 1R A QF F 2R 2 / 10 French Championships1 A A NH A A A A A A A A A 3R A 0 / 1 Wimbledon A A A A A A A A A A A A 1R A 0 / 1 U.S. Championships A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 SR 1 / 1 1 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 1 2 / 12 NH = tournament not held.
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.
1Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships (WHCC), actually played on clay in Paris or Brussels, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from the 1922 and 1923 editions of that tournament are shown here. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.
See also
References
- ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
- ^ Molesworth, Bevil Hugh (1891–1971)
Australasian and Australian Championships women's doubles champions (1922) Esna Boyd Robertson / Marjorie Mountain • (1923) Esna Boyd Robertson / Sylvia Lance Harper • (1924) Daphne Akhurst Cozens / Sylvia Lance Harper • (1925) Sylvia Lance Harper / Daphne Akhurst Cozens • (1926) Meryl O'Hara Wood / Esna Boyd Robertson • (1927) Meryl O'Hara Wood / Louie Bickerton • (1928) Daphne Akhurst Cozens / Esna Boyd Robertson • (1929) Daphne Akhurst Cozens / Louie Bickerton • (1930) Margaret Molesworth / Emily Hood Westacott • (1931) Daphne Akhurst Cozens / Louise Bickerton • (1932) Coral McInnes Buttsworth / Marjorie Cox Crawford • (1933) Margaret Molesworth / Emily Hood Westacott • (1934) Margaret Molesworth / Emily Hood Westacott • (1935) Evelyn Dearman / Nancy Lyle Glover • (1936) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1937) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1938) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1939) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1940) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1941 - 1945) No competition (due to World War II) • (1946) Joyce Fitch / Mary Bevis Hawton • (1947) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1948) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1949) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1950) Louise Brough Clapp / Doris Hart • (1951) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1952) Thelma Coyne Long / Nancye Wynne Bolton • (1953) Maureen Connolly Brinker / Julie Sampson Haywood • (1954) Mary Bevis Hawton / Thelma Coyne Long • (1955) Mary Bevis Hawton / Beryl Penrose Collier • (1956) Mary Bevis Hawton / Thelma Coyne Long • (1957) Althea Gibson / Shirley Fry Irvin • (1958) Mary Bevis Hawton / Thelma Coyne Long • (1959) Renee Schuurman Haygarth / Sandra Reynolds Price • (1960) Maria Bueno / Christine Truman Janes • (1961) Mary Carter Reitano / Margaret Court • (1962) Margaret Court / Robyn Ebbern • (1963) Margaret Court / Robyn Ebbern • (1964) Judy Tegart Dalton / Lesley Turner Bowrey • (1965) Margaret Court / Lesley Turner Bowrey • (1966) Carole Caldwell Graebner / Nancy Richey • (1967) Lesley Turner Bowrey / Judy Tegart Dalton • (1968) Karen Krantzcke / Kerry Melville Reid
Categories:- Australasian Championships (tennis) champions
- Australian Championships (tennis) champions
- Australian female tennis players
- Tennis people from Queensland
- 1894 births
- 1985 deaths
- Australian Championships
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