Darlene Hard

Darlene Hard

Country	United States
Born	(1936-01-06) January 6, 1936 Los Angeles, U.S.
Plays	Right-handed
Int. Tennis HOF	1973 (member page)
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (1962)
French Open	W (1960)
Wimbledon	F (1957, 1959)
US Open	W (1960, 1961)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1962)
French Open	W(1955, 1957, 1960)
Wimbledon	W (1957, 1959, 1960, 1963)
US Open	W (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1962)
French Open	W(1955, 1961)
Wimbledon	W ( 1957, 1959, 1960)
US Open	F (1956, 1957, 1961)

Darlene Hard

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, Los Angeles, United States) is an American former amateur 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 women's doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments. Her last doubles title, at the age of 33 at the 1969 US Open, came six years after she had retired from serious competition to become a tennis instructor. She also played the US Open singles tournament in 1969, losing in the second round to Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–3.

According to Lance Tingay of the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Hard was ranked among the top ten in the world from 1957 through 1963, reaching a career high of number 2 in those rankings in 1957, 1960, and 1961. Hard was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1954 through 1963. She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1960 through 1963.

Hard 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."^{[citation needed]}

She has worked for the University of Southern California since 1981.

Grand Slam record

• Australian Championships
  • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1962
  • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1962

• French Championships
  • Singles champion: 1960
  • Women's Doubles champion: 1955, 1957, 1960
  • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1956, 1961
  • Mixed Doubles champion: 1955, 1961
  • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1956

• Wimbledon
  • Singles runner-up: 1957, 1959
  • Women's Doubles champion: 1957, 1959, 1960, 1963
  • Mixed Doubles champion: 1957, 1959, 1960
  • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1963

• U.S. Championships/Open
  • Singles champion: 1960, 1961
  • Singles runner-up: 1958, 1962
  • Women's Doubles champion: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969
  • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1957, 1963
  • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 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 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

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

External links

• Darlene Hard at the Women's Tennis Association
• Darlene Hard Biography