Darlene_Hard
Darlene Hard
American tennis player (1936–2021)
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 titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Championships in 1960 and 1961.
 Hard (left) congratulates Althea Gibson at the 1957 Wimbledon Singles Championships. | ||||||||||||
| Full name | Darlene Ruth Hard | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States | |||||||||||
| Born | (1936-01-06)January 6, 1936 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Died | December 2, 2021(2021-12-02) (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1965 | |||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed | |||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1973 (member page) | |||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 498-156 (76.1%) | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 43 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (1957) | |||||||||||
| 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) | |||||||||||
| Team competitions | ||||||||||||
| Wightman Cup | W (1957, 1959, 1962, 1963) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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With eight different partners, she won a total of 13 women's doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments, and was the finest doubles player of her generation.[1] 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.
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.[2] The Miami Herald ranked her No. 1 for the 1961 season.[3] In 1957, she made her first Wimbledon finals appearance, losing to Althea Gibson.[4]
Hard was included in the year-end top-10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1954 through 1963. Charles Friedman wrote in The New York Times that year that "as a doubles player, she has no peer."[5] She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1960 through 1963.[6] 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,[7] and became the first woman inducted into the college's athletic hall of fame in 1974.[8]
She was part of the American Wightman Cup team that won the trophy against Great Britain in 1957, 1959, 1962 and 1963.[9][4]
In 1964, Hard won the singles title 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.[9] She later owned two tennis stores.[10]
Hard was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1973.[11]
According to a 2007 published report, she had been working for the University of Southern California since 1981 in the Publications Dept.[10]
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.[1]
Hard died at the age of 85 on December 2, 2021, from complications after a fall.[1][11][12]
Singles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1957 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Althea Gibson | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1958 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Althea Gibson | 6–3, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1959 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Maria Bueno | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 1960 | French Championships | Clay |  Yola Ramírez | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 1960 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Maria Bueno | 6–4, 10–12, 6–4 |
| Win | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Ann Haydon | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1962 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Margaret Court | 7–9, 4–6 |
Doubles: 18 (13 titles, 5 runners-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | Beverly Baker | Shirley Bloomer Pat Ward | 7–5, 6–8, 13–11 |
| Loss | 1956 | French Championships | Clay | Dorothy Head | Angela Buxton Althea Gibson | 8–6, 6–8, 1–6 |
| Win | 1957 | French Championships | Clay | Shirley Bloomer | Yola Ramírez Rosie Reyes | 7–5, 4–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 1957 | Wimbledon | Grass | Althea Gibson | Mary Bevis Hawton Thelma Coyne Long | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1957 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Althea Gibson | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 1958 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Jeanne Arth | Maria Bueno Althea Gibson | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 1959 | Wimbledon | Grass | Jeanne Arth | Beverly Baker Christine Truman | 2–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 1959 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Jeanne Arth | Maria Bueno Sally Moore | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 1960 | French Championships | Clay | Maria Bueno | Pat Ward Ann Haydon | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 1960 | Wimbledon | Grass | Maria Bueno |  Sandra Reynolds Renée Schuurman | 6–4, 6–0 |
| Win | 1960 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Maria Bueno | Ann Haydon Deidre Catt | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1961 | French Championships | Clay | Maria Bueno | Sandra Reynolds Renée Schuurman | default |
| Win | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Lesley Turner |  Edda Buding Yola Ramírez | 6–4, 5–7, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1962 | Australian Championships | Grass | Mary Carter Reitano | Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1962 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Maria Bueno | Karen Hantze Billie Jean Moffit | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 1963 | Wimbledon | Grass | Maria Bueno | Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith | 8–6, 9–7 |
| Loss | 1963 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Maria Bueno | Robyn Ebbern Margaret Smith | 6–4, 8–10, 3–6 |
| Win | 1969 | US Open | Grass |  Françoise Dürr | Margaret Court Virginia Wade | 0–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Mixed doubles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runners-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | Gordon Forbes | Jenny Staley  Luis Ayala | 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1956 | French Championships | Clay | Bob Howe | Thelma Coyne Long Luis Ayala | 6–4, 4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1956 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Lew Hoad | Margaret Osborne Ken Rosewall | 7–9, 1–6 |
| Win | 1957 | Wimbledon | Grass | Mervyn Rose | Althea Gibson Neale Fraser | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1957 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bob Howe | Althea Gibson  Kurt Nielsen | 3–6, 7–9 |
| Win | 1959 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rod Laver | Maria Bueno Neale Fraser | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 1960 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rod Laver | Maria Bueno Bob Howe | 13–11, 3–6, 8–6 |
| Win | 1961 | French Championships | Clay | Rod Laver |  Vera Suková Jirí Javorský | 6–0, 2–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Dennis Ralston | Margaret Smith Bob Mark | default |
| Loss | 1962 | Australian Championships | Grass | Roger Taylor | Lesley Turner Fred Stolle | 3–6, 7–9 |
| Loss | 1963 | Wimbledon | Grass | Bob Hewitt | Margaret Smith Ken Fletcher | 9–11, 4–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| 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 |
| U.S. Championships/US Open | 2R | SF | 3R | QF | SF | F | SF | W | W | F | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 2 / 13 |
| Strike rate | 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 |
- Smith, Harrison (2021-12-08). "Darlene Hard, Tennis Hall of Famer and 'best doubles player of her generation,' dies at 85". The Washington Post.
- Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 703. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
- "International Tennis Hall of Fame". www.tennisfame.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- Friedman, Charles (1963-12-30). "Darlene Hard Heads U.S. Women's Tennis Rankings Fourth Year in Row; Two California Women Top Lawn Tennis Rankings". The New York Times.
- United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H. O. Zimman, Inc. p. 261.
- "Darlene R. Hard". ITA Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "Darlene Hard…Tribute To A Little Known Great Player". WLM Tennis. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- "Hard is fine far from Centre Court". Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2007.
- "Three-time tennis major winner Hard dies at 85". ESPN. 2021-12-04. Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
- Harris, Beth (2021-12-04). "Darlene Hard, 3-time major tennis champion, dies at 85". WDIV-TV. Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
