Maureen Catherine "Little Mo" Connolly Brinker ( born Maureen Catherine 'Little Mo' Connolly Brinker ; September 17, 1934 , San Diego - June 21, 1969 , Dallas ) - American tennis player , holder of the Grand Slam for 1953 in the women's singles, twelve-time winner of the Grand Slam tournaments in singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles . Member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 1969 .
| Maureen Connolly | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| A place of death | |
| Citizenship | |
| Height | |
| Carier start | 1951 |
| Retirement | 1954 |
| Working hand | righty |
| Trainer | |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |
| Australia | victory (1953) |
| France | victory (1953, 1954) |
| Wimbledon | victory (1952-1954) |
| USA | victory (1951-1953) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |
| Australia | victory (1953) |
| France | victory (1954) |
| Wimbledon | final (1952, 1953) |
| USA | final (1952) |
Content
- 1 Sports career
- 2 Participation in the finals of the Grand Slam (18)
- 2.1 Single discharge (9)
- 2.1.1 Wins (9)
- 2.2 Women's Doubles (6)
- 2.2.1 Wins (2)
- 2.2.2 Losses (4)
- 2.3 Mixed doubles (3)
- 2.3.1 Wins (1)
- 2.3.2 Losses (2)
- 2.1 Single discharge (9)
- 3 Style of play
- 4 Personal life
- 5 notes
- 6 References
Sports career
Connolly started playing tennis at ten. At age 14, she became the youngest ever winner of the junior (under 18 years old) US Championship. In 1948, she already took 19th place in the ranking of US tennis players. In 1950 , in her first year of competition in tournaments for adults, she occupied the tenth line in this rating. The following year, she became the youngest player in the US national team in the Whiteman Cup , the annual team match of tennis players in the USA and Great Britain , and the youngest owner of this trophy. in 1951, she also won her first Grand Slam tournament - the US National (later Open) Championship , where she was seeded fourth. At the end of the year, the Associated Press called her the “Athlete of the Year”.
On July 5, 1952, the seventeen- year- old Connolly became the youngest winner of the Wimbledon tournament since 1905 , when May Sutton won the tournament. [4] She also became a US champion for the second time in a row and Associate Press for the second time in a row.
Having parted about his permanent trainer Elinor Tennant in 1952, in 1953 Connolly began working with the legendary Australian coach Harry Hopman , and in a number of tournaments she performed in the mixed doubles with his best male students Hugh Loud and Ken Roswall . In 1953, she became the first and youngest ever Grand Slam holder to date: she won the Australian Championship , the French Championship , Wimbledon and the US Championship, giving her rivals for all four tournaments only one set. Her final match at Wimbledon against Doris Hart (8–6, 7–5) is called one of the best in the history of the tournament. [5] She also excelled at the international women's doubles tournament in Italy with Julie-Anne Sampson . For the third time in a row, the Associated Press recognizes her as the "athlete of the year."
In 1954, Connolly did not defend her title at the Australian Championship. However, she once again won the championship of France and Wimbledon, while winning in France in all three categories: singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. In addition, she wins the tournament in Italy in singles and mixed doubles and the US championship on clay courts in singles and doubles. This tournament, unfortunately, was the last in her career.
During a horseback ride on July 20, 1954, a truck hit her and she severely injured her leg. After that, she could no longer participate in competitions, and after recovering, she changed her sports career to coaching and journalism ( see. Personal life ).
In just four years, Connolly has won nine Grand Slam singles in a row. Only one tennis player in history, Helen Wills-Moody , has on her track record a longer chain of consecutive Grand Slam tournaments (15), but she did not play in all tournaments and this achievement took her ten years, from 1924 to 1933 .
Grand Slam Finals (18)
Singles (9)
Wins (9)
| Year | Tournament | Rival in the finals | Final Score |
| 1951 | US Open | Shirley Fry-Irwin | 6–3, 1–6, 6–4 |
| 1952 | Wimbledon Tournament | Louise Braff | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1952 | US Open (2) | Doris hart | 6–3, 7–5 |
| 1953 | Australian Open | Julie Sampson-Heywood | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 1953 | French Open | Doris hart | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 1953 | Wimbledon Tournament (2) | Doris hart | 8–6, 7–5 |
| 1953 | US Open (3) | Doris hart | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 1954 | French Open (2) | Jacket Bucket | 6–4, 6–1 |
| 1954 | Wimbledon Tournament (3) | Louise Braff | 6–2, 7–5 |
Women's Doubles (6)
Victories (2)
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents in the finals | Final Score |
| 1953 | Australian Open | Julie Sampson-Heywood | Mary Bevis-Houghton Beryl Penrose | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1954 | French Open | Nell Hall-Hopman | Mod Galtier Susan Schmitt | 7–5, 4–6, 6–0 |
Lost (4)
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents in the finals | Final Score |
| 1952 | Wimbledon Tournament | Louise Braff | Shirley Fry-Irwin Doris hart | 8–6, 6–3 |
| 1952 | US Open | Louise Braff | Shirley Fry-Irwin Doris hart | 10–8, 6–4 |
| 1953 | French Open | Julie Sampson-Heywood | Shirley Fry-Irwin Doris hart | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1953 | Wimbledon Tournament (2) | Julie Sampson-Heywood | Shirley Fry-Irwin Doris hart | 6–0, 6–0 |
Mixed Doubles (3)
Victories (1)
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents in the finals | Final Score |
| 1954 | French Open | Lew Hood | Jacqueline Porney Rex Hartwig | 6–4, 6–3 |
Lost (2)
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponents in the finals | Final Score |
| 1953 | Australian Open | Hamilton Richardson | Julie Sampson-Heywood Rex Hartwig | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1953 | French Open | Mervyn Rose | Doris hart Vic Seiksas | 4–6, 6–4, 6–0 |
Game Style
Connolly received her nickname "Little Mo" by analogy with "Big Mo" - the battleship " Missouri ", for her cannon and unmistakable blows.
Connolly was born left-handed, but with the help of a trainer, Eleanor Tennant accustomed herself to play with her right hand, and over time, a blow to the right became her main weapon. She called her autobiography - “Right Hitting” ( Eng. Forehand Drive ).
Possessing a strong and accurate blow, she preferred the game on the back line and rarely went to the net, replaying rivals tactically. At the same time, contemporaries speak of the deadly power of her attacks and the indomitable will to win; former tennis champion Ted Schroeder called her a “killer”. Maureen herself wrote later that with the help of Tennant she learned to hate rivals on the court [5] .
Personal life
Maureen Connolly raised a mother, Jessamine, and stepfather, August Berth. Father left the family when Maureen was still a baby, and did not meet with her until she became famous. Mother and stepfather were musicians and hoped that Maureen would make a musical career.
Maureen loved horses and horseback riding and on this basis met her future husband, Norman Brinker, a member of the US Olympic show jumping team. They announced their engagement on February 22, 1955, simultaneously with the announcement of the end of Maureen’s sports career.
After leaving the court, Maureen devoted a lot of time to popularizing tennis and coaching. She also led a sports column in the San Diego Union newspaper and sent tennis tournament reports to other American and English newspapers. In Dallas , where the Brinker couple settled, she founded the Maureen Connolly-Brinker Foundation, which supported young tennis players. Married to Brinker, she gave birth to two children. In 1966, she was diagnosed with cancer, and at 34 years old, she died on June 21, 1969 .
Before her death, Maureen Connolly was listed on the International Tennis Hall of Fame . The Morin Connolly-Brinker Continental Cup, played among junior tennis players, is named after her.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Tingay L. 100 years of Wimbledon - London Borough of Enfield : Guinness Superlatives , 1977 .-- P. 209.
- ↑ 1 2 Maureen Connolly - 2010.
- ↑ 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ SPORT: Little Mo Grows Up . " Time " (July 14, 1952). Date of treatment December 12, 2009. Archived April 12, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Joey Seymour. San Diego's Sweetheart: Maureen Connolly The Journal of San Diego History v. 52 (2) (Spring 2008). Date of treatment December 12, 2009. Archived April 12, 2012.
Links
- Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- Maureen Connolly at Sports.ru (Russian)
- Joey Seymour. San Diego's Sweetheart: Maureen Connolly . The Journal of San Diego History v. 52 (2) (spring 2008). Date of treatment December 12, 2009. Archived April 12, 2012. (eng.)
- Encyclopedia of World Biography: Biography of Maureen Connolly
- Short Biographies: Biography of Maureen Connolly - Tennis