Shirley Brasher
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Shirley Bloomer Brasher (born June 13, 1934, in Grimsby, England, United Kingdom) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom who won three Grand Slam titles during her career and was the second ranked singles player in her country in 1957.
Brasher (known at the time as Shirley Bloomer) won the singles title at the 1957 French Championships, defeating Dorothy Head Knode in the final 6–1, 6–3. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1958 French Championships, losing to Zsuzsi Kormoczy 6–4, 1–6, 6–2.
Brasher teamed with Darlene Hard to win the women's doubles title at the 1957 French Championships, defeating Yola Ramirez Ochoa and Rosie Reyes in the final 7–5, 4–6, 7–5. She teamed with Nicola Pietrangeli to win the mixed doubles title at the 1958 French Championships, defeating Lorraine Coghlan Robinson and Bob Howe in the final 8–6, 6–2.
Brasher partnered Patricia Ward Hales to reach the 1955 women's doubles finals at Wimbledon, where they lost to Angela Mortimer Barrett and Anne Shilcock 7–5, 6–1, and at the French Championships, where they lost to Hard and Beverly Baker Fleitz 7–5, 6–8, 13-11.
Brasher played on the British Wightman Cup team from 1955 through 1960. The 1958 team that included Christine Truman Janes and Brasher won the cup, which was the first time that Great Britain had won the competition since 1930.
Brasher played a hard baseline game, and her tennis was concerted rather than spectacular. She was a member of the Grimsby Town Tennis Club, which was located in College Street, Grimsby.
In 1959, she married Chris Brasher who helped pace another Briton, Roger Bannister, to running the first sub-four minute mile in 1954. They had three children, including their daughter Kate who played on the women's professional tennis tour in the 1980s.
[edit] Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships | A | A | 3R | QF | QF | W | F | 4R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1 / 6 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 3R | A | 4R | QF | 4R | QF | 2R | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | A | A | 4R | A | 4R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 18 |
| U.S. Championships | A | A | A | 3R | SF | QF | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 4 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 28 |
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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Martin Hedges, 1978. The Concise Dictionary of Tennis. Mayflower Books Inc.
