Shirley Fry Irvin

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Shirley Fry Irvin
Full name Shirley June Fry Irvin
Country  United States
Born (1927-06-30) June 30, 1927
Akron, Ohio
Plays Right–handed
Int. Tennis HOF 1970 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking 1
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1957)
French Open W (1951)
Wimbledon W (1956)
US Open W (1956)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1957)
French Open W (1950, 1951, 1952, 1953)
Wimbledon W1951, 1952, 1953)
US Open W (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open F (1952)
Wimbledon W (1956)
US Open F (1951, 1955)

Shirley June Fry Irvin (June 30, 1927) is a former a World No. 1 American female tennis player who was born in Akron, Ohio, United States.

Irvin is one of seventeen persons to have won each Grand Slam singles tournament at least once during the person's career. The others are Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Doris Hart, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.

Irwin also is one of only seven persons to have won each Grand Slam tournament in same-sex doubles. The others are Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Doris Hart, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, and Roy Emerson.

Irvin won the last three Grand Slam singles tournaments she played. Her victories in those tournaments included wins over Althea Gibson in a quarterfinal of Wimbledon in 1956 and in the finals of the 1956 U.S. Championships and 1957 Australian Championships.

At the U.S. Championships in 1942, Irvin reached the singles quarterfinals at the age of 15. At Wimbledon in 1953, Irvin and her partner Doris Hart lost a total of four games during the women's doubles tournament and won three matches without losing a game, including the semifinals and final, the latter of which was a win over Maureen Connolly Brinker and Julie Sampson Haywood.

According to John Olliff and Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Irvin was ranked in the world top ten in 1946 and 1948 and from 1950 through 1956 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of World No. 1 in those rankings in 1956.[1] Irvin was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1944 through 1956. She was the top ranked U.S. player in 1956.[2]

Irvin was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970.

Grand Slam record

  • French Championships
    • Singles champion: 1951
    • Singles runner-up: 1948, 1952
    • Women's Doubles champion: 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
    • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1948
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1952
  • Wimbledon
    • Singles champion: 1956
    • Singles runner-up: 1951
    • Women's Doubles champion: 1951, 1952, 1953
    • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1950, 1954
    • Mixed Doubles champion: 1956
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1953
  • U.S. Championships
    • Singles champion: 1956
    • Singles runner-up: 1951
    • Women's Doubles champion: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
    • Women's Doubles runner-up: 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1951, 1955

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (4)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1951 French Championships Doris Hart 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1956 Wimbledon Angela Buxton 6–3, 6–1
1956 U.S. Championships Althea Gibson 6–3, 6–4
1957 Australian Championships Althea Gibson 6–3, 6–4

Runner-ups (4)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1948 French Championships Nelly Adamson Landry 6–2, 0–6, 6–0
1951 Wimbledon Doris Hart 6–1, 6–0
1951 U.S. Championships Maureen Connolly Brinker 6–3, 1–6, 6–4
1952 French Championships Doris Hart 6–4, 6–4

Grand Slam tournament timelines

Singles

Tournament 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 19461 19471 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 Career SR
Australian Championships NH NH NH NH NH A A A A A A A A A A A W 1 / 1
French Championships R R R R A A A F A QF W F SF A A A A 1 / 5
Wimbledon NH NH NH NH NH A A QF 4R QF F SF SF QF A W A 1 / 8
U.S. Championships 1R QF 1R QF 1R 1R 3R 3R 3R QF F SF SF SF QF W A 1 / 16
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 1 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 1 2 / 2 1 / 1 4 / 30

NH = tournament not held.
R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.
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.
1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

Women's doubles

Tournament 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 19461 19471 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 Career SR
Australian Championships A NH NH NH NH NH A A A A A A A A A A W 1 / 1
French Championships R R R R A A A F A W W W W A A A A 4 / 5
Wimbledon NH NH NH NH NH A A 3R SF F W W W F A SF A 3 / 8
U.S. Championships A 1R 1R QF SF SF SF SF F F W W W W F F A 4 / 15
SR 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 2 1 / 3 3 / 3 3 / 3 3 / 3 1 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 2 1 / 1 12 / 29

NH = tournament not held.
R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.
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.
1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 702–3. ISBN 0-942257-41-3. 
  2. ↑ United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H.O. Zimman, Inc. p. 261. 
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