Anna McCune Harper

Full name Anna McCune Harper
Country  United States
Born July 2, 1902
Moraga, USA
Died June 14, 1999 (aged 96)
Retired 1932
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon 4R (1931)
US Open F (1930)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open F (1928, 1930)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon W (1931)
US Open F (1931)
Team competitions
Wightman Cup W (1931, 1932)

Anna McCune Harper (July 2, 1902 – June 14, 1999 in Moraga, California) was a female tennis player from the United States. She won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1931 partnering George Lott. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1930 U.S. Championships, losing to Betty Nuthall Shoemaker. She also was the runner-up in women's doubles at the 1928, 1930, and 1932 U.S. Championships and in mixed doubles at the 1931 edition of those championships.

Harper was ranked in the U.S. top ten five consecutive years from 1928 through 1932 and was top ranked in 1930.[1]

In 1932, Harper was called home because of an illness in her family.[2] She then decided to give up tournament tennis for other tasks,[2] including the rearing of three children. But she continued to follow the game and played for many years. She even had arthroscopic knee surgery at age 81 so she could continue to play. An adverse reaction to a general anesthetic sidelined her for good and precipitated a long, slow decline in her health. Harper is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Grand Slam finals

Singles : 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Opponent in final Score in final
Runner-up1930 U.S. Championships United Kingdom Betty Nuthall 1–6, 4–6

Doubles : 2 runner-ups

Result Year Championship Partner Opponents in final Score in final
Runner-up1928U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Edith Cross United States Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
United States Helen Wills
2–6, 2–6
Runner-up1930U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Edith Cross United Kingdom Betty Nuthall
United States Sarah Palfrey Cooke
6–3, 3–6, 5–7

Mixed doubles : 1 title, 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Partner Opponents in final Score in final
Winner1931WimbledonUnited States George Lott United Kingdom Joan Ridley
United Kingdom Ian Collins
6–3, 1–6, 6–1
Runner-up1931U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Wilmer Allison United Kingdom Betty Nuthall
United States George Lott
3–6, 3–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Championships A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
Wimbledon 3R 1R A A A A 4R 1R 0 / 4
U.S. Championships A A A 3R 3R F QF QF 0 / 5
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 9

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

References

  1. United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H.O. Zimman, Inc. p. 260.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sports