Shirley Fry Irvin

Shirley Fry Irvin

Doris Hart, Shirley Fry Irvin and Maureen Connolly in the Netherlands in 1953
Full name Shirley June Fry Irvin
Country  United States
Born June 30, 1927
Akron, Ohio
Plays Right–handed
Int. Tennis HOF 1970 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 1 (1956)
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 world number-one-ranked American tennis player.

She is one of 10 women (along with Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Doris Hart, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams) to have won each Grand Slam singles tournament at least once during her career. She is also one of six women (with Hart, Court, Navratilova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams) to have won all four Grand Slam doubles tournaments.

At the U.S. National Championship (precursor of the U.S. Open) in 1942, Irvin reached the singles quarterfinals at the age of 15. At Wimbledon in 1953, Irvin and Hart lost only four games during the entire women's doubles tournament and won three matches without losing a game, including the semifinals and finals, the latter over Connolly and Julie Sampson Haywood.

Irvin won the last three Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered, including wins over Althea Gibson in the Wimbledon quarterfinal and U.S. Championship final in 1956 and the Australian Open final in 1957.

Irvin was ranked in the world top ten in 1946 and 1948 and from 1950 through 1955 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), and number one in 1956.[1] The United States Lawn Tennis Association ranked her in the U.S. top ten from 1944 through 1955 and number one in 1956.[2] She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970.

Grand Slam record

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 8 (4 titles–4 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
Runner-up 1948 French ChampionshipsFrance Nelly Adamson Landry 2–6, 6–0, 0–6
Winner 1951 French Championships United States Doris Hart 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up 1951 WimbledonUnited States Doris Hart 1–6, 0–6
Runner-up 1951 U.S. Championships United States Maureen Connolly 3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Runner-up 1952 French ChampionshipsUnited States Doris Hart 4–6, 4–6
Winner 1956 Wimbledon United Kingdom Angela Buxton 6–3, 6–1
Winner 1956 U.S. Championships United States Althea Gibson 6–3, 6–4
Winner 1957 Australian Championships United States Althea Gibson 6–3, 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 doubles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also

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.

External links

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