Sylvia Lance Harper

Sylvia Lance Harper

Sylvia Lance in a warm-up coat in 1924
Country	Australia
Born	October 1895
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 10 (1924, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1924)
Wimbledon	2R (1920)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1923, 1924, 1925)
Wimbledon	3R (1925)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1923)

Sylvia Harper (born October 1895 as Sylvia Lance) was a female tennis player from Australia who won the singles title at the 1924 Australian Championships. She reached the singles final there two other times, in 1927, losing to Esna Boyd Robertson, and in 1930, losing to Daphne Akhurst Cozens.

Harper won the women's doubles title at the Australian Championships three consecutive years. In 1923, her partner was Robertson, and in 1924 and 1925, her partner was Cozens.^[1] She reached the final an additional three times with three different partners, in 1927, 1929, and 1930.

Harper won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Championships in 1923 with Horace Rice and was the runner-up in that event in 1925.

According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Harper was ranked World No. 10 in 1924, the only year she was included in those rankings.^[2]

Harper competed overseas on two occasions; in 1920 she competed at Wimbledon and, in 1925, captained the first women's tennis team to represent Australia internationally. At Wimbledon, she made the second round of the ladies singles, where she lost to Dorothy Shepherd, the ladies doubles, where she partnered Daphne Akhurst^[3] and the mixed doubles, where she partnered E. T. Lamb.^[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Opponent in final	Score in final
Winner	1924	Australasian Championships	Esna Boyd Robertson	6–3, 3–6, 8–6
Runner-up	1927	Australian Championships	Esna Boyd Robertson	7–5, 1–6, 2–6
Runner-up	1930	Australian Championships	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	8–10, 6–2, 5–7

Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponent in final	Score in final
Winner	1923	Australasian Championships	Esna Boyd Robertson	Margaret Molesworth Beryl Turner	6–1, 6–4
Winner	1924	Australasian Championships	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	Kathleen Le Messurier Meryl O'Hara Wood	7–5, 6–2
Winner	1925	Australasian Championships	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	Esna Boyd Robertson Kathleen Le Messurier	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	1927	Australian Championships	Esna Boyd Robertson	Meryl O'Hara Wood Louise Bickerton	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	1929	Australian Championships	Meryl O'Hara Wood	Daphne Akhurst Cozens Louise Bickerton	2–6, 6–3, 2–6
Runner-up	1930	Australian Championships	Marjorie Cox Crawford	Margaret Molesworth Emily Hood Westacott	3–6, 6–0, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponent in final	Score in final
Winner	1923	Australasian Championships	Horace Rice	Margaret Molesworth Bert St. John	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1925	Australasian Championships	Richard Schlesinger	Daphne Akhurst Aubrey Willard	4–6, 4–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

NH = tournament not held.

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.

¹Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships (WHCC), actually played on clay in Paris or Brussels, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from that tournament are shown here for 1920 through 1923. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References