Mary Halford (tennis)

Mary Eileen Halford, OBE (nee Whitmarsh; 14 December 1915 — 1 November 2009) was a British tennis player and coach. In the 1940s she married Peter Halford, who played for the Great Britain national field hockey team.

Mary Halford
Full nameMary Eileen Halford OBE
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born(1915-12-14)14 December 1915
Dulwich, England
Died1 November 2009(2009-11-01) (aged 93)
Esher, England
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
French Open3R (1938)
Wimbledon4R (1936, 1946, 1948, 1950)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonQF (1948, 1952)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonSF (1936)

Born in Dulwich, Halford made her Wimbledon debut at age 17 in 1933 and was the youngest competitor in the women's event that year.[1] She made the singles fourth round at Wimbledon on four occasions and was a mixed doubles semi-finalist in 1936 with Frank Wilde. In 1946 she played Wightman Cup tennis for Great Britain.[2]

Halford became non-playing captain of the Wightman Cup team in 1954.[3] Her final year as captain in 1958 saw Great Britain win the tournament for the first time in 28-years, after which she announced her retirement.[4] She was honoured with an OBE in the 1959 New Year Honours list for services to tennis.[5]

References
  1. "Won Title At Age of 15". Western Daily Press. 27 June 1933.
  2. "U.S. Girls Sweep British In 3 Wightman Matches". New York Daily News. 15 June 1946.
  3. "Herman David Reappointed". The Birmingham Mail. 15 March 1954.
  4. "British Clinch Wightman Cup As Miss Truman Posts Upset". The Montreal Star. 16 June 1958.
  5. "Awards To Sportsmen". Nottingham Evening Post. 1 January 1959.
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