She was born in London and attended Putney High School and also received education in Paris.[1] She decided to become a tennis player after seeing Henri Cochet play at Wimbledon.[2]
Between 1931 and 1939 she participated in eight Wimbledon Championships and in seven editions she competed in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.[3] Her best result in the singles event was reaching the quarterfinal in 1939 in which she lost to Hilde Sperling in straight sets.[4] In the 1934 mixed doubles event she reached the quarterfinal partnering Iwao Aoki. Her best singles performance at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semifinal of the 1940 U.S. Championships in which she was defeated in three sets by Helen Jacobs.[5]
In July 1931 Hardwick was the runner-up at the singles event of the Canadian Championships after she had to default in the final against compatriot Evelyn Dearman.[6] With Dearman she also won the doubles title.[7] In 1933 she became the Welsh singles champion in Newport.[1] Hardwick won three titles at the Scandinavian Indoor Championships as well as the French indoor title.[8][9] During the autumn and winter of 1934 she received coaching from Dan Maskell.[2] In 1934 and 1936 she was a finalist at the British Covered Court Championships played at the Queen's Club. At the same location in 1935 she won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles events of the London Covered Court Championships.[2][10]
In 1936, 1937 and 1938 Hardwick was part of the British Wightman Cup team as a singles player. All three editions were won by the United States and Hardwick was not able to win any of her matches although she took a set against both Helen Jacobs and Alice Marble in the 1937 edition. She defeated Kay Stammers in the final to win the singles title at the Surrey Hard Court Championships, played on clay courts, in April 1939 and that year she achieved her highest world ranking of No. 8.[5][11] With Margaret Osborne she won the 1940 doubles title at the Pacific Coast Championships in Berkeley.[12]
In November 1940 Hardwick turned professional, in part to improve her family's financial situation during the war, and she made her debut on 7 January 1941 against Alice Marble in front of a crowd of almost 12,000 at the Madison Square Garden.[13] The match, which she lost in two close sets, was the first on a transcontinental tour in the United States with a professional group that also included Don Budge and Bill Tilden.[14][15] Marble decisively won the series again Hardwick with 17–3 after having led 17–1.[16] At the end of the 1940 tour the score was 58–3 in favour of Marble.[17][a] In the mixed doubles matches Hardwick would usually team-up with Budge against Marble and Tilden, the latter team winning narrowly by 25–21.[17]
In January 1943 she married Charles Hare, a British tennis player and referee whom she met in the United States.[8][20] After her active tennis career she stayed involved with the sport and was a regular contributor to the Lawn Tennis and Badminton and World Tennis magazines.[8] She played an important role in the founding of the Federation Cup when she convinced the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) in 1962 that such an event would have wide support.[21] Her brother Derek was the chairman of the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and president of the International Tennis Federation.[22]
Notes
^According to American National Biography's article on Alice Marble the final score was 72–3 while Marble herself in a 1985 newspaper interview stated "We played 72 matches and I lost three. Poor Mary."[18][19]
mary, hardwick, september, 1913, december, 2001, british, female, tennis, player, active, during, 1930s, 1940s, full, nameruth, mary, hare, hardwickcountry, sports, united, kingdomborn, 1913, september, 1913london, englanddied18, december, 2001, 2001, aged, si. Mary Hardwick 8 September 1913 18 December 2001 was a British female tennis player who was active during the 1930s and the 1940s Mary HardwickFull nameRuth Mary Hare HardwickCountry sports United KingdomBorn 1913 09 08 8 September 1913London EnglandDied18 December 2001 2001 12 18 aged 88 SinglesHighest rankingNo 8 1939 Grand Slam singles resultsFrench OpenQF 1939 WimbledonQF 1939 US OpenSF 1940 DoublesGrand Slam doubles resultsWimbledon3R 1936 39 US OpenSF 1940 Grand Slam mixed doubles resultsWimbledonQF 1934 She was born in London and attended Putney High School and also received education in Paris 1 She decided to become a tennis player after seeing Henri Cochet play at Wimbledon 2 Between 1931 and 1939 she participated in eight Wimbledon Championships and in seven editions she competed in the singles doubles and mixed doubles events 3 Her best result in the singles event was reaching the quarterfinal in 1939 in which she lost to Hilde Sperling in straight sets 4 In the 1934 mixed doubles event she reached the quarterfinal partnering Iwao Aoki Her best singles performance at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semifinal of the 1940 U S Championships in which she was defeated in three sets by Helen Jacobs 5 In July 1931 Hardwick was the runner up at the singles event of the Canadian Championships after she had to default in the final against compatriot Evelyn Dearman 6 With Dearman she also won the doubles title 7 In 1933 she became the Welsh singles champion in Newport 1 Hardwick won three titles at the Scandinavian Indoor Championships as well as the French indoor title 8 9 During the autumn and winter of 1934 she received coaching from Dan Maskell 2 In 1934 and 1936 she was a finalist at the British Covered Court Championships played at the Queen s Club At the same location in 1935 she won the singles doubles and mixed doubles events of the London Covered Court Championships 2 10 In 1936 1937 and 1938 Hardwick was part of the British Wightman Cup team as a singles player All three editions were won by the United States and Hardwick was not able to win any of her matches although she took a set against both Helen Jacobs and Alice Marble in the 1937 edition She defeated Kay Stammers in the final to win the singles title at the Surrey Hard Court Championships played on clay courts in April 1939 and that year she achieved her highest world ranking of No 8 5 11 With Margaret Osborne she won the 1940 doubles title at the Pacific Coast Championships in Berkeley 12 In November 1940 Hardwick turned professional in part to improve her family s financial situation during the war and she made her debut on 7 January 1941 against Alice Marble in front of a crowd of almost 12 000 at the Madison Square Garden 13 The match which she lost in two close sets was the first on a transcontinental tour in the United States with a professional group that also included Don Budge and Bill Tilden 14 15 Marble decisively won the series again Hardwick with 17 3 after having led 17 1 16 At the end of the 1940 tour the score was 58 3 in favour of Marble 17 a In the mixed doubles matches Hardwick would usually team up with Budge against Marble and Tilden the latter team winning narrowly by 25 21 17 In January 1943 she married Charles Hare a British tennis player and referee whom she met in the United States 8 20 After her active tennis career she stayed involved with the sport and was a regular contributor to the Lawn Tennis and Badminton and World Tennis magazines 8 She played an important role in the founding of the Federation Cup when she convinced the International Lawn Tennis Federation ILTF in 1962 that such an event would have wide support 21 Her brother Derek was the chairman of the British Lawn Tennis Association LTA and president of the International Tennis Federation 22 Notes Edit According to American National Biography s article on Alice Marble the final score was 72 3 while Marble herself in a 1985 newspaper interview stated We played 72 matches and I lost three Poor Mary 18 19 References Edit a b Lowe s Lawn Tennis Annual London Eyre amp Spottiswoode 1935 p 205 a b c New Woman Tennis Star Miss Mary Hardwick The Argus Melbourne National Library of Australia 20 April 1935 p 10 Wimbledon players archive Mary Hardwick AELTC Wimbledon draws archive 1929 Ladies Singles AELTC a b Collins Bud 2010 The Bud Collins History of Tennis 2nd ed New York New Chapter Press pp 470 722 ISBN 978 0942257700 Robertson Max 1974 The Encyclopedia of Tennis London Allen amp Unwin p 215 ISBN 9780047960420 Past Champions amp Draws Tennis Canada Archived from the original on 23 April 2014 a b c Mary Hare The Telegraph p 18 December 2001 Lawn Tennis Scandinavian Titles Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer British Newspaper Archive 25 January 1937 p 12 McKelvie Roy 1986 The Queen s Club Story 1886 1986 London Stanley Paul p 259 ISBN 0091660602 Surrey Hard Court Tennis Surprise Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer British Newspaper Archive 17 April 1939 p 5 Lawn tennis Miss Hardwick Wins In Doubles Hull Daily Mail British Newspaper Archive 7 October 1940 p 6 Mary Hardwick Joins Alice Marble as Pro Reading Eagle UP 21 November 1940 p 27 Mary Hardwick Joins Marble In Pro Ranks St Petersburg Times INS 21 November 1940 p 11 Section Two 12 000 Fans Watch Alice Marble Mary Hardwick in Debut as Pro St Petersburg Times 7 January 1941 p 15 McCauley Joe 2000 The History of Professional Tennis Windsor The Short Run Book Company Limited p 35 a b Ray Bowers Between The Lines History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter XI America 1940 1941 Tennis Server Nancy Spencer Alice Marble American National Biography Online Bob Wolf 29 May 1985 Marble saga includes victory over cancer The Milwaukee Journal p 4 Part 3 Mary Hardwick Becomes Bride Of Charles Hare Chicago Sunday Tribune AP 31 January 1943 p 2 Part Two Fed Cup History International Tennis Federation ITF Hall of Famers Derek Hardwick International Tennis Hall of Fame Archived from the original on 8 October 2014 External links EditNational Portrait Gallery images of Mary Hardwick British Pathe 1935 filmreel of Mary Hardwick Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mary Hardwick amp oldid 1120380188, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
