Joy Mottram (née Gannon; born 21 March 1928) is a retired female

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from England who was active in the late 1940s and the 1950s.

Career

Her best singles performances at a Grand Slam tournament came in 1952 when she reached the quarterfinals of the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

where she was defeated by third-seeded Dorothy Head in three sets. Mottram competed in seven

Wimbledon Championship The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

s between 1946 and 1952 and reached the third round of the singles event on four occasions. In the doubles event, she reached the semifinals in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

with compatriot Betty Hilton and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, with

Thelma Coyne Long Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long (née Coyne; 14 October 1918 – 13 April 2015) was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career she won 19 Grand Sla ...

. She won the singles title at the Scottish Grass Court Championships in July 1948, defeating Czolowska in the final in two sets. In 1953 and 1954, Mottram reached two consecutive finals at the German Championships in Hamburg. In 1953, she lost to

Dorothy Knode Alice Dorothy Head Knode (née Head; July 4, 1925 – October 25, 2015), also known as Dottie Head Knode, was an American tennis player who reached the women's singles final of the French International Championships in 1955, losing to Angela Mor ...

, but the following year, she won the title against

Inge Pohmann Inge Pohmann (''née'' Hartelt; 1921 or 1922 – 26 January 2005) was a German female tennis player whose career lasted from the end of World War II until the mid-1950s. Pohmann won the German national singles title in 1950, 1951 and 1953. She ...

. In 1951 and 1952, she was a member of the British team that competed in the

Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate ...

, a women's team tennis competition between the United States and Great Britain. These editions were won by the United States and Mottram lost both her doubles matches partnering

Pat Ward Patrick or Pat Ward may refer to: *Patrick Ward (actor) (1950–2019), Australian actor *Patrick Ward (photographer) (born 1937), British photographer *Pat Ward (footballer) (1926–2003), Scottish footballer *Pat Ward (rugby union) (fl. from 1928) ...

Personal life

In 1949, she married

Tony Mottram Anthony John Mottram (8 June 1920 – 6 October 2016) was a British tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. Mottram reached the quarterfinal of the 1948 Wimbledon Championships in which he lost to Gardnar Mulloy. In the doubles event he reac ...

, who was also a tennis player, as were their children

Buster Mottram Christopher "Buster" Mottram (born 25 April 1955 in Kingston upon Thames) is an English former tennis player and UK number 1 who achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in February 1983. Mottram represented Great Britain in the D ...

and

Linda Mottram Linda Mottram is a British former professional tennis player. Active on tour in the 1970s, Mottram is the daughter of tennis players Tony Mottram and Joy Gannon. She has an elder brother, Buster Mottram, who also competed professionally. Mottra ...

. In 1957, she published a book with her husband titled ''Modern Lawn Tennis''.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 runner-up

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottram, Joy 1928 births English female tennis players People from Enfield, London Tennis people from Greater London Living people British female tennis players