Anna McCune Harper (née Anna Virginia McCune, July 2, 1902 – June 14, 1999) was a 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 the U.S. She won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1931 partnering

George Lott George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. H ...

. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1930 U.S. Championships, losing to Betty Nuthall. She also was the runner-up in women's doubles at the 1928, 1930, and 1932 U.S. Championships and in mixed doubles at the 1931 edition of these championships. Harper was ranked in the U.S. top 10 on five consecutive years from 1928 through 1932 and was top ranked in 1930.

Biography

In 1924, she graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

from the University of California, Berkeley, where she joined the sorority

Sigma Kappa Sigma Kappa (, also known as SK or Sig Kap) is a sorority founded on November 9, 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. In 1874, Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pie ...

. In 1925, she married Lawrence Averell Harper, a history professor at Berkeley. Through the following years, she ranked in the U.S. top 10 players, including 1930 when she ranked at the best player. In 1932, Harper was called home because of an illness in her family. She then decided to give up tournament tennis for other tasks, including raising her three children, but continued to follow the game and played for many years. Harper served as the national president of her sorority Sigma Kappa from 1939 to 1942. Harper was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981. Around 1983, she had arthroscopic knee surgery at age 81 so she could continue to play. An adverse reaction to a general anesthetic sidelined her for good and then precipitated a slow decline in her health. Harper is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Grand Slam finals

Singles : 1 runner-up

Doubles : 2 runners-up

Mixed doubles : 1 title, 1 runner-up

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Anna Mccune 1902 births 1999 deaths American female tennis players People from Contra Costa County, California Tennis people from California Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California 20th-century American women 20th-century American people