Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at 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 ve ...

in 1960 and the U.S. Championships in 1960 and 1961. With eight different partners, she won a total of 13 women's doubles titles in Grand Slam tournaments, and was the finest doubles player of her generation. Her last doubles title, at the age of 33 at the 1969 US Open, came six years after she had retired from serious competition to become a tennis instructor. She also played the US Open singles tournament in 1969, losing in the second round to Françoise Dürr.

Career

Althea-Gibson-Queen-Elizabeth-Wimbledon-1957

According to Lance Tingay, Hard was ranked among the top 10 in the world from 1957 through 1963, reaching a career high of No. 2 in those rankings in 1957, 1960, and 1961. ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.No. 1 for the 1961 season. In 1957, she made her first Wimbledon finals appearance, losing to Althea Gibson. Hard was included in the year-end top-10 rankings issued by the

United States Lawn Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

from 1954 through 1963. Charles Friedman wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that year that "as a doubles player, she has no peer." She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1960 through 1963. With her younger doubles partner

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's double ...

, she helped the US team to victory in the 1963 Federation Cup. Hard graduated from Pomona College in 1961, and became the first woman inducted into the college's athletic hall of fame in 1974. She was part of the American Wightman Cup team that won the trophy against Great Britain in 1957, 1959, 1962 and 1963. In 1964, Hard won the singles title at the South African Championships, defeating Ann Haydon-Jones in the final in straight sets, and soon afterwards turned professional when she became a teaching pro. She later owned two tennis stores. Hard was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1973. According to a 2007 published report, she had been working for the University of Southern California since 1981 in the Publications Dept.

Personal life

In later life, Hard lived in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. She worked at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in the Publications Dept. for four decades, aiding in the design and fact-checking of the University Yearbook. Hard died at the age of 85 on December 2, 2021, from complications after a fall.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

Doubles: 18 (13 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hard, Darlene 1936 births 2021 deaths American female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions Tennis players from Los Angeles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1963 Pan American Games United States National champions (tennis) US Open (tennis) champions University of Southern California people Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in tennis Pomona College alumni Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 21st-century American women World number 1 ranked female tennis players French Open champions