Cast: Maureen Connolly and Doris Hart
- Maureen Connolly. “Little Mo” who dominated women’s tennis
Maureen Connolly was born in 1934 in San Diego, California. Her first passion was horse riding, but as her family could not afford lessons, she took up the sport of tennis. Although he started out left-handed, he was taught to play right-handed. This change did not prevent him from becoming a great player. Connolly hit powerful ground shots from the baseline with great accuracy, especially on his backhand side. At age 11, he was nicknamed “Little Mo” by a San Diego sportscaster, in reference to the USS Missouri, known as “Big Mo” on the US Navy ship.
Connolly competed in the US Championship (which would later become US Open:) for the first time in 1949 at the age of 14, losing in the second round. In 1950, he lost again in the second round of the US Championship, which would be the last Grand Slam loss of his career. Since 1951, Little Mo has dominated the game like no one before him. He won the next six Grand Slams, after which he participated: the US Nationals (1951, 1952), Australian Open (1953), Roland Garros (1953) and Wimbledon (1952, 1953). In 1953, after winning the first three Grand Slams of the year, she had the opportunity to complete the first calendar Grand Slam of women’s tennis.
- Doris Hart. The American who won three Wimbledon titles on the same day
Doris Hart, born in 1925, started playing tennis at the age of 10, despite suffering from osteomyelitis, which always hampered her right leg. That didn’t stop him from becoming one of the greatest players of his time. In his early years, he lost four Grand Slam singles finals before finally winning the 1949 Australian Open. This first major title was followed by three more: the French Championships (1950, 1952) and Wimbledon in 1951, that year at the All England Club, Hart won the singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles, playing in the finals of all three events on the same day. He collected a total of 12 Grand Slam doubles titles, as well as 10 mixed doubles titles.
Venue: West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, New York
The US National Championship was established in 1881 and, although it is the only Grand Slam tournament to have been played every year without interruption since its inception, it has moved several times over the course of 20 years.th century. First held in August 1881 on the grass courts of the Newport Casino in Rhode Island, in 1915 the tournament moved to New York, where it was played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills (except from 1921-1923, when the event was held in Philadelphia).
Facts: Maureen Connolly wins the final in straight sets
In 1953, Maureen Connolly completely dominated the women’s game. With just two losses all season, she won the first three Grand Slams of the year, dropping just one set in the quarterfinals of the French Open. She arrived at the US Open with a chance to become the first woman to win a calendar-year Grand Slam.
“Little Mo” reached the final without dropping a set, and on the final day, on September 7, she faced her old rival Doris Hart, whom she had already defeated in the finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon that year. However, Hart was one of only two players to beat Connolly that year at the Italian Open (4-6, 9-7, 6-3), and their encounter at the All England Club, which they both called “the best match of their lives”, was extremely close (8-6, 7-5). They were the first women to play each other in three major finals in one year.
This time in Forest Hills, in front of 12,000 spectators, Connolly did not give up on his opponent, whom he steamrolled in just 43 minutes, 6-2, 6-4. His only moment of doubt came in the second set at 4-2, when he came close to victory and allowed his opponent to come back to 4-4. However, she quickly rallied to seal the first calendar-year Grand Slam in women’s tennis history. In the 22 matches he played to achieve that feat, “Little Mo” lost just one set and dropped an average of three games per match.
What next? A brilliant career and life come to a tragic end
In 1954, “Little Mo” would continue to dominate the women’s game, adding two Grand Slam titles to her list of accomplishments: Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Unfortunately, on July 20, 1954, Connolly seriously injured his leg in an accident. where he was hit by a truck while riding. This injury would end her brilliant career, and later Maureen Connolly, although no longer able to compete, would still be able to play one-set shows. He would become a radio and television commentator. In 1958, he would win against a trucking company and be awarded the largest personal injury award ever.
In 1966, Maureen Connolly was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died in 1969 at the age of 34.
Doris Hart would become the first woman to win a career Grand Slam Boxed Set (winning at least one title in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at each Grand Slam). He would retire in 1955 having won six major singles titles, 14 in doubles and 15 in mixed doubles.
Connolly and Hart would remain the only women to meet each other in three Grand Slam finals until 1984, when Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert achieved the same feat.
The Williams sisters were the third pair in tennis history to do the same in 2002. Interestingly, the same player has won all three finals each time (Connolly, Navratilova and Serena Williams).
Only two other female players will match Little Mo’s feat of winning a calendar year Grand Slam; Margaret Court in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988. In addition to winning four majors, Graf would even complete the Golden Grand Slam, adding an Olympic gold medal to the Grand Slam on her calendar. Men’s tennis would have two more calendar Grand Slam tournaments, in 1962 and 1969, both by the same man; Rod Laver.
