Maureen Connolly Brinker

Maureen Connolly was a professional tennis player who reached a career-high singles ranking of World Number 1 in 1952. In the 1950s, she won 9 singles Grand Slam titles, 2 doubles Grand Slam titles, and 1 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.

Player Profile

Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker (née Connolly) was born on September 17, 1934, in San Diego, California in the United States. She died on June 21, 1969, in Dallas, Texas, U.S. She stood 165 cm tall, was right-handed, and had a one-handed backhand.

Nicknamed “Little Mo”, she was a record-breaker and could have established more record-breaking performances.

Career

When she turned 14, she already won 56 successive matches and she was only 15 when she became the youngest tennis player to win the U.S. National Championships for girls 18 years old and below.

She joined the U.S. Championships in 1949 but it was not until 1951 that she won the U.S. Championships, where she defeated Shirley Fry Irvin and became at that time, the youngest player to win the tournament at a very young age of 16.

In 1952, she succeeded in defending her U.S. title against Louise Brough Clapp and also won her first Wimbledon against Doris Hart.

1953 was the best year in her tennis career. After hiring Australian Harry Hopman as her new coach, she entered all four Grand Slam tournaments and became the first woman and the second person to win all four Grand Slam titles in the same year.

Connolly was able to defend her U.S. and Wimbledon titles against Hart and won for the first time, the Australian Championships defeating Julie Sampson Haywood, and the French Championships against Hart in the finals.

In 1954, she was successful in defending her French and Wimbledon titles against Ginette Jucker Bucaille Grandguillot and Louise Brough Clapp, respectively.

Her tennis career, however, ended in the same year at the age of 19, when she was hit by a truck while horseback riding, which injured her right leg. When her career ended, she had won 1 Australian Championship, 2 French Championships, 3 Wimbledon Opens, and 3 U.S. Championships.

From 1951 to 1953, she was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for her outstanding performance in the court. She married Olympic equestrian Norman Brinker in 1955 and had two children.

Despite her married life and injury, she continued to be a part of the tennis world as a correspondent for some newspapers in the U.S. and Britain and as a coach for Britain’s Whitman Cup team during its U.S. tours.

In 1966, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died four years later on June 21, 1969, in Dallas, Texas at the age of 34. She was inducted in that same year, in 1969, into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and later in 1987 into the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Career Record

Singles

• Highest Singles Ranking: 1 (1952)

Best Grand Slam Singles Performances

• Australian Open - W (1953)
• French Open - W (1953, 1954)
• Wimbledon - W (1952, 1953, 1954)
• US Open - W (1951, 1952, 1953)

Doubles

Grand Slam Doubles Performances

• Australian Open - W (1953)
• French Open - W (1954)
• Wimbledon - F (1952, 1953)
• US Open - F (1952)

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Performances

• Australian Open - F (1953)
• French Open - W (1954)
• Wimbledon - SF (1954)

Team Competitions

• Wightman Cup - (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954)

People Ask

When did Maureen Connolly turn pro?

>It is not known exactly when Maureen Connolly started playing professionally but she made her Grand Slam main draw debut in 1949.

Is Maureen Connolly in the International Tennis Hall of Fame?

>Yes. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968.

What college did Maureen Connolly attend?

>She attended the Southern Methodist University starting in 1964.