Patricia Ward Hales

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"Patricia Ward" redirects here. For the American politician, see Petricia Ward.

Patricia Ward Hales
Full namePatricia Evelyn Ward Hales
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born(1929-02-27)27 February 1929
London, England
Died22 June 1985(1985-06-22) (aged 56)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1956)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open3R (1955)
WimbledonSF (1956)
US OpenF (1955)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French OpenF (1955, 1960)
WimbledonF (1955)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French OpenQF (1954)
WimbledonSF (1953)

Patricia Ward Hales (née Ward; 27 February 1929 – 22 June 1985) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom who reached the singles final of the 1955 U.S. Championships, losing to Doris Hart.[1]

Hales partnered Shirley Bloomer to reach the women's doubles final at the 1955 Wimbledon Championships, where they lost to the team of Angela Mortimer and Anne Shilcock in two sets and at the French Championships, where they lost to the team of Darlene Hard and Beverly Baker Fleitz in three sets. She again reached the women's doubles final at the French Championships, where she and Ann Haydon lost to the team of Hard and Maria Bueno in straight sets.

With George Worthington, she reached the semifinals of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1953.[2] She won the singles title at the Italian Open in 1955, beating Erika Vollmer; she also won the doubles with Christiane Mercelis. Ward had been runner-up to Maureen Connolly in 1954.[3] Also in 1955, she won Monte Carlo, beating Shirley Bloomer. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1956, beating Angela Mortimer in straight sets, then lost to Angela Buxton.[2] She reached the final of the British Hard Court Championships in 1957, scoring victories over Darlene Hard and Ann Haydon on the way, then losing in three sets to Shirley Bloomer. At Wimbledon in 1958, she defeated the seeded Karol Fageros, then lost to Ann Haydon in three sets in the round of 16.[2]

According to Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Hales was ranked in the world top 10 in 1955 and 1956, reaching a career high of world No. 8 in 1956.[4]

Grand Slam finals[]

Singles (1 runner-up)[]

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1955 U.S. Championships Grass United States Doris Hart 4–6, 2–6

Doubles (3 runner-ups)[]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1955 French Championships Clay United Kingdom Shirley Bloomer United States Beverly Baker
United States Darlene Hard		 5–7, 8–6, 11–13
Loss 1955 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Shirley Bloomer United Kingdom Angela Mortimer
United Kingdom Anne Shilcock		 5–7, 1–6
Loss 1960 French Championships Clay United Kingdom Ann Jones Brazil Maria Bueno
United States Darlene Hard		 2–6, 5–7

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline[]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Championships A A A 2R A A 3R A A 3R 3R 2R A 0 / 5
Wimbledon 1R 2R 2R 3R 3R 4R 2R SF 1R 4R 3R 2R 2R 0 / 13
U.S. Championships A A 3R A A A F A A A A A A 0 / 2
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 20

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ G.P. Hughes, ed. (1956). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1956. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. pp. 184–188, 346–347.
  2. ^ a b c "Wimbledon player archive – Pat Hales (Ward)". www.wimbledon.com. AELTC.
  3. ^ "International Tennis". The Cairns Post. Qld. 12 May 1954. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 703. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
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