FORMER Wimbledon ladies’ champion Angela Mortimer Barrett has died at the age of 93.
Mortimer – who married ex-player and famous commentator John Barrett in 1967 – holds a special place in the history of the Wimbledon Championships.
Former Wimbledon champion Angela Mortimer has died aged 93Getty
GettyMortimer won the Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles title in 1961[/caption]
Plymouth-born Mortimer won four major Championships and was one of the best players in the world in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Her inaugural success came at the 1955 French Open in Paris, though she had been affected around that time by recurrent bouts of illness.
Next up she lifted the Australian Open in 1958 and then she beat fellow Brit Christine Truman across three sets in the 1961 Wimbledon final on Centre Court.
As a singles star, she lost in two major finals, both times to American Althea Gibson, first in the French capital in 1956 and then in London in 1958.
In doubles play, Mortimer and Anne Shilcock were victorious in the women’s doubles at Wimbledon in 1955, beating compatriots Shirley Bloomer and Patricia Ward Hales 7-5 6-1.
To commemorate the 1961 success – the first British champion since Dorothy Round in 1937 – there is a sculpture bust of her head and shoulders outside Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
This sits alongside other British post-war ladies conquerors Ann Jones (1961) and Virginia Wade (1977).
Mortimer was diagnosed with Entamoebic Dysentery, which was only cured by a three-week starvation diet that caused her to lose a huge amount of weight and left her extremely weak.
GettyMortimer was an icon of British tennis[/caption]
Initially, she feared she would never again compete at the top level but she managed to return to the top level.
Deborah Jevans, Chair of the All England Club, said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Angela Mortimer Barrett MBE, Wimbledon’s oldest surviving ladies’ singles champion, at the age of 93.
“Angela will be remembered for her determination and extraordinary dedication which saw her overcome significant challenges to rise to the top of tennis, winning three Grand Slam singles titles and one Grand Slam doubles title.
“An Honorary Member since her triumph in 1961, Angela has been a familiar face and valued Member for more than six decades.
“Her passing leaves a hole in the fabric of the Club, and she will be greatly missed.”
Between 1964 and 1970, Mortimer served as Great Britain’s Wightman Cup captain, leading the team to one win, in 1968.
In 1967, she was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to tennis.
In 1993, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and was later joined by her husband – the second married couple to achieve the distinction, following Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.
Their son Michael is a trademark lawyer while daughter Sarah Jane worked in publishing. She is survived by four grandchildren.
GettyMortimer and her husband John Barrett were both inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
