Early life and background
editMaureen Connolly was born on September 17, 1934 in San Diego, California, the only child of Jessamine (née Gillan)[1] and Martin Connolly. Her father [2]
Amateur career
editPlaying style
edit- Peter Wilson of the London Daily Mirror in 1965 on watching Connolly play against Doris Hart at Wimbledon in 1953: "She still had a certain weakness on her serve and with her volleying, on which she was still working"[3]
- Went from ecstatic after winning the 1951 U.S. title to stoic by Wimbledon in 1952[4]
- Tingay: "Miss Connolly's backhand drive was assuredly the fastest and most accurate shot of its kind ever played by a woman."[5]
Legacy
edit- Peter Wilson of the London Daily Mirror in 1965: "I firmly believe that her greater speed about the court, her equal consistency and hitting power plus the reasonable supposition that she would have improved had her career continued, would have put [Maureen] Connolly ahead of [Helen Wills] Moody and would have gradually destroyed the gossamer touch of [Suzanne] Lenglen" [6]
Personal life
editReferences
edit- ^ Cottrell, Debbie Mauldin (1976). "Maureen Catherine Connolly Brinker". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ Seymour 2008, p. 87.
- ^ Frayne 1979, p. 85.
- ^ Frayne 1979, p. 90.
- ^ Frayne 1979, p. 98.
- ^ Frayne 1979, pp. 85–86.
Books and articles
edit- Brinker Simmons, Cindy; Darden, Robert (1920). Little Mo's Legacy : A Mother's Lessons, a Daughter's Story. Irving, Texas: Tapestry Press. ISBN 978-1930819016.
- Frayne, Trent (1979). Famous Women Tennis Players. New York: Dodd, Mead. ISBN 978-0396076810.
- Seymour, Joey (Spring 2008). "San Diego's Sweetheart: Maureen Connolly" (PDF). The Journal of San Diego History. 54 (2).