Margaret Osborne duPont

Margaret Osborne duPont (born Margaret Evelyn Osborne; March 4, 1918 – October 24, 2012) was a world No. 1 American female tennis player.

Margaret Osborne duPont

Full name	Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1918-03-04)March 4, 1918 Joseph, Oregon, U.S.[1]
Died	October 24, 2012(2012-10-24) (aged 94) El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)[2]
Plays	Right-handed
Int. Tennis HoF	1967 (member page)
Singles
Career record	0–0
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1947)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	W (1946, 1949)
Wimbledon	W (1947)
US Open	W (1948, 1949, 1950)
Doubles
Career record	0–0
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	W (1946, 1947, 1949)
Wimbledon	W (1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954)
US Open	W (1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1962)
US Open	W (1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960)

DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand Slam titles at the U.S. Championships, which is an all-time record.

Career

DuPont won six Grand Slam singles titles. She saved match points in the final of the 1946 French International Championships (versus Pauline Betz) and in the final of the 1948 U.S. National Championships (versus Louise Brough). The 48 games played during the 1948 final remain the most ever played in a women's singles final at that tournament.

DuPont teamed with Brough to win 20 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, which ties Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver for the most Grand Slam titles ever won by a women's doubles team. DuPont and Brough won nine consecutive titles at the U.S. National Championships from 1942 through 1950. They won that tournament 12 of the 14 years they entered as a team. Their 12 titles is an all-time record for a women's doubles team at the U.S. National Championships, well-surpassing the four career titles won by the teams of Navratilova and Shriver, Doris Hart and Shirley Fry, and Sarah Palfrey Cooke and Alice Marble. DuPont won 13 women's doubles titles, ten of which were in succession from 1941 through 1950, at the U.S. National Championships. Both of those are all-time records.

DuPont's nine mixed doubles titles at the U.S. National Championships is more than any other player. Four of those titles were in partnership with William Talbert, which is a record for a mixed-doubles team at the U.S. National Championships. Three were with Neale Fraser.

According to John Olliff and Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, duPont was ranked in the world top ten from 1946 through 1950, and in 1953, 1954, 1956, and 1957. She was ranked world No. 1 from 1947 through 1950. No rankings were issued from 1940 through 1945.[3]

DuPont was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1938, from 1941 through 1950, and in 1953, 1956, and 1958. She was the top ranked U.S. player from 1948 through 1950.[4]

From 1938 through 1958, DuPont went undefeated in ten Wightman Cup competitions, winning ten singles and nine doubles matches. She also captained the U.S. team nine times, winning eight.

Personal life

Margaret married William duPont, Jr. on November 26, 1947[5] and later interrupted her career to give birth to a son, William duPont III on July 22, 1952. She is one of the few women to win a major title after childbirth. DuPont never played the Australian Championships because her husband would not let her.

They didn't start to invite people down there and pay their expenses until I got married, and that was wintertime and Will's vacation time, and I just never got to go. He threatened to divorce me if I went to Australia, so I never went. He had that respiratory trouble, and he wanted me to come to California with him. He thought I should be with him. That was that.[6]

She later divorced duPont in 1964 and formed a life partnership with fellow player Margaret Varner Bloss.[7]

DuPont died on October 24, 2012 while in hospice care in El Paso, Texas at age 94.[1]

Awards

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967. The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame inducted DuPont in 1999. In 2010, she was inducted into the US Open Court of Champions.[8]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (6 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Pauline Betz	6–3, 8–6
Winner	1946	French Championships	Clay	Pauline Betz	1–6, 8–6, 7–5
Winner	1947	Wimbledon	Grass	Doris Hart	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	1947	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	6–8, 6–4, 1–6
Winner	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	4–6, 6–4, 15–13
Winner	1949	French Championships (2)	Clay	Nelly Adamson-Landry	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	1949	Wimbledon	Grass	Louise Brough	8–10, 6–1, 8–10
Winner	1949	U.S. Championships (2)	Grass	Doris Hart	6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	1950	Wimbledon	Grass	Louise Brough	1–6, 6–3, 1–6
Winner	1950	U.S. Championships (3)	Grass	Doris Hart	6–4, 6–3

Doubles (21 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1941	U.S. Championships	Grass	Sarah Palfrey	Dorothy Bundy Pauline Betz	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	1942	U.S. Championships (2)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	2–6, 7–5, 6–0
Winner	1943	U.S. Championships (3)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–4, 6–3
Winner	1944	U.S. Championships (4)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	1945	U.S. Championships (5)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–3, 6–3
Winner	1946	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–3, 2–6, 6–3
Winner	1946	French Championships	Clay	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–4, 0–6, 6–1
Winner	1946	U.S. Championships (6)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Mary Arnold Prentiss	6–1, 6–3
Runner-up	1947	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Pat Canning Todd	3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	1947	French Championships (2)	Clay	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Pat Canning Todd	7–5, 6–2
Winner	1947	U.S. Championships (7)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Doris Hart	5–7, 6–3, 7–5
Winner	1948	Wimbledon Championships (2)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Pat Canning Todd	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	1948	U.S. Championships (8)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Doris Hart	6–4, 8–10, 6–1
Winner	1949	French Championships (3)	Clay	Louise Brough	Joy Gannon Betty Hilton	7–5, 6–1
Winner	1949	Wimbledon Championships (3)	Grass	Louise Brough	Gussy Moran Pat Canning Todd	8–6, 7–5
Winner	1949	U.S. Championships (9)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–4, 10–8
Runner-up	1950	French Championships	Clay	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	1–6, 7–5, 6–2
Winner	1950	Wimbledon Championships (4)	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	6–4, 5–7, 6–1
Winner	1950	U.S. Championships (10)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	1951	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	6–3, 13–11
Runner-up	1953	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–2, 7–9, 9–7
Winner	1954	Wimbledon Championships (5)	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	4–6, 9–7, 6–3
Runner-up	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–4, 6–4
Winner	1955	U.S. Championships (11)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–3, 1–6, 6–3
Winner	1956	U.S. Championships (12)	Grass	Louise Brough	Betty Rosenquest Pratt Shirley Fry	6–3, 6–0
Winner	1957	U.S. Championships (13)	Grass	Louise Brough	Althea Gibson Darlene Hard	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	1958	Wimbledon Championships (5)	Grass	Margaret Varner	Maria Bueno Althea Gibson	3–6, 5–7

Mixed doubles: (10 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1943	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Pauline Betz Pancho Segura	10–6, 6–4
Winner	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Dorothy Bundy Don McNeill	6–2, 6–3
Winner	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Doris Hart Bob Falkenberg	6–4, 6–4
Winner	1946	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Robert Kimbrell	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Tom Brown	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1949	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Eric Sturgess	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Winner	1950	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up	1954	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Doris Hart Vic Seixas	7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Doris Hart Vic Seixas	6–4, 1–6, 1–6
Winner	1956	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Darlene Hard Lew Hoad	9–7, 6–1
Winner	1958	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Maria Bueno Alex Olmedo	6–3, 3–6, 9–7
Winner	1959	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Janet Hopps Bob Mark	7–5, 13–15, 6–2
Winner	1960	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Maria Bueno Antonio Palafox	6–3, 6–2
Winner	1962	Wimbledon	Grass	Neale Fraser	Ann Haydon-Jones Dennis Ralston	2–6, 6–3, 13–11

Grand Slam performance timelines

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

A

NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

Singles

Tournament	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946^1	1947^1	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	Career SR
Australian Championships	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
French Championships	A	A	NH	R	R	R	R	A	W	SF	A	W	QF	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	2 / 5
Wimbledon	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	SF	W	SF	F	F	QF	A	A	QF	A	A	A	QF	A	A	A	1R	1 / 9
U.S. Championships	2R	A	3R	SF	SF	QF	F	QF	QF	F	W	W	W	A	A	QF	3R	A	QF	A	3R	A	1R	A	A	3 / 17
SR	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	1 / 3	1 / 3	1 / 2	2 / 3	1 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	6 / 31

Women's doubles

Tournament	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946^1	1947^1	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	Career SR
Australian Championships	A	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
French Championships	A	A	A	A	NH	R	R	R	R	A	W	W	A	W	F	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	3 / 4
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	W	F	W	W	W	F	A	A	W	A	A	A	F	A	A	A	3R	5 / 9
U.S. Championships	QF	A	1R	A	QF	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	A	A	F	F	W	W	W	QF	QF	A	SF	SF	13 / 22
SR	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	3 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 2	3 / 3	2 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	1 / 2	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 2	21 / 35

Mixed doubles

Tournament	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946^1	1947^1	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	Career SR
Australian Championships	A	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
French Championships	A	A	A	A	NH	R	R	R	R	A	A	A	A	A	A	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	SF	SF	SF	4R	4R	SF	A	A	F	A	A	A	2R	A	A	A	W	1 / 9
U.S. Championships	2R	A	2R	A	SF	2R	SF	W	W	W	W	SF	F	F	W	A	A	A	F	?	W	SF	W	W	W	A	A	9 / ?
SR	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	1 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / ?	1 / 1	0 / 1	1 / 2	1 / 1	1 / 1	0 / 0	1 /1	10 / ?

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.
¹In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

1. Finn, Robin (October 25, 2012). "Margaret Osborne duPont, Tennis Champion, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
2. "Mrs. duPont denies secret success formula". Newport Daily News. AP. August 24, 1962. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York City, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 702–3. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
4. United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H. O. Zimman, Inc. pp. 260–1.
5. "William du Pont, Jr. papers (Accession 2317.II), Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE 19807".
6. Billie Jean King with Cynthia Starr (1988). We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 70. ISBN 0-07-034625-9.
7. Billie Jean King with Cynthia Starr (1988). We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 75. ISBN 0-07-034625-9.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-29. Retrieved 2010-08-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Margaret Osborne duPont at the International Tennis Hall of Fame