Anna McCune Harper

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Anna McCune Harper
Full nameAnna Virginia McCune Harper
Country (sports) United States
BornAnna Virginia McCune
(1902-07-02)July 2, 1902
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
DiedJune 14, 1999(1999-06-14) (aged 96)
Moraga, California, U.S.
Retired1932
PlaysLeft-handed [1]
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon4R (1931)
US OpenF (1930)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
US OpenF (1928, 1930)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonW (1931)
US OpenF (1931)
Team competitions
Wightman CupW (1931, 1932)

Anna McCune Harper (née Anna Virginia McCune, July 2, 1902 – June 14, 1999) was a female

Wimbledon in 1931 partnering George Lott. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1930 U.S. Championships, losing to Betty Nuthall
. She also was the runner-up in women's doubles at the 1928, 1930, and 1932 U.S. Championships and in mixed doubles at the 1931 edition of these championships.

Harper was ranked in the U.S. top 10 on five consecutive years from 1928 through 1932 and was top ranked in 1930.[2]

Biography

In 1924, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley,[3] where she joined the sorority Sigma Kappa.[4] In 1925, she married Lawrence Averell Harper, a history professor at Berkeley.[3][5] Through the following years, she ranked in the U.S. top 10 players, including 1930 when she ranked at the best player.[2]

In 1932, Harper was called home because of an illness in her family.[6] She gave up tournament tennis for other tasks, including raising her three children,[5][6] but continued to follow the game and played for many years.

Harper served as the national president of her sorority Sigma Kappa from 1939 to 1942.[4]

Harper was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.[6][7]

Around 1983, she had arthroscopic knee surgery at age 81 so she could continue to play. An adverse reaction to a general anesthetic sidelined her for good and then precipitated a slow decline in her health. Harper is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Grand Slam finals

Singles : 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1930 U.S. Championships Grass United Kingdom Betty Nuthall 1–6, 4–6

Doubles : 2 runners-up

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1928 U.S. Championships Grass United States Edith Cross United States Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
United States Helen Wills
2–6, 2–6
Loss 1930 U.S. Championships Grass United States Edith Cross United Kingdom Betty Nuthall
United States Sarah Palfrey Cooke
6–3, 3–6, 5–7

Mixed doubles : 1 title, 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1931 Wimbledon Grass United States George Lott United Kingdom Joan Ridley
United Kingdom Ian Collins
6–3, 1–6, 6–1
Loss 1931 U.S. Championships Grass United States Wilmer Allison United Kingdom Betty Nuthall
United States George Lott
3–6, 3–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (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); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Championships A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
Wimbledon 3R 1R A A A A 4R 1R 0 / 4
U.S. Championships A A A 3R 3R F QF QF 0 / 5
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 9

See also

References

  1. ^ "Leader is left hander". The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 15, 1931. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com. A left-hander, Mr. Harper started playing tennis in Pacific Grove, Calif., about 12 years ago.
  2. ^ a b United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H.O. Zimman, Inc. p. 260.
  3. ^
    SF Gate
    .
  4. ^ a b Becque, Fran (2013-11-09). "On Sigma Kappa's Birthday - a Wimbledon Champ Who Was National President". Fraternity History & More. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  5. ^ a b "Lawrence Averell Harper, History: Berkeley". Calisphere.
  6. ^ a b c "Tennis". Los Angeles Times. June 17, 1999.
  7. ^ "Anna McCune Harper". California Golden Bears.

External links