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Doris Hart

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Tennis Player

The Resume

    (June 20, 1925-May 29, 2015)
    Born in St. Louis, Missouri
    In singles won two US Opens (1954-55), two French Opens (1950,1952), Wimbledon (1951) and the Australian Open (1949)
    In doubles, won five French Opens (1948,1950-53), four US Opens (1951-54), four Wimbledons (1947,1951-53) and an Australian Open (1950)
    In mixed doubles won five US Opens (1951-55), five Wimbledons (1951-55), three French Opens (1951-53) and two Australian Opens (1949-50)
    Ranked #1 in 1951
    Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (1969)

Why she might be annoying:

    She was bow legged.
    Reporters often erroneously claimed that she had overcome a childhood bout of polio. ('I guess it made a better story that way.')
    She and opponent Shirley Fry were booed at the 1952 French Open when they arrived late for the finals: 'Imagine over ten thousand people giving you the Bronx cheer!'
    She complained about modern tennis, 'There's not really much strategy involved. It's not that appealing to watch.' (2004)

Why she might not be annoying:

    When she was fifteen months old, she developed osteomyelitis, a bacterial infection of the bone, in her right leg, which was initially misdiagnosed as rheumatism.
    When the family doctor correctly diagnosed the disease, he performed an emergency operation without anesthesia on the kitchen table to drain infected pus. (And the press thought polio made for a better story?)
    Lingering effects of the infection limited her speed on court, but she made up for it with a strong serve, accurate drop shots, and strategic play.
    Due to rain delays screwing up the schedule, she won the Wimbledon singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles titles all on the same day (1951).
    She is one of only three players (the others being Margaret Court and Martina Navratrilova) to have a 'boxed set' of Grand Slam titles: every possible title (singles, same-sex doubles, and mixed doubles) in all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 102 Votes: 52.94% Annoying