Esna Boyd
Esna Boyd Robertson (née Boyd; 21 September 1899 – 13 November 1966) was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927. Robertson participated in the first women's singles final at the Australian Championships in 1922 against fellow Australian Margaret Molesworth.
Full name | Esna Boyd Robertson |
---|---|
Country (sports) | Australia |
Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 21 September 1899
Died | 13 November 1966 67) Scotland | (aged
Singles | |
Career titles | 37 |
Highest ranking | No. 10 (1928, A. Wallis Myers) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | W (1927) |
French Open | 3R (1928) |
Wimbledon | QF (1925) |
Doubles | |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (1922, 1923, 1926, 1928) |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (1922, 1926, 1927) |
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Robertson was ranked world No. 10 in 1928.[1]
Boyd was born in Melbourne on 21 September 1899, the daughter of James Boyd, a politician, and Emma Flora McCormack. She had a sister, Alva who became a medical practitioner.[2] She married Angus Robertson on 11 March 1929; they had a son, William, in 1930 and a daughter Mary, in 1933.[3]
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 7 (1 title, 6 runners-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1922 | Australian Championships | Grass | Margaret Molesworth | 3–6, 8–10 |
Loss | 1923 | Australian Championships | Grass | Margaret Molesworth | 1–6, 5–7 |
Loss | 1924 | Australian Championships | Grass | Sylvia Lance Harper | 3–6, 6–3, 6–8 |
Loss | 1925 | Australian Championships | Grass | Daphne Akhurst Cozens | 6–1, 6–8, 4–6 |
Loss | 1926 | Australian Championships | Grass | Daphne Akhurst Cozens | 1–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1927 | Australian Championships | Grass | Sylvia Lance Harper | 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
Loss | 1928 | Australian Championships | Grass | Daphne Akhurst Cozens | 5–7, 2–6 |
Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1922 | Australian Championships | Grass | Marjorie Mountain | Gwen Utz Floris St. George | 1–6, 6–4, 7–5 |
Win | 1923 | Australian Championships | Grass | Sylvia Lance Harper | Margaret Molesworth Beryl Turner | 6–1, 6–4 |
Loss | 1925 | Australian Championships | Grass | Kathleen Le Messurier | Daphne Akhurst Sylvia Lance Harper | 4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1926 | Australian Championships | Grass | Meryl O'Hara Wood | Daphne Akhurst Marjorie Cox Crawford | 6–3, 6–8, 8–6 |
Loss | 1927 | Australian Championships | Grass | Sylvia Lance Harper | Louise Bickerton Meryl O'Hara Wood | 3–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1928 | Australian Championships | Grass | Daphne Akhurst | Kathleen Le Messurier Dorothy Weston | 6–3, 6–1 |
Mixed doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1922 | Australian Championships | Grass | John Hawkes | Gwen Utz Harold Utz | 6–1, 6–1 |
Loss | 1924 | Australian Championships | Grass | Gar Hone | Daphne Akhurst Jim Willard | 3–6, 4–6 |
Win | 1926 | Australian Championships | Grass | John Hawkes | Daphne Akhurst Jim Willard | 6–1, 6–4 |
Win | 1927 | Australian Championships | Grass | John Hawkes | Youtha Anthony Jim Willard | 6–1, 6–3 |
Loss | 1928 | Australian Championships | Grass | John Hawkes | Daphne Akhurst Jean Borotra | default |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Tournament | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | Career SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Championships | F | F | F | F | F | W | F | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 1 / 8 |
French Championships1 | A | A | NH | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | QF | A | A | 4R | A | 4R | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 4 |
United States Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 13 |
1Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships (WHCC), actually played on clay in Paris or Brussels, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from the 1922 and 1923 editions of that tournament are shown here. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.
See also
References
- Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
- "Boyd, James Arthur (1867–1941)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- "TENNIS STAR'S WEDDED BLISS". The Sunday Times. Perth. 16 March 1930. p. 1 Section: First Section – via National Library of Australia.