Patricia Ward Hales

Patricia Ward Hales (née Ward; 27 February 1929 – 22 June 1985) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom who reached the singles final of the 1955 U.S. Championships, losing to Doris Hart.[1]

"Patricia Ward" redirects here. For the American politician, see Petricia Ward.

Patricia Ward Hales
Full namePatricia Evelyn Ward Hales
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born(1929-02-27)27 February 1929
London, England
Died22 June 1985(1985-06-22) (aged 56)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1956)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open3R (1955)
WimbledonSF (1956)
US OpenF (1955)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French OpenF (1955, 1960)
WimbledonF (1955)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French OpenQF (1954)
WimbledonSF (1953)

Hales partnered Shirley Bloomer to reach the women's doubles finals at the 1955 Wimbledon Championships, where they lost to the team of Angela Mortimer and Anne Shilcock in two sets and at the French Championships, where they lost to the team of Darlene Hard and Beverly Baker Fleitz in three sets. She again reached the women's doubles final at the French Championships, where she and Ann Haydon-Jones lost to the team of Hard and Maria Bueno in straight sets.

With George Worthington, she reached the semifinal of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1953.[2] She won the singles title at the Italian Open in 1955, beating Erika Vollmer; she also won the doubles with Christiane Mercelis. Ward had been runner-up to Maureen Connolly in 1954.[3] Also in 1955 she won Monte Carlo, beating Shirley Bloomer. She reached the semifinal at Wimbledon in 1956, beating Angela Mortimer in straight sets before losing to Angela Buxton.[2] She reached the final of the British Hard Court Championships in 1957, scoring victories over Darlene Hard and Ann Haydon on the way, before losing in three sets to Shirley Bloomer. At Wimbledon in 1958 she defeated the seeded Karol Fageros before losing to Ann Haydon in three sets in the round of the last 16.[2]

According to Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Hales was ranked in the world top ten in 1955 and 1956, reaching a career high of world No. 8 in 1956.[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1955U.S. ChampionshipsGrass Doris Hart4–6, 2–6

Doubles (3 runner-ups)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1955French ChampionshipsClay Shirley Bloomer Beverly Baker
Darlene Hard		5–7, 8–6, 11–13
Loss1955WimbledonGrass Shirley Bloomer Angela Mortimer
Anne Shilcock		5–7, 1–6
Loss1960French ChampionshipsClay Ann Jones Maria Bueno
Darlene Hard		2–6, 5–7

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
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)
Tournament1949195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Championships A A A 2R A A 3R A A 3R 3R 2R A 0 / 5
Wimbledon 1R 2R 2R 3R 3R 4R 2R SF 1R 4R 3R 2R 2R 0 / 13
U.S. Championships A A 3R A A A F A A A A A A 0 / 2
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 20

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number played.

See also

References
  1. G.P. Hughes, ed. (1956). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1956. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. pp. 184–188, 346–347.
  2. "Wimbledon player archive – Pat Hales (Ward)". www.wimbledon.com. AELTC.
  3. "International Tennis". The Cairns Post. Qld. 12 May 1954. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 703. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
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