| Full name | Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Great Britain |
| Born | (1932-04-21)21 April 1932 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Died | 25 August 2025(2025-08-25) (aged 93) London, England |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1993(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 603-90(87%) |
| Career titles | 108 |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1961,Lance Tingay) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1958) |
| French Open | W (1955) |
| Wimbledon | W (1961) |
| US Open | SF (1961) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1958) |
| Wimbledon | W (1955) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1958) |
| Team competitions | |
| Wightman Cup | W (1960) |
Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer-Barrett (néeMortimer; 21 April 1932 – 25 August 2025) was a British world No. 1 tennis player. Mortimer won threemajor singles titles: the1955 French Championships, the1958 Australian Championships and1961 Wimbledon Championships, the last won when she was partially deaf.[1]
Mortimer also partnered withAnne Shilcock to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in1955. She and Lorraine Coghlan also reached the women's doubles final at the1958 Australian Championships. Mortimer and Peter Newman reached themixed doubles final at the 1958 Australian Championships,[2] her only mixed doubles final at a major.
Mortimer was married to the retired player and broadcasterJohn Barrett.[3] She died in 2025.
Angela Mortimer was born on 21 April 1932 inPlymouth, England.[4]
Mortimer reached the quarterfinals of the US National Championships, then lost to second seedDoris Hart. At Wimbledon in 1953, seeded no. 5, she reached the quarterfinals, losing toDorothy Knode. She also reached the quarterfinals in 1954, 1956 (losing to countrywoman Pat Ward Hales), 1959 (when she was seeded no. 2 but lost toSandra Reynolds), and 1960 (losing to championMaria Bueno). At Wimbledon in 1958, unseeded, she beat former championMargaret Osborne duPont in the quarterfinals, then French championZsuzsa Körmöczy in the semifinals, and lost the final against the defending championAlthea Gibson in straight sets. In 1961, she won the title, defeating top-seeded Sandra Reynolds in the semifinals and thenChristine Truman in the final in three sets, making her the first British winner of the women's title since Dorothy Round in 1937.[1][5] Not fully fit in 1962, she lost to eventual finalistVera Suková in the fourth round.[6]
In 1955, she was the first British woman since 1937 to win a major tournament when she defeated Dorothy Knode in the final of theFrench Championships. During the long final set, she has said that she was given new heart when she heard her opponent asking for a brandy on court. Defending her title the following year, she reached the final, losing to Althea Gibson in two sets. During 1956 she contractedamoebic dysentery in Egypt and did not return to full form until 1958.[5][1]
She won the Australian title in 1958 while still recuperating, defeatingLorraine Coghlan in the final. Her best result in the U.S. Championships was in 1961 when she reached the semifinals, losing toAnn Haydon.[5] She made her farewell in theTorquay Open Lawn Tennis Tournament of 1962, beating Ann Haydon-Jones in the final.[7]
Her game was played mainly from the baseline, as described in her tennis autobiographyMy Waiting Game. She always played in shorts,[1] and refused designerTeddy Tinling's offer to design dresses for her. He responded by designing shorts, and later she joined his staff.[5]
According toLance Tingay, Mortimer was ranked in the world top 10 from 1953 through 1956 and from 1958 through 1962, reaching a career high of world No. 1 in 1961.[8]
Addressing how her deafness affected her play, as the ability to hear the ball coming off the racket strings is an aid to most, she told the International Tennis Hall of Fame website "It helped me concentrate, shutting out distractions."[9]
Mortimer was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Lawn Tennis in the1967 New Year Honours.[10] She was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993, joined by her husband John Barrett in 2014. The only other married couple in the Hall is Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.[9] In 2004 Mortimer was one of five British Wimbledon women's singles champions honoured by a bust unveiled outsideCentre Court. The busts were sculpted in bronze byIan Rank-Broadley.[11]
On 27 July 2014, she received theFreedom of the Borough ofMerton.[12][13]
Mortimer died from cancer in London on 25 August 2025, at the age of 93. She and John had two children, Michael and Sarah Jane.[14][15]
Mortimer played her last tournament back at Torquay in 1962, defeating Ann Haydon Jones in the final.
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