 Margaret Molesworth,c. 1941 | |
| Full name | Maud Margaret Mutch Molesworth |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
| Born | (1894-10-18)18 October 1894 Brisbane,Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 9 July 1985(1985-07-09) (aged 90) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 10 (1922) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1922, 1923) |
| French Open | 3R (1934) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1934) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1930, 1933, 1934) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1934) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1923) |
Maud Margaret "Mall"MolesworthBEM (néeMutch; 18 October 1894 – 9 July 1985) was an Australiantennis player who won the inauguralAustralasian Championships women's singles title in 1922 and successfully defended her title in 1923.
Molesworth won her first major tennis title in 1914 – the Queensland ladies doubles. For much of the next five years, sporting contests in Australia were cancelled due toWorld War I.
Molesworth won tennis championships inNew South Wales,Victoria,South Australia andTasmania beginning in 1919. At the first Australian Championships in 1922, she defeated fellow AustralianEsna Boyd Robertson 6–3, 10–8 in the final. A year later, she successfully defended her title, again defeating Robertson in the final.
Molesworth was unable to compete overseas until 1934 when, at age 40, she reached the last sixteen of theFrench Championships. At the1934 Wimbledon Championships, she lost in the first round of the singles event toMadzy Rollin Couquerque and reached the third round of the doubles withJoan Hartigan.[1]
In doubles, Molesworth won three women's titles at the Australian Championships withEmily Hood Westacott, in 1930, 1933 and 1934. She was also runner-up in women's and mixed doubles at the Australian Championships in 1923.
Molesworth was the first Australian woman tennis player to be listed in the world's top-ten rankings.A. Wallis Myers of theDaily Telegraph rated her No. 10 in 1922 and 1923.[2]
In 1924, mainly for health reasons, Molesworth retired from the sport. She came back a few years later, always considered a threat in Australian tournaments. In 1934, she reached the Australian singles final once more. Later that year, she competed overseas for the first time, playing atWimbledon and the French Championships.
After her retirement from competitive play, Molesworth became one of the first female professional coaches in Australia. Until her death in 1985, she maintained a lifelong interest in the sport of tennis.[3]
In the1972 Queen's Birthday Honours, Molesworth received theBritish Empire Medal (BEM) for "service to the community ofKu-ring-gai, New South Wales.[4]
On 19 June 1918, inBrisbane, Molesworth married Bevil Hugh Molesworth (1891–1971), an educator and radio broadcaster.[5]
Molesworth died at her home in Lindfield on 9 July 1985.[6] Her only son, Hugh (born 1925), predeceased her in 1960.[7] On 25 January 2022 Maude Margaret Molesworth and Joan Hartigan were inducted into theAustralian Tennis Hall of Fame at a ceremony atRod Laver Arena.[6]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1922 | Australian Championships | Grass | Esna Boyd Robertson | 6–3, 10–8 |
| Win | 1923 | Australian Championships | Grass | Esna Boyd Robertson | 6–1, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1934 | Australian Championships | Grass | Joan Hartigan | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1923 | Australian Championships | Grass | Beryl Turner | Esna Boyd RobertsonSylvia Lance Harper | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1930 | Australian Championships | Grass | Emily Hood Westacott | Marjorie Cox CrawfordSylvia Lance Harper | 6–3, 0–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 1933 | Australian Championships | Grass | Emily Hood Westacott | Joan Hartigan Marjorie Gladman | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 1934 | Australian Championships | Grass | Emily Hood Westacott | Joan HartiganUla Valkenburg | 6–8, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1923 | Australian Championships | Grass | Bert St. John | Sylvia Lance HarperHorace Rice | 6–2, 4–6, 4–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | W | W | QF | A | A | A | QF | QF | QF | 1R | A | QF | F | 2R | 2 / 10 |
| French Championships1 | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | 0 / 1 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 1 |
| US Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| SR | 1 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 2 / 12 |
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.
