Mary Renetta Hawton (née Bevis; 4 September 1924 – 18 January 1981) was a tennis player from Australia. Her career ranged from the 1940s to the 1950s.

Mary Hawton
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1924-09-04)4 September 1924
Sydney, Australia
Died18 January 1981(1981-01-18) (aged 56)
Sydney, Australia
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1948, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1959)
French Open4R (1960, 1962)
Wimbledon4R (1958)
US OpenQF (1957)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1946, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958)
French OpenF (1958)
WimbledonF (1957)
US OpenSF (1957, 1958, 1960)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1958)
French OpenQF (1960, 1962)
Wimbledon3R (1957, 1960)
US Open2R (1957)

Hawton won the women's doubles title at the Australian Championships five times.[1][2] In 1958 she also won the mixed doubles title together with compatriot Robert Howe.[3]

In 1948, she married Keith Ernest Hawton.[4][5]

She was captain of the Australian Fed Cup team in 1979 and 1980 and director of the NSW Tennis Association.

In 1979, Hawton published a book titled How to Play Winning Tennis.[6] She died on 18 January 1981 in Sydney, Australia.[7]

The Mary Hawton Trophy, the prize for the winner of the Australian teams championships for girls, was named after her,[8] as is Hawton Place, in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm.[9]

Career

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Mary Hawton found much success in Australia at the Australian Championships. She made it to the semifinals in singles six times in 1948, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956 and 1959. Hawton reached 12 finals in Australia, eight of these being consecutive. She also reached the doubles finals at the Wimbledon and French Championships in 1957 and 1958 with Australian Thelma Coyne Long. Hawton ended her career with six Grand Slam titles: five in women's doubles and one in mixed doubles.

Grand Slam finals

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Doubles: 14 (5–9)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1946 Australian Championships Grass   Joyce Fitch   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Thelma Coyne Long
9–7, 6–4
Loss 1947 Australian Championships Grass   Joyce Fitch   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Thelma Coyne Long
3–6, 3–6
Loss 1948 Australian Championships Grass   Pat Jones   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Thelma Coyne Long
3–6, 3–6
Loss 1951 Australian Championships Grass   Joyce Fitch   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Thelma Coyne Long
2–6, 1–6
Loss 1952 Australian Championships Grass   Alison Burton   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Thelma Coyne Long
1–6, 1–6
Loss 1953 Australian Championships Grass   Beryl Penrose   Maureen Connolly
  Julia Sampson
4–6, 2–6
Win 1954 Australian Championships Grass   Beryl Penrose   Hazel Redick-Smith
  Julia Wipplinger
6–3, 8–6
Win 1955 Australian Championships Grass   Beryl Penrose   Nell Hall Hopman
  Gwen Thiele
7–5, 6–1
Win 1956 Australian Championships Grass   Thelma Coyne Long   Mary Carter Reitano
  Beryl Penrose
6–2, 5–7, 9–7
Loss 1957 Australian Championships Grass   Fay Muller   Shirley Fry
  Althea Gibson
2–6, 1–6
Loss 1957 Wimbledon Grass   Thelma Coyne Long   Althea Gibson
  Darlene Hard
1–6, 2–6
Win 1958 Australian Championships Grass   Thelma Coyne Long   Lorraine Coghlan
  Angela Mortimer
7–5, 6–8, 6–2
Loss 1958 French Championships Clay   Thelma Coyne Long   Yola Ramírez
  Rosie Reyes
4–6, 5–7
Loss 1961 Australian Championships Grass   Jan Lehane   Mary Carter Reitano
  Margaret Smith
4–6, 6–3, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 2 (1–1)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1956 Australian Championships Grass   Roy Emerson   Beryl Penrose
  Neale Fraser
2–6, 4–6
Win 1958 Australian Championships Grass   Robert Howe   Angela Mortimer
  Peter Newman
9–11, 6–1, 6–2

Grand Slam performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australia 2R QF SF QF QF QF SF SF SF QF SF QF QF SF QF QF 3R 2R 2R 2R 38–20
France A A A A A A A A A A 1R 3R 3R A 4R A 4R A A A 7–5
Wimbledon A A A A A A A A A A A 2R 4R A 2R A 2R A A A 4–4
United States A A A A A A A A A A A QF 3R A 2R A 1R A A A 6–3

Doubles

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Tournament 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australia W F F SF SF F F F W W W F W SF SF F QF QF QF 2R 45–15
France A A A A A A A A A A 2R QF F A SF A 2R A A A 7–4
Wimbledon A A A A A A A A A A A F SF A SF A 2R A A A 11–4
United States A A A A A A A A A A A SF SF A SF A A A A A 7–3

References

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  1. ^ "Australian Open players archive – Mary Beavis". Tennis Australia.
  2. ^ "Australian Open players archive – Mary Hawton". Tennis Australia.
  3. ^ "Australian Open Winners". TennisNow.com. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Tennis Champions Engaged". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 14 May 1946. p. 7.
  5. ^ "Gossip From Joan". Wellington Times. NSW: National Library of Australia. 25 October 1948. p. 5.
  6. ^ How to play winning tennis. Worldcat. 1979. OCLC 630558374.
  7. ^ "In Brief Death of Tennis Pioneer". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 20 January 1981. p. 18.
  8. ^ "December Showdown" (PDF). Tennis Australia.
  9. ^ "Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Periodic (National : 1977 – 2011) – 15 May 1987 – p3". Trove. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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