Hard, Darlene (1936–)

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Hard, Darlene (1936–)

American tennis player. Born Jan 6, 1936, Los Angeles, CA; graduate of Pomona College, Claremont, CA.

Among the top tennis players in the world (1955–64), reached finals of Wimbledon singles and won both the women's doubles and mixed doubles, with America's Althea Gibson and Australia's Mervyn Rose, as respective partners (1957); won Wimbledon mixed doubles while teamed with Rod Laver (1959); won French Open (1960); won US doubles titles for 5 consecutive years (1958–62), often partnered with Maria Bueno; won US singles title (1960, 1961), and was ranked #1 among US women's tennis players (1960–63).

See also Women in World History.