Sylvia Lance Harper
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Harper was a female tennis
player from Australia
who won the singles title at the 1924 Australian Championships
. She reached the singles final there two other times, in 1927, losing to Esna Boyd Robertson
, and in 1930, losing to Daphne Akhurst Cozens
.
Harper won the women's doubles title at the Australian Championships three consecutive years. In 1923, her partner was Robertson, and in 1924 and 1925, her partner was Cozens. She reached the final an additional three times with three different partners, in 1927, 1929, and 1930.
Harper won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Championships in 1923 with Horace Rice
and was the runner-up in that event in 1925.
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
, Harper was ranked World No. 10 in 1924, the only year she was included in those rankings.
Harper competed overseas on two occasions; in 1920 she competed at Wimbledon and, in 1925, captained the first women's tennis team to represent Australia internationally. At Wimbledon, she made the third round of the ladies singles, where she lost to Mary McIlquaham, the ladies doubles, where she partnered Daphne Akhurst
and the mixed doubles, where she partnered E. T. Lamb.
NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
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 that tournament are shown here for 1920 through 1923. 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.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
who won the singles title at the 1924 Australian Championships
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
. She reached the singles final there two other times, in 1927, losing to Esna Boyd Robertson
Esna Boyd
Esna Boyd Robertson was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927...
, and in 1930, losing to Daphne Akhurst Cozens
Daphne Akhurst
Daphne Jessie Akhurst Cozens was an Australian tennis player. According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Cozens was ranked World No. 3 in 1928....
.
Harper won the women's doubles title at the Australian Championships three consecutive years. In 1923, her partner was Robertson, and in 1924 and 1925, her partner was Cozens. She reached the final an additional three times with three different partners, in 1927, 1929, and 1930.
Harper won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Championships in 1923 with Horace Rice
Horace Rice
----Horace "Horrie" Rice was a Australian tennis player.Rice won the men's singles title at the 1907 Australasian Championships. He was also Runner Up 3 times...
and was the runner-up in that event in 1925.
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Harper was ranked World No. 10 in 1924, the only year she was included in those rankings.
Harper competed overseas on two occasions; in 1920 she competed at Wimbledon and, in 1925, captained the first women's tennis team to represent Australia internationally. At Wimbledon, she made the third round of the ladies singles, where she lost to Mary McIlquaham, the ladies doubles, where she partnered Daphne Akhurst
Daphne Akhurst
Daphne Jessie Akhurst Cozens was an Australian tennis player. According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Cozens was ranked World No. 3 in 1928....
and the mixed doubles, where she partnered E. T. Lamb.
Win (1)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1924 | Australasian Championships Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
 Esna Boyd RobertsonEsna Boyd Esna Boyd Robertson was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927... |
6–3, 3–6, 8–6 |
Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1927 | Australian Championships Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
Esna Boyd Robertson Esna Boyd Esna Boyd Robertson was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927... |
5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
| 1930 | Australian Championships | Daphne Akhurst Cozens Daphne Akhurst Daphne Jessie Akhurst Cozens was an Australian tennis player. According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Cozens was ranked World No. 3 in 1928.... |
10–8, 2–6, 7–5 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | NH | NH | SF | SF | W | SF | SF | F | 2R | SF | F | SF | 1 / 10 |
| French Championships French Open (tennis) The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are... 1 |
A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
2R | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
| U.S. Championships U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 11 |
NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
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 that tournament are shown here for 1920 through 1923. 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.
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam finalTennis performance timeline comparison (women)This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...