Sylvia Lance Harper

Sylvia Harper (née Lance; 1 October 1895 – 21 October 1982) was an Australia tennis player 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, and in 1930, losing to Daphne Akhurst.

Sylvia Lance Harper

Sylvia Lance in a warm-up coat in 1924
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	1 October 1895
Died	21 October 1982 (aged 87)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 10 (1924, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1924)
Wimbledon	2R (1920)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1923, 1924, 1925)
Wimbledon	3R (1925)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1923)

Harper won the women's doubles title at the Australian Championships three consecutive years. In 1923, her partner was Boyd, and in 1924 and 1925, her partner was Akhurst.[1] 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 A. 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.[2]

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 second round of the ladies singles, where she lost to Dorothy Shepherd, the ladies doubles, where she partnered Daphne Akhurst[3] and the mixed doubles, where she partnered E. T. Lamb.[4]

She married businessman Robert Rainy Harper on 28 May 1924 and they had one son.[5][6]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score	Ref.
Win	1924	Australasian Championships	Grass	Esna Boyd	6–3, 3–6, 8–6	[7]
Loss	1927	Australian Championships	Grass	Esna Boyd	7–5, 1–6, 2–6	[7]
Loss	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst	8–10, 6–2, 5–7	[7]

Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score	Ref.
Win	1923	Australasian Championships	Grass	Esna Boyd	Margaret Molesworth Beryl Turner	6–1, 6–4	[8]
Win	1924	Australasian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst	Kathleen Le Messurier Meryl O'Hara Wood	7–5, 6–2	[9]
Win	1925	Australasian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst	Esna Boyd Kathleen Le Messurier	6–4, 6–3	[10]
Loss	1927	Australian Championships	Grass	Esna Boyd	Louie Bickerton Meryl O'Hara Wood	3–6, 3–6	[11]
Loss	1929	Australian Championships	Grass	Meryl O'Hara Wood	Daphne Akhurst Louie Bickerton	2–6, 6–3, 2–6	[8]
Loss	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Cox	Margaret Molesworth Emily Hood	3–6, 6–0, 5–7	[8]

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score	Ref.
Win	1923	Australasian Championships	Grass	Horace Rice	Margaret Molesworth Bert St. John	2–6, 6–4, 6–4	[12]
Loss	1925	Australasian Championships	Grass	Richard Schlesinger	Daphne Akhurst James Willard	4–6, 4–6	[13]

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^1	A	A	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
Wimbledon	2R	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1
US Championships	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 final

References

1. "Daphne Akhurst. Death in Hospital". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 January 1933. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
2. Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
3. "WIMBLEDON". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 11 November 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "LAWN TENNIS". The Sunday Times. Perth. 5 July 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 10 November 2011 – via National Library of Australia.
5. Guy Verney. "Harper, Robert Rainy (1894–1941)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
6. "Tennis Champion". The Evening News. Sydney. 29 May 1924. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Australian Open Results Archive / Women's Singles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
8. "Australian Open Results Archive / Women's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
9. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1924 Women's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
10. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1925 Women's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
11. "Tennis Contest". The Western Star and Roma Advertiser. Toowoomba, Qld. 2 February 1927. p. 2. Retrieved 14 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1923 Mixed Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
13. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1925 Mixed Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.