Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer-Barrett (née Mortimer; 21 April 1932 – 25 August 2025) was a British world No. 1 tennis player. Mortimer won three major singles titles: the 1955 French Championships, the 1958 Australian Championships and 1961 Wimbledon Championships, the last won when she was partially deaf.

Mortimer also partnered with Anne Shilcock to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1955. She and Lorraine Coghlan also reached the women's doubles final at the 1958 Australian Championships. Mortimer and Peter Newman reached the mixed doubles final at the 1958 Australian Championships, her only mixed doubles final at a major.

Mortimer was married to the retired player and broadcaster John Barrett. She died in 2025.

Biography Angela Mortimer was born on 21 April 1932 in Plymouth, England.

Mortimer reached the quarterfinals of the US National Championships, then lost to second seed Doris Hart. At Wimbledon in 1953, seeded no. 5, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Dorothy Knode. She also reached the quarterfinals in 1954, 1956 (losing to countrywoman Pat Ward Hales), 1959 (when she was seeded no. 2 but lost to Sandra Reynolds), and 1960 (losing to champion Maria Bueno). At Wimbledon in 1958, unseeded, she beat former champion Margaret Osborne duPont in the quarterfinals, then French champion Zsuzsa Körmöczy in the semifinals, and lost the final against the defending champion Althea Gibson in straight sets. In 1961, she won the title, defeating top-seeded Sandra Reynolds in the semifinals and then Christine Truman in the final in three sets, making her the first British winner of the women's title since Dorothy Round in 1937.Angela Mortimer, My Waiting Game (Frederick Muller Ltd, London, 1962) [autobiography] Not fully fit in 1962, she lost to eventual finalist Vera Suková in the fourth round.Wimbledon Players Archive Angela Mortimer

In 1955, she was the first British woman since 1937 to win a major tournament when she defeated Dorothy Knode in the final of the French Championships. During the long final set, she has said that she was given new heart when she heard her opponent asking for a brandy on court. Defending her title the following year, she reached the final, losing to Althea Gibson in two sets. During 1956 she contracted amoebic dysentery in Egypt and did not return to full form until 1958.

She won the Australian title in 1958 while still recuperating, defeating Lorraine Coghlan in the final. Her best result in the U.S. Championships was in 1961 when she reached the semifinals, losing to Ann Haydon. She made her farewell in the Torquay Open Lawn Tennis Tournament of 1962, beating Ann Haydon-Jones in the final.

Her game was played mainly from the baseline, as described in her tennis autobiography My Waiting Game. She always played in shorts, and refused designer Teddy Tinling's offer to design dresses for her. He responded by designing shorts, and later she joined his staff.

According to Lance Tingay, Mortimer was ranked in the world top 10 from 1953 through 1956 and from 1958 through 1962, reaching a career high of world No. 1 in 1961.

Addressing how her deafness affected her play, as the ability to hear the ball coming off the racket strings is an aid to most, she told the International Tennis Hall of Fame website "It helped me concentrate, shutting out distractions."

Mortimer was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Lawn Tennis in the 1967 New Year Honours.United Kingdom list: She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993, joined by her husband John Barrett in 2014. The only other married couple in the Hall is Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. In 2004 Mortimer was one of five British Wimbledon women's singles champions honoured by a bust unveiled outside Centre Court. The busts were sculpted in bronze by Ian Rank-Broadley.

On 27 July 2014, she received the Freedom of the Borough of Merton.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:

Death Mortimer died from cancer in London on 25 August 2025, at the age of 93. She and John had two children, Michael and Sarah Jane.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1955 French Championships Clay Dorothy Head Knode 2–6, 7–5, 10–8Loss 1956 French Championships Clay Althea Gibson 0–6, 10–12Win 1958 Australian Championships Grass Lorraine Coghlan 6–3, 6–4Loss 1958 Wimbledon Grass Althea Gibson 6–8, 2–6Win 1961 Wimbledon Grass Christine Truman 4–6, 6–4, 7–5

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1955Wimbledon Grass Anne Shilcock Shirley Bloomer Patricia Ward Hales 7–5, 6–1Loss 1958Australian Championships Grass Lorraine Coghlan Mary Bevis Hawton Thelma Coyne Long 5–7, 8–6, 2–6

Mixed Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1958Australian Championships Grass Peter Newman Mary Bevis Hawton Bob Howe 11–9, 1–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 Career SR AustraliaAAAAAAA WAAAA 1 / 1 FranceAA3RA W FAAAAAA 1 / 3 Wimbledon2R3RQFQF2RQF3RFQFQFW4R 1 / 12 United StatesAQF3RA1RAAA1RASFA 0 / 5 SR0 / 10 / 20 / 30 / 11 / 30 / 20 / 11 / 20 / 20 / 11 / 20 / 1 3 / 21

See also Performance timelines for all female tennis players since 1978 who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

External links