Shirley June Fry Irvin (née Fry; June 30, 1927 – July 13, 2021) was an American tennis player. During her career, which lasted from the early 1940s until the mid-1950s, she won the singles title at all four Grand Slam events, as well as 13 doubles titles, and was ranked No. 1 in the world in 1956.
Early life
Fry was born in Akron, Ohio, on June 30, 1927. She started playing tennis competitively at age nine. The United States Lawn Tennis Association ranked her in the U.S. top 10 from 1944 through 1955 and No. 1 in 1956. She briefly retired in early 1956 and worked as a copygirl for the St. Petersburg Times. However, she returned later that spring after receiving an invitation to play in the Wightman Cup. She retired for the final time in 1957, They remained married until his death from a heart attack in 1976. Together, they had four children: Mark, Scott, Lori and Karen. Prior to her death, she was the longest surviving female Grand Slam tournament and Wimbledon singles champion.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament timelines
<small>Sources:</small>
Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runners-up)
{| class='sortable wikitable'
!Result
!Year
!style="width:170px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:190px"|Opponent
!style="width:100px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1948|| style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Nelly Adamson Landry || 2–6, 6–0, 0–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1951 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart|| 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1951 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || 1–6, 0–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1951 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Maureen Connolly || 3–6, 6–1, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1952|| style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart || 4–6, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1956 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Angela Buxton ||6–3, 6–1
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1956 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Althea Gibson ||6–3, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1957 || style="background:#ffc;"|Australian Championships || Grass || Althea Gibson ||6–3, 6–4
|}
Doubles: 19 (12 titles, 7 runners-up)
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!Result
!Year
!style="width:170px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:190px"|Partner
!style="width:190px"|Opponents
!style="width:100px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1948 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Mary Arnold || Doris Hart <br /> Patricia Canning Todd || 4–6, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1949 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 4–6, 8–10
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1950 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 1–6, 7–5, 6–2
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1950 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 4–6, 7–5, 1–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1950 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 2–6, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1951 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart || Beryl Bartlett <br /> Barbara Scofield || 10–8, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1951 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 6–2, 13–11
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1951 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Nancy Chaffee <br /> Patricia Canning Todd || 6–4, 6–2
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1952 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart || Hazel Redick-Smith <br /> Julia Wipplinger || 7–5, 6–1
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1952 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Maureen Connolly || 8–6, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1952 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Maureen Connolly || 10–8, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1953 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Doris Hart || Maureen Connolly <br /> Julia Sampson || 6–4, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1953 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || Maureen Connolly <br /> Julia Sampson || 6–0, 6–0
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1953 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 6–2, 7–9, 9–7
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1954 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 6–4, 7–9, 1–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1954 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 6–4, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1955 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Doris Hart || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 3–6, 6–1, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1956 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Betty Rosenquest || Louise Brough <br /> Margaret Osborne duPont || 3–6, 0–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1957 || style="background:#ffc;"|Australian Championships || Grass || Althea Gibson || Mary Bevis Hawton <br /> Fay Muller || 6–2, 6–1
|}
Mixed doubles: 5 (1 title, 4 runners-up)
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!Result
!Year
!style="width:170px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:190px"|Partner
!style="width:190px"|Opponents
!style="width:100px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1951 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Mervyn Rose || Doris Hart <br /> Frank Sedgman || 3–6, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1952 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || Eric Sturgess || Doris Hart <br /> Frank Sedgman || 8–6, 3–6, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1953 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon ||Grass || Enrique Morea || Doris Hart<br /> Vic Seixas || 7–9, 5–7
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1955 || style="background:#ccf;"|U.S. Championships || Grass || Gardnar Mulloy || Doris Hart <br/> Vic Seixas || 5–7, 7–5, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1956 || style="background:#cfc;"|Wimbledon || Grass || Vic Seixas || Gardnar Mulloy <br/> Althea Gibson || 2–6, 6–2, 7–5
|}
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players since 1978 who reached at least one Grand Slam final