Longest surviving Wimbledon women's singles champion Mortimer Barrett dies aged 93
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Three-time Grand Slam winner and the longest surviving Wimbledon women's singles champion Angela Mortimer Barrett has died aged 93, the WTA said on Monday.
Briton Mortimer Barrett, who was partially deaf, won the French Championships (now known as the French Open) in 1955, the same year she won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon with partner Anne Shilcock.
Mortimer Barrett won the Australian Championships (later renamed the Australian Open) three years later, before clinching the Wimbledon singles title in 1961.
“I could hear the applause of the crowd, but not much else. I think it helped me concentrate, shutting out distractions. When I hear players say they need to hear the ball, I smile. I couldn’t,” Mortimer Barrett later said.
Mortimer Barrett, who retired in 1967, was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993. She was married to former tennis player and commentator John Barrett.
"The Barretts are one of only two married couples in the Hall of Fame for their individual achievements, along with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf," the WTA said. REUTERS
