Margaret Osborne duPont facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Margaret Osborne duPont

Full name	Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1918-03-04)March 4, 1918 Joseph, Oregon, U.S.
Died	October 24, 2012(2012-10-24) (aged 94) El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Plays	Right-handed
Int. Tennis HoF	1967 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1947)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	W (1946, 1949)
Wimbledon	W (1947)
US Open	W (1948, 1949, 1950)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	W (1946, 1947, 1949)
Wimbledon	W (1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954)
US Open	W (1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1962)
US Open	W (1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960)

Margaret Osborne duPont (born Margaret Evelyn Osborne; March 4, 1918 – October 24, 2012) was an American tennis star. She was ranked the world's number one female tennis player.

Margaret duPont won an amazing 37 Grand Slam titles. These titles came from singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles matches. This puts her fourth on the all-time list of tennis champions. She achieved this even though she never played in the Australian Championships. A record 25 of her Grand Slam titles were won at the U.S. Championships.

Margaret Osborne duPont's Tennis Career

Margaret duPont was a very successful tennis player. She won six Grand Slam singles titles. In the 1946 French International Championships final, she saved match points to win. She also did this in the 1948 U.S. National Championships final against Louise Brough. That 1948 final was a very long match. It had 48 games, which is still a record for a women's singles final at that tournament.

Doubles Success with Louise Brough

DuPont and Louise Brough formed an incredible doubles team. They won 20 Grand Slam women's doubles titles together. This ties them with Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver for the most Grand Slam titles ever won by a women's doubles team.

They won nine U.S. National Championships in a row from 1942 to 1950. In total, they won that tournament 12 times out of the 14 years they played together. Their 12 titles are an all-time record for a women's doubles team at the U.S. National Championships. Margaret duPont herself won 13 women's doubles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Ten of these were won in a row from 1941 to 1950. Both of these are all-time records.

Mixed Doubles Achievements

Margaret duPont also excelled in mixed doubles. She won nine mixed doubles titles at the U.S. National Championships. This is more than any other player. Four of these titles were with her partner William Talbert. This is a record for a mixed doubles team at the U.S. National Championships. She also won titles with Ken McGregor, Ken Rosewall, and three with Neale Fraser.

World Rankings and Wightman Cup

Tennis experts John Olliff and Lance Tingay ranked duPont among the world's top 10 players. She was in the top 10 from 1946 to 1950, and again in 1953-1954, and 1956-1957. She was ranked the world's number one player from 1947 to 1950. No official rankings were given between 1940 and 1945.

The United States Lawn Tennis Association also ranked her in their year-end top 10. This happened in 1938, from 1941 to 1950, and in 1953, 1956, and 1958. She was the top-ranked U.S. player from 1948 to 1950.

From 1938 to 1958, duPont played in 10 Wightman Cup competitions. She never lost a match, winning 10 singles and nine doubles matches. She was also the captain of the U.S. team nine times, leading them to victory eight times.

Margaret Osborne duPont's Personal Life

Margaret married William duPont, Jr. on November 26, 1947. She took a break from her tennis career to have a son, William duPont III, born on July 22, 1952. She is one of the few women to win a major tennis title after having a child. Margaret duPont never played in the Australian Championships because her husband did not want her to travel there.

She later divorced duPont in 1964. She then formed a life partnership with fellow tennis player Margaret Varner Bloss.

Margaret duPont passed away on October 24, 2012, in El Paso, Texas. She was 94 years old.

Awards and Recognition

Margaret Osborne duPont received many honors for her amazing tennis career.

• In 1967, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
• The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame welcomed her in 1999.
• In 2010, she was honored at the US Open Court of Champions.

Grand Slam Finals Overview

Margaret Osborne duPont competed in many Grand Slam finals. Here's a quick look at her results.

Singles Finals (6 Wins, 4 Losses)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Pauline Betz	6–3, 8–6
Win	1946	French Championships	Clay	Pauline Betz	1–6, 8–6, 7–5
Win	1947	Wimbledon	Grass	Doris Hart	6–2, 6–4
Loss	1947	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	6–8, 6–4, 1–6
Win	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	4–6, 6–4, 15–13
Win	1949	French Championships (2)	Clay	Nelly Adamson-Landry	7–5, 6–2
Loss	1949	Wimbledon	Grass	Louise Brough	8–10, 6–1, 8–10
Win	1949	U.S. Championships (2)	Grass	Doris Hart	6–3, 6–1
Loss	1950	Wimbledon	Grass	Louise Brough	1–6, 6–3, 1–6
Win	1950	U.S. Championships (3)	Grass	Doris Hart	6–4, 6–3

Doubles Finals (21 Wins, 6 Losses)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1941	U.S. Championships	Grass	Sarah Palfrey	Dorothy Bundy Pauline Betz	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Win	1942	U.S. Championships (2)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	2–6, 7–5, 6–0
Win	1943	U.S. Championships (3)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–4, 6–3
Win	1944	U.S. Championships (4)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	1945	U.S. Championships (5)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–3, 6–3
Win	1946	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–3, 2–6, 6–3
Win	1946	French Championships	Clay	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Doris Hart	6–4, 0–6, 6–1
Win	1946	U.S. Championships (6)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Mary Arnold Prentiss	6–1, 6–3
Loss	1947	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Pat Canning Todd	3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Win	1947	French Championships (2)	Clay	Louise Brough	Pauline Betz Pat Canning Todd	7–5, 6–2
Win	1947	U.S. Championships (7)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Doris Hart	5–7, 6–3, 7–5
Win	1948	Wimbledon Championships (2)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Pat Canning Todd	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Win	1948	U.S. Championships (8)	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Doris Hart	6–4, 8–10, 6–1
Win	1949	French Championships (3)	Clay	Louise Brough	Joy Gannon Betty Hilton	7–5, 6–1
Win	1949	Wimbledon Championships (3)	Grass	Louise Brough	Gussy Moran Pat Canning Todd	8–6, 7–5
Win	1949	U.S. Championships (9)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–4, 10–8
Loss	1950	French Championships	Clay	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	1–6, 7–5, 6–2
Win	1950	Wimbledon Championships (4)	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	6–4, 5–7, 6–1
Win	1950	U.S. Championships (10)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–2, 6–3
Loss	1951	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	6–3, 13–11
Loss	1953	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–2, 7–9, 9–7
Win	1954	Wimbledon Championships (5)	Grass	Louise Brough	Shirley Fry Doris Hart	4–6, 9–7, 6–3
Loss	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–4, 6–4
Win	1955	U.S. Championships (11)	Grass	Louise Brough	Doris Hart Shirley Fry	6–3, 1–6, 6–3
Win	1956	U.S. Championships (12)	Grass	Louise Brough	Betty Rosenquest Pratt Shirley Fry	6–3, 6–0
Win	1957	U.S. Championships (13)	Grass	Louise Brough	Althea Gibson Darlene Hard	6–2, 7–5
Loss	1958	Wimbledon Championships (5)	Grass	Margaret Varner	Maria Bueno Althea Gibson	3–6, 5–7

Mixed Doubles Finals (10 Wins, 4 Losses)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1943	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Pauline Betz Pancho Segura	10–6, 6–4
Win	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Dorothy Bundy Don McNeill	6–2, 6–3
Win	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Doris Hart Bob Falkenburg	6–4, 6–4
Win	1946	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Robert Kimbrell	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1948	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Tom Brown	4–6, 4–6
Loss	1949	U.S. Championships	Grass	Bill Talbert	Louise Brough Eric Sturgess	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Win	1950	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Loss	1954	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Doris Hart Vic Seixas	7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Doris Hart Vic Seixas	6–4, 1–6, 1–6
Win	1956	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Darlene Hard Lew Hoad	9–7, 6–1
Win	1958	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Maria Bueno Alex Olmedo	6–3, 3–6, 9–7
Win	1959	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Janet Hopps Bob Mark	7–5, 13–15, 6–2
Win	1960	U.S. Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Maria Bueno Antonio Palafox	6–3, 6–2
Win	1962	Wimbledon	Grass	Neale Fraser	Ann Haydon Dennis Ralston	2–6, 6–3, 13–11

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final