Connolly, Maureen

Maureen Connolly, in full Maureen Catherine Connolly, byname Little Mo, (born September 17, 1934, San Diego, California, U.S.—died June 21, 1969, Dallas, Texas), American tennis player who in 1953 became the first woman to win the Grand Slam of tennis: the British (Wimbledon), United States, Australian, and French singles championships.

Connolly began playing tennis at the age of 10. After a few months of training under a professional teacher, she entered her first tournament and in 1947 won the girl’s 15-and-under title in the Southern California Invitational. By the time she was 15 she had won more than 50 championships. In 1949 she became the youngest girl ever to win the national junior championship, and she successfully defended the title the following year.

In 1951, her second year in women’s division play, Connolly won eight major tournaments and helped the U.S. Wightman Cup team to victory. In September of that year she won the women’s singles at the U.S. Open championship at Forest Hills in New York City. Dubbed “Little Mo” by an affectionate press, Connolly was deceptively slight and engaging off court, but in action she displayed awesome power in her drives and a distractingly expressionless face. In 1952 she retained her U.S. title and won the prestigious Wimbledon (All-England) championship. The next year she became the first woman to win a tennis Grand Slam.

In 1954 she won her third Wimbledon title and second French title. Later that year she suffered a crushed leg in a horseback riding accident and never again entered tournament play. She worked subsequently as a tennis instructor. In 1968 she was elected to the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame.