Margaret Molesworth
| Full name | Maud Margaret Mutch Molesworth |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 Australia
|
| Born |
18 October 1894 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 9 July 1985 (aged 90) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 10 (1922) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1922, 1923) |
| French Open | 3R (1934) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1934) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1930, 1933, 1934) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1934) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1923) |
Maud Margaret 'Mall' Molesworth (née Mutch; 18 October 1894 – 9 July 1985) (née Mutch) was a tennis player from Queensland, Australia who won the inaugural Australasian Championships women's singles title in 1922 and 1923.
She won her first major tennis title in 1914 – the Queensland ladies doubles. For much of the next five years, sporting contests in Australia were cancelled due to World War I.
Molesworth won tennis championships in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania beginning in 1919. At the first Australian Championships in 1922, Molesworth defeated fellow Australian Esna Boyd Robertson 6–3, 10–8 in the final. A year later, she successfully defended her title, again defeating Robertson in the final.
Molesworth was unable to compete overseas until 1934 when, at age 40, she reach the last sixteen of the French Championships. At the 1934 Wimbledon Championships she lost in the first round of the singles event to Madzy Rollin Couquerque and reached the third round of the doubles with Joan Hartigan.
In doubles, Molesworth won three women's titles at the Australian Championships with Emily Hood Westacott, in 1930, 1933, and 1934. She was also runner-up in women's and mixed doubles at the Australian Championships in 1923.
Molesworth was the first Australian woman tennis player to be listed in the world's top ten rankings. A. Wallis Myers of the Daily Telegraph rated her No. 10 in 1922 and 1923.
In 1924, mainly for health reasons, Molesworth retired from the sport. She came back a few years later, always considered a threat in Australian tournaments. In 1934, she reached the Australian singles final once more. Later that year, she competed overseas for the first time, playing at Wimbledon and the French Championships.
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