Patricia Todd (tennis player)
| Full name | Mary Patricia Canning Todd |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 United States
|
| Born |
July 22, 1922 San Francisco, California |
| Died | September 5, 2015 (aged 93) Encinitas, California |
| Plays | Right–handed |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (1950) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | W (1947) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1948, 1949, 1950, 1952) |
| US Open | SF (1946, 1948) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1948) |
| Wimbledon | W (1947) |
| US Open | F (1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1948) |
| Wimbledon | F (1950) |
| US Open | F (1942) |
Patricia Canning Todd (born Mary Patricia Canning, July 22, 1922 – September 5, 2015), was an American tennis player who had her best results just after World War II. In 1947 and 1948, she won a total of four Grand Slam championships: one in singles, two in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles. She won these titles as a young mother.
Todd and her partner lost seven times to Brough and duPont in the women's doubles finals of Grand Slam tournaments. Todd's lone victory over the Brough-duPont partnership was in the 1947 Wimbledon final, when Todd teamed with Doris Hart. Todd and her partner lost twice to Brough and her partner in the mixed doubles finals of Grand Slam tournaments.
Todd won the title at the 1947 French Championships and reached the French semifinals in 1948. At the 1947 event, the fourth-seeded Todd played top-seeded duPont, the defending champion and the newly crowned Wimbledon champion, in a semifinal that took two days to complete. After duPont won the first set 6–2, thunderstorm stopped play for the remainder of the day. The next day, Todd, "producing magnificent backhand shots", won after being 1–3 down in the final set. The crowd was so vocal in backing Todd that a referee reversed a line call to give Todd match point. In the final, Hart played an attacking game and led 4–3 in the final set, but "she was against a great fighter who was content to retrieve, and on a slow court, defence overcame attack". At the 1948 event, Todd, who was the favorite and defending champion, was defaulted by French officials after she refused to move her scheduled center court match to court 2. Todd had complained about being last on center court after having played there only one match previously. When requested to move, she refused because of the late hour and because a full set of linesmen would not be present. "They can scratch [default] me if they like. I am not going to play anywhere but on the center court where my match is scheduled." The officials defaulted her, then changed their minds and gave her Landry's phone number to reschedule. When Landry could not be reached, the default stood.
She returned to the French Championships in 1950, after a one-year absence, and reached the final where she lost to Hart. Todd went to the hospital after the final for blood poisoning.
During her Grand Slam singles career, Todd was 1–0 Shirley Fry, 2–1 versus Hart, 1–3 against duPont, 0–1 against Pauline Betz, and 1–6 against Brough.
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