Helen Fletcher

Helen Fletcher
Full nameHelen Margaret Fletcher
Country (sports) Great Britain
Born(1931-08-24)24 August 1931
Heanor, Derbyshire, England
Died5 April 2022(2022-04-05) (aged 90)[1]
PlaysLeft-handed
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1954, Lance Tingay)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open3R (1953)
WimbledonQF (1954)
US Open3R (1952, 1953)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenSF (1953)
WimbledonSF (1953)

Helen Margaret Fletcher (24 August 1931 – 5 April 2022) was a British tennis player.[2]

Fletcher grew up in the Derbyshire town of Heanor, attending the local grammar school. She is the youngest of three sisters. Her father, a factory owner, was president of Heanor Town Football Club.[3]

A left-handed player, Fletcher active on tour during the 1950s. She won the singles title at the Surrey Championships in Surbiton in 1951, which put her in the frame for Wightman Cup selection.[4]

From 1952 to 1954 she represented Great Britain in the annual Wightman Cup against the United States.[5]

Fletcher, a Wimbledon doubles semi-finalist, had her best singles performance at the 1954 Wimbledon Championships, where she made it to the quarter-finals. Her run was ended by the second seeded Doris Hart.[6]

In November, 1954 she married engineer Michael Barker.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Helen Margaret Barker". Bromsgrove Advertiser. 27 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Former tennis player helps out the hounds with open garden". Redditch Advertiser. 29 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Wedding Of Miss Helen Fletcher". Derby Evening Telegraph. 13 November 1954.
  4. ^ "Helen Fletcher tipped for Wightman Cup honours". Derby Evening Telegraph. 9 June 1951.
  5. ^ "Helen Fletcher in the Wightman Cup side". Derby Evening Telegraph. 2 June 1952.
  6. ^ "Cast Headed By M. Connolly And Doris Hart". The Shreveport Journal. 29 June 1954.