Esna Boyd

Esna Boyd
Full name	Esna Boyd Robertson
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	21 September 1899; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	13 November 1966 (aged 67); Scotland
Singles
Career titles	37
Highest ranking	No. 10 (1928, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1927)
French Open	3R (1928)
Wimbledon	QF (1925)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1922, 1923, 1926, 1928)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1922, 1926, 1927)

Esna Boyd Robertson (née Boyd; 21 September 1899 – 13 November 1966) was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927. Robertson participated in the first women's singles final at the Australian Championships in 1922 against fellow Australian Margaret Molesworth.

According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Robertson was ranked world No. 10 in 1928.^[1]

Boyd was born in Melbourne on 21 September 1899, the daughter of James Boyd, a politician, and Emma Flora McCormack. She had a sister, Alva who became a medical practitioner.^[2] She married Angus Robertson on 11 March 1929; they had a son, William, in 1930 and a daughter Mary, in 1933.^[3]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 7 (1 title, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1922	Australian Championships	Grass	Margaret Molesworth	3–6, 8–10
Loss	1923	Australian Championships	Grass	Margaret Molesworth	1–6, 5–7
Loss	1924	Australian Championships	Grass	Sylvia Lance Harper	3–6, 6–3, 6–8
Loss	1925	Australian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	6–1, 6–8, 4–6
Loss	1926	Australian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	1–6, 3–6
Win	1927	Australian Championships	Grass	Sylvia Lance Harper	5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Loss	1928	Australian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst Cozens	5–7, 2–6

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1922	Australian Championships	Grass	Marjorie Mountain	Gwen Utz Floris St. George	1–6, 6–4, 7–5
Win	1923	Australian Championships	Grass	Sylvia Lance Harper	Margaret Molesworth Beryl Turner	6–1, 6–4
Loss	1925	Australian Championships	Grass	Kathleen Le Messurier	Daphne Akhurst Sylvia Lance Harper	4–6, 3–6
Win	1926	Australian Championships	Grass	Meryl O'Hara Wood	Daphne Akhurst Marjorie Cox Crawford	6–3, 6–8, 8–6
Loss	1927	Australian Championships	Grass	Sylvia Lance Harper	Louise Bickerton Meryl O'Hara Wood	3–6, 3–6
Win	1928	Australian Championships	Grass	Daphne Akhurst	Kathleen Le Messurier Dorothy Weston	6–3, 6–1

Mixed doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1922	Australian Championships	Grass	John Hawkes	Gwen Utz Harold Utz	6–1, 6–1
Loss	1924	Australian Championships	Grass	Gar Hone	Daphne Akhurst Jim Willard	3–6, 4–6
Win	1926	Australian Championships	Grass	John Hawkes	Daphne Akhurst Jim Willard	6–1, 6–4
Win	1927	Australian Championships	Grass	John Hawkes	Youtha Anthony Jim Willard	6–1, 6–3
Loss	1928	Australian Championships	Grass	John Hawkes	Daphne Akhurst Jean Borotra	default

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	Career SR
Australian Championships	F	F	F	F	F	W	F	A	A	A	2R	A	A	1 / 8
French Championships¹	A	A	NH	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1
Wimbledon	A	A	A	QF	A	A	4R	A	4R	A	A	A	1R	0 / 4
United States Championships	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
SR	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 1	1 / 1	1 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 1	1 / 13

¹Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships (WHCC), actually played on clay in Paris or Brussels, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from the 1922 and 1923 editions of that tournament are shown here. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.

References

^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
^ "James Arthur Boyd (1867–1941)". Boyd, James Arthur (1867–1941). Australian Dictionary of Biography.
^ "TENNIS STAR'S WEDDED BLISS". The Sunday Times. Perth. 16 March 1930. p. 1 Section: First Section – via National Library of Australia.

[1] Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.

[2] "James Arthur Boyd (1867–1941)". Boyd, James Arthur (1867–1941). Australian Dictionary of Biography.

[3] "TENNIS STAR'S WEDDED BLISS". The Sunday Times. Perth. 16 March 1930. p. 1 Section: First Section – via National Library of Australia.

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