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.

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. She married Angus Robertson on 11 March 1929; they had a son, William, in 1930 and a daughter Mary, in 1933.

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.

See also