Angela Buxton
Encyclopedia
Angela Buxton is an English
tennis
player. She won the women's doubles title at both the French Championships and Wimbledon
in 1956 with Althea Gibson
.
Buxton then reached the 1955 Wimbledon
singles quarterfinals and climbed to World No. 9 in the rankings. She played in Wightman Cup
competition for the United Kingdom in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
Buxton had her most successful tennis year in 1956. She won the women's doubles title and reached the singles final at Wimbledon. She won the English Indoor and London Grass Court singles championships and the English Hard Court doubles crown (with Darlene Hard
). At the French Championships, she reached the singles semifinals and won the women's doubles title with Althea Gibson
, who was the first champion of African descent. An English newspaper reported their victory at Wimbledon under the headline "Minorities Win." Buxton was ranked World No. 5 by World Tennis Magazine and World No. 6 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
.
for Jewish athletes, easily defeating # 8 world seed Anita Kanter
of the United States. She won the singles title again in 1957.
), Buxton was forced to retire following the 1957 season at the age of 22.
Tennis players made no money in the 1950s, and the finances of Buxton's former teammate, Althea Gibson
, worsened over the years. In 1992, Gibson suffered a stroke. A few years later, she called Buxton and told her she was on the brink of suicide as she was living on welfare and unable to pay for rent or medication. Buxton arranged for a letter about Gibson's circumstances to appear in a tennis magazine. She told Gibson nothing about the letter, but Gibson knew something was up when her mailbox started to bulge with envelopes containing checks from around the world. Eventually nearly US$1 million came in.
Tennis Centres.
Her religious background prevented full acceptance within the tennis world from an early age. When Buxton and her mother moved to London to develop Angela's potential, she enrolled in a school in Hampstead
whose headmistress introduced Buxton to the Cumberland Club. It was at Cumberland that Angela first ran into blatant—and painful -- anti-Semitism
.
In 1952, Angela and her mother traveled to the United States to continue her tennis development. Once again, Buxton ran into anti-Semitism, this time at the Los Angeles Tennis Club
. She said, "The same thing happened as at the Cumberland. They told me I couldn't play because I was Jewish." Instead, she was forced to train across town at public courts, but this allowed her to practice under the watchful eye of the great Bill Tilden
for six months.
No Jewish tennis player was able to claim the exclusive All England Lawn Tennis Club as his or her home until 1952. According to Buxton, its "exclusivity" has also led to her exclusion. Buxton said in 2004, reflecting on the fact that the All England Club, almost 50 years after Buxton's 1956 Wimbledon triumph with Althea Gibson
and, had still not invited Buxton to join: "I think the anti-Semitism
is still there. The mere fact that I'm not a member is a full sentence that speaks for itself." Buxton told New York Post
reporter Marc Berman that she had been on the "waiting list" since she applied in the 1950s. The Chairman of the Club appeared on television, and when asked about it said that he would have to look into it, and couldn't comment without more information. "I wish it still wasn't such an elite sport," Buxton told Berman. "I wish we could bring it down to a common baseline. It's going that way. It's still not there." After Gibson and Buxton won the doubles at Wimbledon, one British national newspaper reported their success under the headline, "Minorities Win". "It was in very small type," said Buxton, "lest anyone should see it".
in 1981.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. She won the women's doubles title at both the French Championships and Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
in 1956 with Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
.
Tennis accomplishments
Buxton began playing tennis as a youngster at a boarding school in North Wales. Coach Bob Mulligan immediately recognized her talent and entered her into a junior tournament, where she won the under-14, under-15, and under-18 titles. After spending time in London and Los Angeles, in 1954 she earned the British No. 4 ranking.Buxton then reached the 1955 Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
singles quarterfinals and climbed to World No. 9 in the rankings. She played in Wightman Cup
Wightman Cup
The Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 between teams from the United States and Great Britain. U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's...
competition for the United Kingdom in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
Buxton had her most successful tennis year in 1956. She won the women's doubles title and reached the singles final at Wimbledon. She won the English Indoor and London Grass Court singles championships and the English Hard Court doubles crown (with Darlene Hard
Darlene Hard
Darlene Hard is an American former amateur tennis player. Known for her volleying ability and strong serves, she captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S...
). At the French Championships, she reached the singles semifinals and won the women's doubles title with Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
, who was the first champion of African descent. An English newspaper reported their victory at Wimbledon under the headline "Minorities Win." Buxton was ranked World No. 5 by World Tennis Magazine and World No. 6 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
.
Maccabiah Games
Buxton won the women's singles title at the 1953 Maccabiah GamesMaccabiah Games
The Maccabiah is an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics held in Israel every four years under the auspices of the Maccabi Federation, affiliated with the Maccabi World Union. The Maccabiah Games is the third largest international sports competition in the world...
for Jewish athletes, easily defeating # 8 world seed Anita Kanter
Anita Kanter
Anita Kanter of Santa Monica, California, was an American amateur tennis player in the 1950s.In singles, Kanter was ranked # 6 in the United States in 1952, and # 9 in 1953.-Tennis career:...
of the United States. She won the singles title again in 1957.
Injury and retirement
After suffering a serious hand condition in late 1956 (tenosynovitisTenosynovitis
Tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath that surrounds a tendon. Symptoms of tenosynovitis include pain, swelling and difficulty moving the particular joint where the inflammation occurs. When the condition causes the finger to "stick" in a flexed position, this is called...
), Buxton was forced to retire following the 1957 season at the age of 22.
Tennis players made no money in the 1950s, and the finances of Buxton's former teammate, Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
, worsened over the years. In 1992, Gibson suffered a stroke. A few years later, she called Buxton and told her she was on the brink of suicide as she was living on welfare and unable to pay for rent or medication. Buxton arranged for a letter about Gibson's circumstances to appear in a tennis magazine. She told Gibson nothing about the letter, but Gibson knew something was up when her mailbox started to bulge with envelopes containing checks from around the world. Eventually nearly US$1 million came in.
Judaism and anti-Semitism in her career
Buxton's Judaism played a role throughout her career. She is one of the six founders of the IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Tennis Centres.
Her religious background prevented full acceptance within the tennis world from an early age. When Buxton and her mother moved to London to develop Angela's potential, she enrolled in a school in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
whose headmistress introduced Buxton to the Cumberland Club. It was at Cumberland that Angela first ran into blatant—and painful -- anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
.
In 1952, Angela and her mother traveled to the United States to continue her tennis development. Once again, Buxton ran into anti-Semitism, this time at the Los Angeles Tennis Club
Los Angeles Tennis Club
The Los Angeles Tennis Club is a private tennis club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue. It is the home of the Southern California Championships....
. She said, "The same thing happened as at the Cumberland. They told me I couldn't play because I was Jewish." Instead, she was forced to train across town at public courts, but this allowed her to practice under the watchful eye of the great Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden
William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...
for six months.
No Jewish tennis player was able to claim the exclusive All England Lawn Tennis Club as his or her home until 1952. According to Buxton, its "exclusivity" has also led to her exclusion. Buxton said in 2004, reflecting on the fact that the All England Club, almost 50 years after Buxton's 1956 Wimbledon triumph with Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
and, had still not invited Buxton to join: "I think the anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
is still there. The mere fact that I'm not a member is a full sentence that speaks for itself." Buxton told New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
reporter Marc Berman that she had been on the "waiting list" since she applied in the 1950s. The Chairman of the Club appeared on television, and when asked about it said that he would have to look into it, and couldn't comment without more information. "I wish it still wasn't such an elite sport," Buxton told Berman. "I wish we could bring it down to a common baseline. It's going that way. It's still not there." After Gibson and Buxton won the doubles at Wimbledon, one British national newspaper reported their success under the headline, "Minorities Win". "It was in very small type," said Buxton, "lest anyone should see it".
Writing
Since she retired from playing tennis Buxton has written tennis books, including "Tackle Tennis This Way," "Starting Tennis," and "Winning Tennis and Doubles Tactics."International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Buxton was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
in 1981.
Runner-up (1)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1956 | Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
 Shirley Fry Irvin |
6–3, 6–1 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships French Open (tennis) The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are... |
A | A | QF | 3R | SF | 0 / 3 |
| Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
1R | 4R | 4R | QF | F | 0 / 5 |
| U.S. Championships U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
A | A | A | 3R | A | 0 / 1 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 9 |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
Miscellaneous
- Buxton maintained her friendship with Gibson (who died in 2003) through the years, and helped promote the Althea Gibson Foundation.
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam finalTennis performance timeline comparison (women)This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...
- List of select Jewish tennis players