Angela Buxton (born August 16, 1934, Liverpool, England) 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 was the first Jewish champion at Wimbledon, and Gibson was the first champion of African descent. August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Template:Warningbox Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A tennis net Tennis is a game played between either two players (singles) or two teams of two players (doubles). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponents court. ... The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (English: Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held over two weeks between mid May and early June in Paris, France, and is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar. ... The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest and arguably the most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination...

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 in a junior tournament, where she won the under-14, under-15, and under-18 titles. Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056  Area    - Total 20,779 km² (3rd in...

After spending time in London and Los Angeles, Buxton won the singles title at the 1953 Maccabiah Games. Buxton earned the British number four ranking in 1954. She then reached the 1955 Wimbledon singles quarterfinals and the ninth spot in the world rankings. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Maccabiah Games is an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Buxton played in Wightman Cup competition for Great Britain in 1954, 1955, and 1956. Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in womens tennis the way Davis Cup did for mens. ...

Buxton had her most successful tennis season 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 Gibson. Darlene Hard (born January 6, 1936 in LA,CA) is a tennis player known for her volleying ability and strong serves. ...

After suffering a hand injury in 1956, Buxton was forced to retire following the 1957 season. Since has since written tennis books, including "Tackle Tennis This Way" and "Winning Tennis and Doubles Tactics."

Judaism's Role in Buxton's Career

Buxton's Judaism played a role throughout her career. She won the singles title at the 1953 Maccabiah Games, easily defeating number eight world seed Anita Kanter of the United States. Buxton won the singles title again in 1957. She is one of the six founders of the Israel Tennis Centres and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.^[1] 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Maccabiah Games is an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Impact of Anti-Semitism

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. "I had to fill in a form: name, address, telephone number and then religion. I had several lessons there with a guy called Bill Blake and I kept asking him about membership. Eventually he turned round to me and said, 'Look, Angela, please don't keep asking me, you're not going to be able to join the club.' I said, 'Why not? I'm not good enough?' 'No, because you're Jewish.' And that was the beginning. It was the first time it (prejudice) had hit me in this country."

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.^[2][3] Bill Tilden running for a backhand in the 1920s William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), often called Big Bill, was an American tennis player who was the World No. ...

Buxton said that because of anti-Semitism during her childhood, even after her Wimbledon victory with Gibson she was not invited to join the exclusive All England Lawn Tennis Club.^[4] The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is based in Wimbledon in South London. ...

In 2004, she remarked ""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 reporter Marc Berman that she had been on the "waiting list" since the 1950's, noting that her championship doubles partner Althea Gibson -- winner of five Grand Slam singles titles -- would be on the same "waiting list" if Gibson were still alive (she died in September 2003). "I wish it still wasn't such an elite sport," Angela told Berman. "I wish we could bring it down to a common baseline. It's going that way. It's still not there."^[5]

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australian Open tennis tournament, now held annually during the last two weeks of January, but formerly held in December in many years, is chronologically the first of the worlds four major tournaments which together constitute the Grand Slam. ... The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (English: Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held over two weeks between mid May and early June in Paris, France, and is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar. ... The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest and arguably the most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. ... Recently, (as of September 2006) the worlds #1 Roger Federer won his third straight U.S. Open Championship. ...

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final