Pat O’Hara Wood was a famous tennis player from Australia. She won many major titles, including the Wimbledon title. She was born in Sydney in 1938. In addition to being an iconic tennis player, she was also an excellent businesswoman. Her career spanned almost five decades in many fields, including real estate, finance, and politics.
Pat O’Hara Wood
Tennis player Pat O’Hara Wood was one of Australia’s greatest ever. The tenacious player won numerous Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. She was also a member of the Australian tennis team. But her most famous accomplishment was her victory over the great Rafael Nadal. The great Australian is now regarded as one of the most remarkable women’s tennis players ever.
O’Hara Wood became a professional tennis player in the early 1930s and became the official coach of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia and the Royal South Yarra Tennis Club. She also ran a sports store on Collins Street and was a popular figure in the tennis community. Her small stature and correct footwork earned her great praise.
Pat O’Hara Wood was born in Melbourne, Australia. She was named after her father, John James O’Hara Wood, who was a lawyer. His mother, Catherine Compton, was the wife of Justice Sir Edward Holroyd. The pair was educated at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School. Pat excelled in tennis, cricket, boxing, and shooting. Her elder brother, Arthur, also played tennis professionally. Arthur went on to win the men’s singles Australian Championships.
Pat O’Hara Wood’s wife, Meryl O’Hara Wood, who coached Arthur O’Hara Wood, also played tennis at the club level. The two were active in the Australian tennis community and served on various committees. She died childless in Richmond, Australia, on 3 December 1961. Her body was cremated. She positively impacted the Australian tennis community, becoming a popular figure in the Australian press.
Meryl Aitken O’Hara Wood
Meryl Aitken O’Hara was an Australian tennis player. She played in the 1920s and 1930s. She won the tennis doubles in 1926 and 1927 with Esna Boyd and Louie Bickerton. She later married tennis player Pat O’Hara Wood.
Wood’s first major tennis win was in 1913 when the first Mixed Doubles tournament was introduced. She was the first female to win this tournament. She had previously played in the singles and doubles tournaments. Her career also included playing in the Abierto de Australia with Esna Boyd, Louise Bickerton, and Sylvia Lance Harper. She also played in mixed doubles but lost to Jiro Sato.
Wood was a prominent Victorian tennis player who became a coach in the 1930s. She was also an official for the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia and the Royal South Yarra Tennis Club. She also had a sports shop in Collins Street and was well known in the tennis world. Wood had an unaffected, orthodox style and correct footwork.
Arthur Holroyd O’Hara Wood
Australian tennis player Arthur Holroyd O’Hara Wood was killed in the First World War. He was also a Royal Air Force pilot and died while serving his country. Sadly, he was not the only sportsman to die in the First World War.
Wood was born in Melbourne and graduated from Trinity College in 1908. He went on to serve in the Australian Flying Corps. During World War I, he was stationed in the South African campaign. He was a fighter pilot during the Great War. His planes were shot down during the Allied invasion of Germany in 1918.
The elder son of a prominent barrister, Major Arthur Holroyd O’Hara Wood, was an Old Melburnian. When the war started, he was at Melbourne Grammar School with Captain H. G. Colville. He was awarded the prize for forensic medicine at Trinity College and graduated from Melbourne University with honors in obstetrics and surgery in 1914.
Arthur O’Hara Wood was Australian tennis who played the game professionally and for the Royal Air Force. He won the singles championship in Victoria and NSW in 1914. He also won the Australasian Championships in 1913 and 1914. His brother Pat O’Hara Wood was also a champion.
A former Royal Air Force flight commander, Major Arthur Holroyd O’Hara Wood, was killed during World War I. His name is commemorated at the Bronfay Military Cemetery, near the town of Bronfay in France. This is the only known DES in his name.
John James O’Hara Wood
John James O’Hara Wood was born in Queensland. He was the son of Australian barrister Catherine Compton O’Hara Wood. He was attached to the 4th Australian Flying Corps during his early career. McClaughry records that he had one DES.
Wood was also known as Pat and Arthur. Pat played in the Davis Cup with the Australia team from 1922 to 1924. He won 17 matches and forbade the USA team in the varldsfinale in 1924. He defeated Gerald Patterson in three sets. In the doubles event, he beat Ashley Campbell and Gerald Patterson. Later, he served in the Royal Air Force and played tennis professionally.
