Nirupama Mankad

Nirupama Mankad
Country (sports) India
Born (1947-01-17) 17 January 1947 (age 77)
Karachi, Sindh, British India
Turned pro1964 (amateur)
Retired1979
Singles
Career titles18 ILTF/ITF
Doubles
Career titles11 ITF
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon2R (1971)

Nirupama Mankad (née Vasant; born 17 January 1947) is a former Indian tennis player. She is the first Indian woman in the modern era to play at a main draw of a Grand Slam. She was active from 1964 to 1979 and constested 25 finals and won 18 singles titles.

Career

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Nirupama Mankad is the daughter of G. Vasant, a leading tennis player in India in his time. She survives her husband, the late Ashok Mankad, a former Indian Test cricketer. Their son Harsh Mankad is an Indian Davis Cup player.[1]

Mankad won the Asian women's tennis championship in 1965 at the age of 17. She played Wimbledon junior event in 1965 and partnered Anand Amritraj in the mixed doubles event in 1971, reaching the second round. She took part in tournaments on ILTF European Circuit when she played in Europe such as reaching the semi finals at the Ilkley Open in 1970 where she lost to Corinne Molesworth who went on to win that event.[2] She was India's top ranked tennis player between 1965 and 1978, winning the national championship seven times during this time. She won the Indian government's Arjuna award in 1980.

Her best ranking was No 1, and was also a two-time Asian champion and a Fed Cup player.[3]

ILTF Career finals

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Singles:25 (18 titles, 7 runners-up)

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Outcome No. Date Tournament Location Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. January 1965 Asian Lawn Tennis Championships Calcutta, India Hard India Lakshmi Mahadevan 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 1. January 1965 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India New Delhi, India Hard New Zealand Marion Law 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 2. January 1966 Central India Championships Allahabad, India Grass Soviet Union Tiiu Kivi 9–11, 2–6
Runner-up 3. January 1966 Western India Championships Bombay, India Hard United States Carol-Ann Prosen 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Runner-up 4. January 1968 ? Bombay, India Clay Soviet Union Aleksandra Ivanova 3–6, 6–2, 4–6
Winner 2. March 1968 Western India Championships (2) Bombay, India Hard India Rattan Thadani 6–2, 6–4
Winner 3. December 1968 Asian Lawn Tennis Championships (2) Calcutta, India Hard United States Alice Tym 6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 4. February 1969 Western India Championships (3) Bombay, India Hard Romania Judith Dibar 8–6, 6–3
Winner 5. December 1969 Indian International Championships New Delhi, India Hard United States Alice Tym 6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 6. February 1970 Western India Championships (4) Bombay, India Hard Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Irena Škulj 3–6, 6–0, 6–3
Winner 7. December 1970 Cricket Club of India Tournament Bombay, India Hard India Kiran Peshawaria 6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 5. January 1971 Andhra Pradesh State Championships Amaravati, India Hard Soviet Union Tiiu Kivi 2–6, 5-7
Winner 8. January 1971 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India New Delhi, India ? India Kiran Peshawaria 4–6, 6–1, 6–1
Winner 9. March 1971 Kenyan International Championships Nairobi, Kenya Clay South Africa Jenny Paterson 6–0, 6–0
Winner 10. February 1972 Western India Championships (5) Poona, India Hard Australia Marilyn Tesch 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 6. February 1974 Western India Championships Madras, India Hard India Susan Das 4–6, 2–6
Winner 11. January 1975 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India (2) New Delhi, India Hard India Susan Das 7–5, 6–4
Winner 12. February 1975 Western India Championships (6) Bombay, India Hard India Udaya Kumar 6–1, 6–1
Winner 13. January 1976 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India (3) New Delhi, India Hard India Susan Das 6–4, 6–3
Winner 14. February 1976 Western India Championships (7) Bombay, India Hard India Lakshmi Mahedevan 6–1, 6–0
Winner 15. February 1977 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India (4) Bombay, India Hard India Susan Das 6–4, 6–3
Winner 16. February 1977 Western India Championships (8) Bombay, India Hard India Amreeta Ahluwalia 6–4, 6–0
Runner-up 7. January 1978 Southern India Championships Madras, India Hard India Amreeta Ahluwalia 5–7, 6–4, 8–6
Winner 17. February 1978 National Lawn Tennis Championships of India (5) Calcutta, India Hard India Amreeta Ahluwalia 3–6, 6–1, 8–6
Winner 18. January 1979 Western India Championships (9) Bombay, India Hard India Amreeta Ahluwalia 6–3, 6–2

Doubles:19 (11 titles, 8 runners-up)

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Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. March 1964 Jaipur, India Hard India Lakshmi Mahadevan United Kingdom Begum Khan
United Kingdom Jill Rook
0–6, 1-6
Runner-up 2. January 1965 Kolkata, India Hard India Leela Panjabi India Begum Khan
India Rita Suriya
2–6, 4-6
Runner-up 3. January 1965 New Delhi, India Hard India Leela Panjabi New Zealand Marion Law
Australia Madonna Schacht
6–2, 3–6, 3-6
Winner 4. January 1966 Thiruvananthapuram, India Hard United States Carol-Ann Prosen United Kingdom Rita Bentley
United Kingdom Elizabeth Starkie
6–2, 6–4
Winner 5. January 1966 Mumbai, India Hard India Begum Khan United States Carol-Ann Prosen
United Kingdom Sue Tutt
6–2, 1–6, 6–4
Winner 6. February 1966 Hyderabad, India Hard United Kingdom Sue Tutt India Begum Khan
United States Carol-Ann Prosen
6–1, 6–4
Winner 7. February 1966 Chennai, India Hard India Dechu Appaiah India Begum Khan
India Leela Panjabi
6–2, 6–3
Winner 8. February 1966 Lucknow, India Hard India Dechu Appaiah United Kingdom Rita Bentley
United Kingdom Anthea Rigby
9–11, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 9. January 1967 Calcuta, India Hard India Rita Suriya Soviet Union Rena Abzhandadze
Soviet Union Aleksandra Ivanova
0–6, 5–7
Runner-up 10. January 1968 Bangalore, India Hard India Jeroo Vakil Soviet Union Aleksandra Ivanova
Soviet Union Nina Turkheli
0–6, 1–6
Runner-up 11. January 1968 Bombay, India Hard India Rattan Thadani Soviet Union Aleksandra Ivanova
Soviet Union Nina Turkheli
2–6, 3–6
Winner 12. January 1969 Visakhapatnam, India Hard India Rita Suriya United States Alice Tym
India Kiran Peshawaria
6–2, 6–1
Runner-up 13. January 1970 Amritsar, India Hard India Indu Sood Soviet Union Aleksandra Ivanova
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Irena Škulj
2–6, 1–6
Winner 14. February 1971 Kolkata, India Hard India Kiran Peshawaria India Udaya Kumar
India Susan Das
6–1, 6–3
Winner 15. March 1971 Nairobi, Kenya Clay South Africa Jenny Paterson South Africa Marianna Brummer
South Africa Greta Delport
6–2, 6–2
Winner 16. September 1971 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hard New Zealand Cecilie Fleming Thailand Somsri Klumsombut
Thailand Phanow Sudsawadsi
7–5, 6–4
Winner 17. February 1974 Chennai, India Hard India Udaya Kumar India Susan Das
India Kiran Peshawaria
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 18. September 1974 Colombo, Sri Lanka Hard India Susan Das Indonesia Lany Kaligis
Indonesia Lita Liem Sugiarto
5–7, 6–1, 1-6
Winner 19. February 1978 New Delhi, India Hard India Amreeta Ahluwalia Australia Carol Draper
United States Robin Harris
5–7, 6–2, 6–0

References

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  1. ^ "All eyes on Harsh Mankad". The Hindu. 5 June 2000. Retrieved 3 May 2018.[dead link]
  2. ^ Barrett, John. Tingay, Lance. West, Peter. (1971) World of Tennis 1971 : a BP yearbook. Queen Anne Press. London. ISBN 978-0-362-00091-7. p.270.
  3. ^ "At 56, tennis coach Mayur Vasant finally dons India colours". mid-day. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
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  • K. R. Wadhwaney, Arjuna Awardees, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2002, ISBN 81-230-0286-0
  • P.K. Datta, A Century of Indian Tennis, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 2001, ISBN 81-230-0783-3