BLOOMER, SHIRLEY
Great Britain
Born 13 June 1934 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England.
Married Christopher William Brasher, 28 April 1959, died 28 February 2003
[Active 1952-1974]
Bloomer has 3 grand slams on her resume. 1957 French winner in singles and doubles (with Darlene Hard). 1958 Mixed winner in France (with N Pietrangeli).
Bloomer was on the Wightman Cup team for her nation from 1955 to 1960. These years saw her best results.
"A doughty performer, unspectacular but hard to beat, the more especially on hard courts. She reached the women's doubles final of Wimbledon with Pat Ward in 1955, was singles quarterfinalist there in 1956 and a semifinalist at Forest Hills the same year.
Big titles in 1957 included the Italian (then the 5th biggest title in tennis), The French, British Hard Court, and Swedish titles.
The slow clay of the French suited her game to perfection. Winning it, any hopes of repeating at Wimbledon were unrealistic. Shirley's best showing at ever at Wimbledon was the quarterfinals.
In 1958 her bid to defend her Roland Garros French Championship fell just short. The clever Hungarian Suzi Kormoczy just edged her out by a score of 6–4 1–6 6–2 in the final. There was some consolation in Great Britain upsetting the United States to take the Wightman Cup, the first British victory since 1930.
Marriage in 1959 made tennis a secondary priority. Her husband Chris Brasher was an Olympic track athlete. As a mom and part time player she entered events into the late 1960s. Eventually Mrs Brasher became a respected tennis commentator for the BBC. One of her three children, Kate, briefly played on the WTA tour. Her children were Kate (born August 1962), Hugh (born September 1964) and Amanda (born August 1967).
In addition to tennis Shirley had been active in squash as a junior; other sports were horse riding and table tennis.
Mrs Brasher later coached several players, including Glynis Coles.
When Bloomer lost her bloomers
Very fashion conscious, she wore creations by dress designer Ted Tinling. Ted enjoyed putting frilly lace on panties. During a match on Court One in 1958 lost her bloomers in full view of a crowd of 5,000 on hand for her Wightman up match. They literally snapped and fell to the ground. Shirley calmly stepped out of them while wolf whistles and shouts of "more, more!" emanated from the men in the crowd. Throwing the panties to the side of the court, she carrried on and ended the game with a service ace. (Bryant).
A photo of from the 1958 Wightman Cup
World Rankings
1956: #7
1957: #3 (#2 in some rankings)
1958: #5
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Brasher
Bryant, John.
Chris Brasher: The Man Who Made the London Marathon. 2012 [chapter 9]
Hedges, Martin.
The Concise Dictionary of Tennis. 1978. page 33
Obituary: Chris Brasher | News | The Guardian
