Anna McCune Harper

Who was Anna McCune Harper?

Anna McCune Harper was a female tennis player from the United States. She won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1931. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1930 U.S. Championships, losing to Betty Nuthall Shoemaker. She also was the runner-up in women's doubles at the 1928, 1930, and 1932 U.S. Championships and in mixed doubles at the 1931 edition of those championships.

Harper was ranked in the U.S. top ten five consecutive years from 1928 through 1932 and was top ranked in 1930.

In 1932, Harper was called home because of an illness in her family. She then decided to give up tournament tennis for other tasks, including the rearing of three children. But she continued to follow the game and played for many years. She even had arthroscopic knee surgery at age 81 so she could continue to play. An adverse reaction to a general anesthetic sidelined her for good and precipitated a long, slow decline in her health. Harper is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.