Doris Hart, the American former Wimbledon champion, who has died aged 89, was one of the game’s great stylists immediately after the second world war, and would probably have won more than her six grand slam singles titles had she not suffered from osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone, as a child.
So severe was her condition that doctors initially recommended the amputation of her right leg. Happily, other views prevailed but hospitals became all too familiar to the young Doris. However, it was while she was recuperating from yet another operation at the age of 10 that she sat gazing out of the window, watching people play tennis in a park.