Esna Boyd


Esna Boyd Robertson was an Australian tennis player who reached seven consecutive women's singles finals at the Australian Championships from 1922 through 1928. She won one of those finals, defeating Sylvia Lance Harper in 1927. Robertson participated in the first women's singles final at the Australian Championships in 1922 against fellow Australian Margaret Molesworth.
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Robertson was ranked World No. 10 in 1928.
Boyd was born in Melbourne on 21 September 1899, the daughter of James Boyd, a politician, and Emma Flora McCormack. She had a sister, Alva who became a medical practitioner. She married Angus Robertson on 11 March 1929; they had a son, William, in 1930 and a daughter Mary, in 1933.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 7 (1 title, 6 runners-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1922Australian ChampionshipsGrass Margaret Molesworth3–6, 8–10
Loss1923Australian ChampionshipsGrass Margaret Molesworth1–6, 5–7
Loss1924Australian ChampionshipsGrass Sylvia Lance Harper3–6, 6–3, 6–8
Loss1925Australian ChampionshipsGrass Daphne Akhurst Cozens6–1, 6–8, 4–6
Loss1926Australian ChampionshipsGrass Daphne Akhurst Cozens1–6, 3–6
Win1927Australian ChampionshipsGrass Sylvia Lance Harper5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Loss1928Australian ChampionshipsGrass Daphne Akhurst Cozens5–7, 2–6

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament1922192319241925192619271928192919301931193219331934Career SR
Australian ChampionshipsFFFFFWFAAA2RAA1 / 8
French Championships1AANHAAA3RAAAAAA0 / 1
WimbledonAAAQFAA4RA4RAAA1R0 / 4
United States ChampionshipsAAAAAAAAAAAAA0 / 0
SR0 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 20 / 11 / 11 / 30 / 00 / 10 / 00 / 10 / 00 / 11 / 13

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
1Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships, actually played on clay in Paris or Brussels, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from the 1922 and 1923 editions of that tournament are shown here. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.