When asked what message she would give the players competing for the ITF Seniors trophy which now proudly bears her name, four-time Grand Slam champion Angela Barrett (née Mortimer) simply replies: “Never give up”.

To some extent it is a sentiment which could be said to have underpinned her entire career as she refused to allow her partial deafness, which would have been difficult for many players to overcome, hinder her performances.

Rather than inhibit, perhaps it enhanced her on-court prowess, particularly considering she triumphed at the French and Australian Championships before the pinnacle of her career arrived in 1961 with victory at Wimbledon.

Barrett, who also won a doubles title at Wimbledon in 1955, has a string of accolades to her name; she was awarded the CBE in 1967 and inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 26 years later.

Now 88 years of age, recognition of Barrett’s career continues apace. The ITF this week announced that the annual women’s team tournament for the 85 and over age category at the ITF Super Seniors World Team Championships would be named after her.

Until now, the 85+ men’s and women’s team cups, which were first contested in 2017 and 2019 respectively, had been called exactly that, but ITF member associations were recently invited to make nominations for the naming of both.

Barrett was duly nominated by Seniors Tennis GB and the LTA and following a unanimous vote by the ITF Seniors Committee, then approval from the ITF Board, the Angela Mortimer Cup was born.

“I am very honoured,” Barrett told itftennis.com. “It is a great feeling and I am very proud. It is very humbling to be nominated and I am very grateful.

“Seniors tennis is wonderful. I think these days more and more people are playing tennis through the different age groups and I have a lot of friends who are well into their eighties and are still playing the game they love – that is just great.

“There is always a really good competitive atmosphere at these events and they allow people to travel to different places around the world. That brings an important social element also, with friendships made and a sense of camaraderie.

“I am very proud to have my name associated with one of these wonderful competitions.”

The ITF Seniors World Championships, which include both individual and team competitions across three age categories – Young Seniors (30-45+), Seniors (50-60+) and Super Seniors (65-90+) – are the pinnacle of the ITF Seniors tour.

The ITF Super Seniors World Team Championships, under which the Angela Mortimer Cup falls, were due to be held this week in Mallorca, only for the Covid-19 pandemic to force their cancellation.

Also scheduled to be staged on the Spanish island, the 2021 edition will see the 85+ Team Cups take place from 10-15 October, and for the first time the Angela Mortimer Cup will be up for grabs.

Those with designs on lifting silverware will not have had the career Barrett did and, for them, the Angela Mortimer Cup is their Australian Championships, their French Championships and their Wimbledon, a point fully acknowledged by the trophy’s eponymous heroine.

“The outstanding memory of my career is winning Wimbledon,” said Barrett, who is married to former British Davis Cup player and esteemed former commentator John Barrett.

“Winning a Grand Slam is a wonderful feeling and I was lucky enough to win the French and the Australian also, but Wimbledon is the outstanding recollection.

“I know how much it means to win a trophy and I know it means a lot to be considered the best or among the best in whatever age group it may be.

“I have friends who play Seniors tennis and winning means a lot to them. But, of course, they also play for the pure enjoyment that playing brings.”

For those nations and individuals bidding to claim the Angela Mortimer Cup next year, there is bound to be some superb tennis on show, the odd contentious decision and plenty of nail-biting moments – just as there was for Barrett during her playing days.

The poignancy of Barrett’s ‘never give up’ mantra is underlined when analysing the major titles of her career. She fought back from a set down and held her nerve to win the 1955 French Championships, in just her second appearance there, against American Dorothy Head Knode, prevailing 2-6 7-5 10-8.

She made the final again a year later, slipping to defeat after going head-to-head with legendary American Althea Gibson, although she once again recovered from losing the opening set – 6-0 this time – to valiantly battle in the second and succumb 12-10.

While her success on Australian soil in 1958 was more straightforward – a 6-3 6-4 victory in the final against fellow British player Lorraine Coghlan – her Wimbledon triumph reflected all the hallmarks of resilience and determination.

Seeded No. 7, she surged through the field, overcoming top seed and the much-fancied Sandra Reynolds of South African in the semis to set up a finale with Christine Truman Janes – the first all-English final in 47 years.

On Centre Court, she tasted glory, although once more she was forced to come from behind. She eventually triumphed 4-6 6-4 7-5 to claim, at the age of 29, the last, if most pivotal, major title of her tennis journey.

Barrett’s exploits ensured she was ranked within the Top 10 nine times between 1953 and 1962, occupying top spot in 1961, while she was also a member of the Great Britain side that secured Wightman Cup victory in 1960.

An inspirational figure indeed and Barrett joins the likes of Kitty Godfree, Gibson and Doris Hart who already have ITF Super Seniors World Team Championship competitions named after them. For those players who Barrett holds in such high esteem –those who refuse to give up – a fitting trophy awaits.

Photo credit: AELTC/Paul Gregory