Ruia Morrison

Dame Ruia Mereana Morrison (born 8 May 1936) is a retired New Zealand tennis player. Morrison was the first New Zealand woman and the first Māori person to play at Wimbledon and reached the fourth round in both 1957 and 1959. She also won 13 national New Zealand tennis titles. After finishing high school, Morrison attended Auckland Teachers' College, where she continued to play tennis and also began a long tennis partnership with Heather Robson.

Recognition

In the 1960 New Year Honours, Morrison was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services in the field of sport, especially tennis. In 2001, Morrison was awarded life membership of the Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association, and in 2003, she was inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame.

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Morrison was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tennis.

Legacy In 2011, Aotearoa Maori Tennis President Dick Garratt began researching Morrison's life in preparation for the publication of the biography Tikitere to Wimbledon & the World – Ruia Morrison.