Judy Devlin Hashman, who won the all-England badminton singles championships 10 times, more than any other player, man or woman, died on Monday. She was 88.
She died in cancer hospice care in Oxford, England, her son Geoff said.
Before badminton established a world championship or joined the Olympics, the All England Open Badminton Championships was the sport’s pinnacle. Hashman won the women’s singles title in that event for the first time in 1954 at age 18. Then she added nine more, the last in 1967.
Her 10 singles titles are the most for any player. She also won seven women’s doubles titles, six of them with her sister Susan Devlin, later known as Susan Peard.
Judy Devlin was born on Oct. 22, 1935, in Winnipeg, Canada, the daughter of J. Frank Devlin, aa badminton coach who excelled at several sports, and Grace (Steed) Devlin, a scientist who was a good enough tennis player to play doubles at Wimbledon. The family moved to Maryland when she was a child.
Her 17 total titles at the all-England championships is tied for third behind Sir George Thomas and her father, who both played in the 1920s.
She also played field hockey, lacrosse and tennis, but made badminton her No. 1 priority. “I started badminton at age 7, at my choice,” she told the Badminton World Federation in 2020. Her father had suggested tennis, but she “didn’t want that.”
