Dame Ruia Morrison, of Rotorua, DNZM, for services to tennis
Dame Ruia Morrison, of Rotorua, DNZM, for services to tennis.
Dame Ruia Morrison was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1960 when she was highly ranked in women’s tennis, having been the first Māori from New Zealand to compete at Wimbledon in 1957, again competing in 1958, 1959 and 1960. Dame Ruia has been a trailblazer in tennis for Māori and women, encouraging athletes to break barriers and achieve their goals. She volunteered her time as a coach and mentor to the tennis community and was involved with Aotearoa Māori Tennis Championships for many years. She was the New Zealand Open singles champion in 1960, the doubles champion in 1961 and singles and doubles champion in 1962 and 1964. She was Captain and player for the 1965 New Zealand Federation Cup Team against Argentina and Australia. In 1972 she was Captain against Columbia, Finland and the Netherlands. She was Aotearoa Māori singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion in 1965 and 1970. She was awarded Life Membership of Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association in 2001 and Tennis New Zealand in 2014. She was inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Te Arawa Hall of Fame in 2014. Dame Ruia returned to Wimbledon in 2013 where the All England Club awarded her membership to the Last Eight Club.