Maureen Catherine Connolly-Brinker (née Connolly; September 17, 1934 – June 21, 1969), known as "Little Mo", was an American tennis player, the winner of nine major singles titles in the early 1950s.

The following year, in July 1954, a horseback riding accident seriously injured her right leg and ended her competitive tennis career at age 19.

Her first coach, Wilbur Folsom, encouraged her to switch from a left-handed grip to a right-handed one,[5] and she soon became a baseline specialist with tremendous power and accuracy.

[citation needed] At the 1951 U.S. Championships, Connolly at age 16 defeated Shirley Fry to become, at that time, the youngest ever to win America's most prestigious tennis tournament.

[5] Connolly was seeded first at the 1952 U.S. Championships, and she successfully defended her title with a victory in the final against Doris Hart.

[9] For the 1953 season, she hired a new coach, the Australian Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman, and she entered all four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time.

[14] On December 17, 1957, the Supreme Court of California unanimously affirmed a $95,000 jury verdict in her favor; the opinion was signed by Chief Justice Phil S.

[14] In June 1955, Connolly married Norman Brinker, a member of the 1952 Olympic equestrian team for the United States, who shared her love of horses.

In Texas, where the couple lived, she established the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation to promote junior tennis.

[20] Connolly was included in the year-end top-10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1950 through 1953.

[22] Since 1973, the Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy is played, a yearly competition between the best female tennis players age 18 and younger from the United States and Great Britain.