 Kathleen McKane Godfree (left) and Suzanne Lenglen at the French Championships in 1925 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Kathleen McKane Godfree | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 May 1896 Bayswater, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 19 June 1992 (aged 96) London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1978 (member page) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No.2 (1923, 1924, 1926) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1923, 1925) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1924, 1926) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | F (1925) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1925, 1926) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1922, 1924, 1926) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1923, 1927) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1924, 1926) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1925) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wightman Cup | (1924, 1925) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (née McKane; 7 May 1896 – 19 June 1992) was a British tennis and badminton player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with Katherine Grainger.[1]
According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Godfree was ranked in the world top 10 from 1921 (when the rankings began) through 1927, reaching a career high of world No. 2 in these rankings in 1923, 1924, and 1926.[2][3]
Godfree won five Olympic medals in tennis at the 1920 Antwerp and 1924 Paris games,[4] the most Olympic medals won by a tennis player[5] until Venus Williams matched this record at the 2016 Olympic Games. In 1923, she captured the title at the World Covered Court Championships.
Godfree won the Wimbledon singles title twice. In the 1924 final, Godfree recovered from a set and 4–1 (40–15) down against Helen Wills to win the title.[6] This was the only defeat at Wimbledon for Wills who later won eight titles. In the 1926 final, Godfree recovered from a 3–1 and game-point-against deficit in the third set to defeat Lili de Alvarez.
The 1924 Wimbledon final was not Godfree's only victory over Wills. Godfree also defeated Wills during the 1924 Wightman Cup 6–2, 6–2.[7] On at least two other occasions, Godfree pushed Wills to the limit. Wills won their quarterfinal in the 1923 U.S. Championships 2–6, 6–2, 7–5 after Godfree recovered to 5–5 in the third set after trailing 5–2.[7] In the final of the 1925 U.S. Championships, Wills won in three sets.
In 1925, Godfree became the first person to have reached the singles finals of the French Championships, Wimbledon, and U.S. Championships during her career.[8]
In 1922, Kitty and her sister Margaret McKane Stocks were the only sisters to contest a Wimbledon doubles final (until Serena and Venus Williams reached the final in 2000), losing to Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan 6–0, 6–4.[7]
Godfree's lifetime record at Wimbledon was 38–11 in singles, 33–12 in women's doubles, and 40–12 in mixed doubles.[7]
Godfree received a Centenary medallion on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 1977.[7] She presented the winner's trophy to Martina Navratilova in 1986, in honour of the centenary year of play at Wimbledon.[9][10] Godfree was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.
In badminton, Godfree won eight All England Open Badminton Championships from 1920 through 1925, considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships[11] until 1977.
She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1987 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while shopping in a supermarket in East Sheen.[citation needed]
Godfree died on 19 June 1992 at the age of 96.[12]
- ^ "Kitty Godfree, Tennis Titlist, Is Dead at 96". The New York Times. 20 June 1992. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
- ^ Kitty and King George V. at Wimbledon 1926 Archived 13 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine in The Illustrated London News
- ^ "Kitty McKane". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Blue Plaque for Kathleen "Kitty" Godfree, Wimbledon Champion". Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "Kitty Godfree | British athlete". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Collins, Bud (2008) p. 565
- ^ "Kitty McKane". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Martina Keeps All England Under Her Rule". Los Angeles Times. 6 July 1986.
- ^ "Plaque honours tennis great Kitty". BBC. 23 October 2006. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ The History of All England Championships Archived 26 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Kitty Godfree, Tennis Titlist, is Dead at 96". The New York Times. 20 June 1992. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2017.