Kathleen McKane Godfree

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Olympic medal record
Women's Tennis
Gold Antwerp 1920 Doubles with Winifred McNair
Silver Antwerp 1920 Mixed Doubles with Max Woosnam
Silver Paris 1924 Doubles with Phyllis Covell
Bronze Antwerp 1920 Singles
Bronze Paris 1924 Singles

Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (May 7, 1896June 19, 1992) was a British female tennis player. She was born in Bayswater, London, England and died in London.

Godfree finished in the world top 10 in 1925, 1926, and 1927. She ranked second in the world in 1926.

Godfree won a total of five Olympic medals at the 1920 Antwerp and 1924 Paris games.

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 Moody to win the title. 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 Moody. Godfree also defeated Moody during the 1924 Wightman Cup. On at least two other occasions, Godfree pushed Moody to the limit. Moody won their quarterfinal in the 1923 U.S. Championships 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. And in the final of the 1925 U.S. Championships, Moody 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.

Kitty and her husband Leslie are the only married couple ever to win the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon. They won the title in 1926.

Godfree's lifetime record at Wimbledon was 38-11 in singles, 33-12 in women's doubles, and 40-12 in mixed doubles.

Godfree received a Centenary medallion on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 1977. She presented the winner's trophy to Martina Navratilova in 1986, in honor of the centenary year of play by women at Wimbledon. Godfree was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.

Contents

[edit] Grand Slam singles finals

[edit] Wins (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1924 Wimbledon Championships Helen Wills 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
1926 Wimbledon Championships (2) Lili de Alvarez 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

[edit] Runner-ups (4)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1923 World Hard Court Championships Suzanne Lenglen 6-2, 6-3
1923 Wimbledon Championships Suzanne Lenglen 6-2, 6-2
1925 French Championships Suzanne Lenglen 6-1, 6-2
1925 U.S. Championships Helen Wills 3-6, 6-0, 6-2

[edit] Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 Career SR
Australia NH NH NH A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
France1 NH A A SF F NH F QF A A A A A A A A 0 / 4
Wimbledon QF 3R 2R 2R F W SF W QF A A A 4R 4R 2R 3R 2 / 13
United States A A A A QF A F A 1R A A A A A A A 0 / 3
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 3 1 / 1 0 / 3 1 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 2 / 20

A = did not participate in the tournament.

NH = tournament not held.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

1Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals. The World Hard Court Championships (WHCC), actually played on clay in Paris or Brussells, began in 1912 and were open to all nationalities. The results from that tournament are shown here from 1920 through 1923. The Olympics replaced the WHCC in 1924, as the Olympics were held in Paris. Beginning in 1925, the French Championships were open to all nationalities, with the results shown here beginning with that year.

[edit] See also