Kathleen McKane Godfree
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Tennis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Doubles | |
| Silver | 1920 Antwerp | Mixed Doubles | |
| Silver | 1924 Paris | Doubles | |
| Bronze | 1920 Antwerp | Singles | |
| Bronze | 1924 Paris | Singles | |
Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (May 7, 1896 – June 19, 1992) was a British female tennis and badminton 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.
In badminton, she won nine All England Open Badminton Championships, considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships until 1977, between 1920 and 1930.
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 |  Helen Wills Moody |
4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 1926 | Wimbledon (2) | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Spain_(1785-1873_and_1875-1931).svg.png){kind=small} Lilí de Álvarez |
6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
[edit] Runners-up (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1923 | World Hard Court Championships |  Suzanne Lenglen |
6–2, 6–3 |
| 1923 | Wimbledon | Suzanne Lenglen |
6–2, 6–2 |
| 1925 | French Championships | Suzanne Lenglen |
6–1, 6–2 |
| 1925 | U.S. Championships | Helen Wills Moody |
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 Brussels, 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.
