Betty Nuthall

Betty Nuthall
Full name Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker
Country Great Britain
Born 23 May 1911(1911-05-23)
Surbiton
Died 8 November 1983(1983-11-08) (aged 72)
New York
Int. Tennis HOF 1977 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking 4 (1929)
Grand Slam results
French Open F (1931)
Wimbledon 4R (1933, 1937, 1938, 1946)
US Open W (1930)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open W (1931)
US Open W (1930, 1931, 1933)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open W (1931, 1932)
US Open W (1929, 1931)

Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker (23 May 1911, Surbiton, Surrey – 8 November 1983, New York City, New York) was an English tennis player.

Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Shoemaker was ranked in the world top ten in 1927, 1929 through 1931, and 1933, reaching a career high in those rankings of World No. 4 in 1929.[1]

In 1927 at the age of 16, Shoemaker tied Elisabeth Moore as the then-youngest women's singles finalist ever at the U.S. Championships. Shoemaker lost the final to Helen Wills Moody.

Also in 1927, Shoemaker played on the British Wightman Cup team and defeated Helen Jacobs in her debut.

In 1930, Shoemaker became the first non-American to win a women's singles title at the U.S. Championships since 1892. She was the last British female player to win the title until Virginia Wade won in 1968.

At the U.S. Championships in 1933, Shoemaker won a quarterfinal versus Alice Marble 6–8, 6–0, 7–5 after being down two breaks of serve at 1–5 in the final set. In the semifinal versus Moody, Shoemaker won the first set 6–2 in just 12 minutes, which was the first set Moody had lost at this tournament since 1926. Moody, however, turned around the match and won the last two sets 6–3, 6–2 despite losing her serve twice in the second set. Shoemaker never again reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament.

Shoemaker won women's doubles titles at the 1930, 1931, and 1933 U.S. Championships and at the 1931 French Championships. She won mixed doubles championships at the 1929 and 1931 U.S. Championships and at the 1931 and 1932 French Championships.

Shoemaker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977.

Contents

Grand Slam singles finals

Win (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1930 U.S. Championships Anna McCune Harper 6–1, 6–4

Runner-ups (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1927 U.S. Championships Helen Wills Moody 6–1, 6–4
1931 French Championships Cilly Aussem 8–6, 6–1

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 - 1944 1945 19461 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NH NH A 0 / 0
French Championships A A 2R A A F SF SF 3R A A A A A NH R A A 0 / 5
Wimbledon 2R QF 1R 3R QF QF QF 4R 1R A 2R 4R 4R 1R NH NH NH 4R 0 / 14
U.S. Championships A F A QF W SF A SF 2R A A A A 3R A A A A 1 / 7
SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 1 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 1 / 26

NH = tournament not held.

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.

A = did not participate in the tournament.

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

1In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also

References

  1. ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701–2. ISBN 0-942257-41-3. 

External links