Pauline Betz
 Betz in 1949 | |
| Full name | Pauline May Betz Addie |
|---|---|
| ITF name | Pauline Addie |
| Country (sports) |
 United States |
| Born |
August 6, 1919 Dayton, Ohio |
| Died |
May 31, 2011 (aged 91) Potomac, Maryland |
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Turned pro | 1947 |
| Retired | 1960[1] |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1965 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | 1 (1946) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | F (1946) |
| Wimbledon | W (1946) |
| US Open | W (1942, 1943, 1944, 1946) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | F (1946) |
| Wimbledon | F (1946) |
| US Open | F (1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1946) |
| US Open | F (1941, 1943) |
Pauline Betz Addie (née Pauline May Betz, August 6, 1919 – May 31, 2011[1]) was an American professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody.[2]
Early life
Betz attended Los Angeles High School and learned her tennis from Dick Skeen. She continued her tennis and education at Rollins College (graduating in 1943),[3][4][5][6] where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She went on to win four United States Singles Championships.[5]
Career
Addie won the first of her four singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1942, saving a match point in the semifinals against Margaret Osborne duPont while trailing 3–5 in the final set.[7] The following year, she won the Tri-State tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, defeating Catherine Wolf in the final 6–0, 6–2 without losing a point in the first set,[7] a "golden set". She won the Wimbledon singles title in 1946, the only time she entered the tournament, without losing a set.[7] Her amateur career ended in 1947 when she explored the possibilities of turning professional.[7]
According to John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail, Addie was ranked World No. 1 in 1946 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945).[8] She was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1939 through 1946. She was the top ranked U.S. player from 1942 through 1944 and in 1946.[9]
Addie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965.[7]
The Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac, Maryland was renamed in her honor on May 1, 2008. Addie, Albert Ritzenberg, and Stanly Hoffberger founded the center in 1972.[10]
Grand Slam finals
Singles (5 titles, 3 runners-up)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1941 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Sarah Palfrey Cooke | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1942 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Louise Brough | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 1943 | U.S. Championships (2) | Grass | Louise Brough | 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Winner | 1944 | U.S. Championships (3) | Grass | Margaret Osborne duPont | 6–3, 8–6 |
| Runner-up | 1945 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Sarah Palfrey Cooke | 6–3, 6–8, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1946 | French Championships | Clay | Margaret Osborne duPont | 6–2, 6–8, 5–7 |
| Winner | 1946 | Wimbledon | Grass | Louise Brough | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 1946 | U.S. Championships (4) | Grass | Doris Hart | 11–9, 6–3 |
Doubles: 7 (7 runner-ups)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1941 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Dorothy Bundy | Sarah Palfrey Margaret Osborne | 6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1942 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 6–2, 5–7, 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 1943 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1944 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1945 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1946 | Wimbledon | Grass | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 3–6, 6–2, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1946 | French Championships | Clay | Doris Hart | Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont | 4–6, 6–0, 1–6 |
Mixed Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1941 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bobby Riggs | Sarah Palfrey Jack Kramer | 6–4, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1943 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Pancho Segura | Margaret Osborne Bill Talbert | 8–10, 4–6 |
| Winner | 1946 | French Championships | Clay | Budge Patty | Dorothy Bundy Tom Brown | 7–5, 9–7 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | R# | RR | Q# | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 19461 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships | A | NH | R | R | R | R | A | F | 0 / 1 |
| Wimbledon | A | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | W | 1 / 1 |
| U.S. Championships | 1R | QF | F | W | W | W | F | W | 4 / 8 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 2 / 3 | 5 / 10 |
R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation. 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.
Personal life
In 1949 Betz married to Bob Addie, a sportswriter for the Washington Times-Herald and Washington Post.[11][7] The couple had five children, including poet and novelist Kim Addonizio.[1] Her granddaughter Aya Cash is an actress. Pauline Betz Addie died in her sleep on May 31, 2011, aged 91.[1]
Records
| Tournament | Year | Record accomplished | Player tied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tri-State tournament | 1943 | Achieved a Golden Set[12] | Tine Scheuer-Larsen (1995) Yaroslava Shvedova (2012) |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Robin Finn (June 2, 2011). "Pauline Betz Addie, a Dominant Tennis Champion, Dies at 91". The New York Times.
- ↑ Female players & the 1950–51 Pauline Betz-Gussy Moran tour
- ↑ "ITA Women's Hall of Fame...". ITA Women's Hall of Fame McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center, William & Mary College. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Rollins College Athletics Hall of Fame". Rollins College Athletics Department. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- 1 2 "Rollins College Women's Tennis: Small School With A Big Tradition". Sports Then and Now. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Tennis-Women's: Tradition". Rollins College Athletics Department. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pauline May Betz profile (Addie), tennisfame.com; accessed November 25, 2016.
- ↑ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 702. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
- ↑ United States Tennis Association (1988). 1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook. Lynn, Massachusetts: H.O. Zimman, Inc. pp. 260–1.
- ↑ "Pauline Betz Addie". Sidwell Friends School. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Pauline Betz Addie, a Dominant Tennis Champion, Dies at 91". Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ↑ Politiken, 10 May 1995, 1st Section, p.10