Kornelia Bouman
Encyclopedia
Kornelia "Kea" Bouman (23 November 1903 – 17 November 1998) was a female tennis
player from the Netherlands
. She won the singles title at the 1927 French Championships, beating Irene Bowder Peacock of South Africa
in the final. Bouman was the first, and is so far the only, Dutch woman to win a Grand Slam
singles tournament.
Born in Almelo
, Bouman teamed with Hendrik Timmer to win a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 1924 Summer Olympics
in Paris
.
In 1929, Bouman teamed with Spain's
Lili de Alvarez
to win the women's doubles title at the French Championships.
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
, Bouman was ranked in the world top ten in 1927 and 1928, reaching a career high of World No. 8 in those rankings in 1928.
Bouman also was successful in other sports. She was a Dutch champion in golf
and played for the national field hockey
team. She died in Delden
.
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 the 1923 edition of that tournament are shown here. 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.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. She won the singles title at the 1927 French Championships, beating Irene Bowder Peacock of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the final. Bouman was the first, and is so far the only, Dutch woman to win a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles tournament.
Born in Almelo
Almelo
Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....
, Bouman teamed with Hendrik Timmer to win a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In 1929, Bouman teamed with Spain's
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Lili de Alvarez
Lili de Alvarez
Lili de Alvarez was a Spanish multi-sport competitor, an international tennis champion, an author, and a journalist....
to win the women's doubles title at the French Championships.
According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Bouman was ranked in the world top ten in 1927 and 1928, reaching a career high of World No. 8 in those rankings in 1928.
Bouman also was successful in other sports. She was a Dutch champion in golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and played for the national field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
team. She died in Delden
Delden
Delden is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel and, since 2001, in the municipality of Hof van Twente.Although its population is small, it gained city rights in 1333. Castle Twickel is a famous landmark near Delden and the Baron van Heeckeren of Twickel built a watertower in Delden...
.
Win
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1927 | French Championships |  Irene Bowder Peacock |
6–2, 6–4 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships French Open (tennis) The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are... 1 |
A | NH | A | SF | W | SF | 1R | 1 / 4 |
| Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 4R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 7 |
| U.S. Championships U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | 0 / 1 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 12 |
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 the 1923 edition of that tournament are shown here. 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.
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam finalTennis performance timeline comparison (women)This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...