Pauline Betz
Encyclopedia
Pauline May Betz Addie 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
.
. She continued her tennis and education at Rollins College
(graduating in 1943), where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta
sorority. She went on to win four United States Singles Championships.
while trailing 3–5 in the final set. 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, a "Golden Set". She won the Wimbledon
singles title in 1946, the only time she entered the tournament, without losing a set. Her amateur career ended when she explored the possibilities of turning professional.
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). Addie 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.
Addie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1965.
The Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac, Maryland
was renamed in her honor on May 1, 2008. Addie, Allie Ritzenberg, and Stanley Hoffberger founded the center in 1972.
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.
. She was the mother of author Kim Addonizio
.
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.
She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer
Jack Kramer (tennis player)
John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the father and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours...
has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody
Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
.
Early life
Betz attended Los Angeles High School and learned her tennis from Dick SkeenDick Skeen
Dick Skeen was a U.S. professional tennis player. He was runner up to Fred Perry in the Men's Singles in the 1941 Professional Tennis Championships, and was ranked No. 2, behind Perry....
. She continued her tennis and education at Rollins College
Rollins College
Rollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
(graduating in 1943), where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
sorority. She went on to win four United States Singles Championships.
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 duPontMargaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand...
while trailing 3–5 in the final set. The following year, she won the Tri-State tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, defeating Catherine Wolf
Catherine Wolf
Catherine Wolf of Elkhart, Indiana, was an important amateur American tennis player in the 1920s and 1930s.Wolf was ranked No. 10 in the United States in 1934 and 1935....
in the final 6–0, 6–2 without losing a point in the first set, a "Golden Set". She won the 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...
singles title in 1946, the only time she entered the tournament, without losing a set. Her amateur career ended when she explored the possibilities of turning professional.
According to John Olliff 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...
, Addie was ranked World No. 1 in 1946 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945). Addie was included in the year-end top ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...
from 1939 through 1946. She was the top ranked U.S. player from 1942 through 1944 and in 1946.
Addie was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in 1965.
The Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac, Maryland
Potomac, Maryland
Potomac is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named for the nearby Potomac River. The population was 44,822 at the 2000 census. The Potomac area is known for its very affluent and highly-educated residents. In 2009 CNNMoney.com listed Potomac as the fourth...
was renamed in her honor on May 1, 2008. Addie, Allie Ritzenberg, and Stanley Hoffberger founded the center in 1972.
Grand Slam record
- French Championships
- Singles runner-up: 1946
- Women's Doubles runner-up: 1946
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1946
- WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe 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...
- Singles champion: 1946
- Women's Doubles runner-up: 1946
- U.S. Championships
- Singles champion: 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946
- Singles runner-up: 1941, 1945
- Women's Doubles runner-up: 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945
- Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1941, 1943
Wins (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1942 | U.S. Championships |  Louise Brough ClappLouise Brough Althea Louise Brough Clapp was a World No. 1 American female tennis player.-Biography:She was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but moved to Beverly Hills, California when she was four years old. She was taught by Dick Skeen and had a classic forehand and backhand and a paralyzing American twist... |
4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 1943 | U.S. Championships (2) | Louise Brough Clapp |
6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 1944 | U.S. Championships (3) | Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand... |
6–3, 8–6 |
| 1946 | 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... |
Louise Brough Clapp |
6–2, 6–4 |
| 1946 | U.S. Championships (4) | Doris Hart Doris Hart Doris Hart is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.As a child, she suffered from osteomyelitis, which resulted in a permanently impaired right leg... |
11–9, 6–3 |
Runner-ups (3)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1941 | U.S. Championships | Sarah Palfrey Cooke Sarah Palfrey Cooke Sarah Hammond Palfrey Fabyan Cooke Danzig was a female tennis player from the United States.... |
7–5, 6–2 |
| 1945 | U.S. Championships | Sarah Palfrey Cooke |
3–6, 8–6, 6–4 |
| 1946 | French Championships | Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand... |
1–6, 8–6, 7–5 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 19461 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
A | A | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships | A | NH | R | R | R | R | A | F | 0 / 1 |
| 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... |
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 |
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.
Personal life
Betz was married to sportswriter Bob AddieBob Addie
Robert Addie was an American sportswriter who covered baseball for The Washington Post and Washington Times-Herald. Addie was known for his clean style, hilarious anecdotes, unabashed sentiment, red socks and dark glasses. He never missed a day on the Washington Senators' beat for 20 years until...
. She was the mother of author Kim Addonizio
Kim Addonizio
Kim Addonizio is an award-winning American poet and novelist.-Life:Addonizio is the daughter of tennis champion Pauline Betz and sports writer Bob Addie....
.
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...