Kathleen McKane Godfree: Wikis

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Tennis
Olympic medal record
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 (born 7 May 1896, Bayswater, London – died 19 June 1992, London) was a British female tennis and badminton player.

According to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Godfree was ranked in the world top ten from 1921 (when the rankings began) through 1927, reaching a career high of World No. 2 in those rankings in 1923, 1924, and 1926.^[1]

Godfree won five Olympic medals in tennis at the 1920 Antwerp and 1924 Paris games, the most Olympic medals ever won by a tennis player.^[2]

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. This was the only defeat at Wimbledon for Moody who would go on to win eight titles. 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 6–2, 6–2.^[3] 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 after Godfree recovered to 5–5 in the third set after trailing 5–2.^[4] 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 1922, Kitty and her sister Margaret McKane Stocks were the only sisters to contest a Wimbledon doubles final (until Serena and Venus Williams reached the final in 2000), losing to Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan 6–0, 6–4.^[5]

Godfree's lifetime record at Wimbledon was 38-11 in singles, 33-12 in women's doubles, and 40-12 in mixed doubles.^[6]

Godfree received a Centenary medallion on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 1977.^[7] 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.

In badminton, Godfree won nine All England Open Badminton Championships from 1920 through 1925, considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships^[8] until 1977.

1 Grand Slam singles finals
- 1.1 Wins (2)
- 1.2 Runner-ups (4)
2 Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
3 See also
4 Husband
5 References

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1924	Wimbledon	Helen Wills Moody	4–6, 6–4, 6–4
1926	Wimbledon (2)	Lilí de Álvarez	6–2, 4–6, 6–3

Runner-ups (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

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.

Husband

Kitty and her husband Leslie remain the only married couple ever to win the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon, ^[9]winning the title in 1926.

References

^ 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. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ Blue Plaque for Kathleen "Kitty" Godfree, Wimbledon Champion
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. p. 565. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. p. 565. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. p. 565. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. p. 565. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. p. 565. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
^ The History of All England Championships
^ Blue Plaque for Kathleen 'Kitty' Godfree, Wimbledon Champion

Tennis at the Summer Olympics • Olympic Champions in women's doubles

1920: Kathleen McKane & Winifred McNair • 1924: Hazel Wightman & Helen Wills Moody • 1988: Zina Garrison & Pam Shriver • 1992 - 1996: Gigi Fernández & Mary Joe Fernández • 2000: Serena Williams & Venus Williams • 2004: Sun Tiantian & Li Ting • 2008: Serena Williams & Venus Williams