Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (née McKane; 7 May 1896 – 19 June 1992) was a British

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with Katherine Grainger According to

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. John ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Godfree was ranked in the world top 10 from 1921 (when the rankings began) through 1927, reaching a career high of world No. 2 in these rankings in 1923, 1924, and 1926. Kathleen McKane playing July 1923

Godfree won five Olympic medals in tennis at the 1920 Antwerp and 1924 Paris games, the most Olympic medals won by a tennis player until Venus Williams matched this record at the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. In 1923, she captured the title at the

World Covered Court Championships The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three major world championships sanctioned from 1913 to 1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue changed ...

. Godfree won the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

singles title twice. In the 1924 final, Godfree recovered from a set and 4–1 (40–15) down against Helen Wills to win the title. This was the only defeat at Wimbledon for Wills who later won 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 ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

. The 1924 Wimbledon final was not Godfree's only victory over Wills. Godfree also defeated Wills during the 1924 Wightman Cup 6–2, 6–2.Collins, Bud (2008) p. 565 On at least two other occasions, Godfree pushed Wills to the limit. Wills 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. In the final of the 1925 U.S. Championships, Wills won in three sets. In 1925, Godfree became the first person to have reached the singles finals of the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, Wimbledon, and U.S. Championships during her career. In 1922, Kitty and her sister

Margaret McKane Stocks Margaret Stocks née Margaret McKane (1895-1985) was an English badminton and tennis player. She was born in London in 1895, and she married Andrew Denys Stocks in 1921. She came to prominence the same year when winning the All England women's ...

were the only sisters to contest a Wimbledon doubles final (until Serena and Venus Williams reached the final in 2000), losing to

Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...

and

Elizabeth Ryan Elizabeth Montague Ryan (February 5, 1892 – July 6, 1979) was an American tennis player who was born in Anaheim, California, but lived most of her adult life in the United Kingdom. Ryan won 26 Grand Slam titles, 19 in women's doubles and mix ...

6–0, 6–4. Godfree's lifetime record at Wimbledon was 38–11 in singles, 33–12 in women's doubles, and 40–12 in mixed doubles. Godfree received a Centenary medallion on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 1977. She presented the winner's trophy to

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

in 1986, in honour of the centenary year of play at Wimbledon. Godfree was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978. In badminton, Godfree won eight All England Open Badminton Championships from 1920 through 1925, considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships until 1977. She was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1987 when she was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

while shopping in a supermarket in East Sheen. Godfree died on 19 June 1992 at the age of 96.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Doubles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

¹Through 1923, the French Championships were open only to French nationals and foreigners who had membership with a French tennis club. 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 Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

remain the only married couple to have won the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon,Blue Plaque for Kathleen 'Kitty' Godfree, Wimbledon Champion
/ref> winning the title in 1926. Kitty has also been referred to as Mrs. L. A. Godfree on sportscards and in reference material.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfree, Kathleen McKane 1896 births 1992 deaths English female badminton players English Olympic medallists People educated at St Paul's Girls' School Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Westminster People educated at St Leonards School International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1920 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis English female tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Tennis people from Greater London British female tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles