Leslie Allison Godfree (27 April 1885 – 17 November 1971) was a British male tennis player who was especially successful in doubles and mixed doubles.

Biography

Educated at

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

, Godfree played at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

from 1920 to 1930. While in singles he dropped out of the competition after the first or second round each year, he won the doubles title partnering

Randolph Lycett Randolph Lycett (27 August 1886 – 9 February 1935) was a British tennis player. Lycett is primarily known for his success in doubles, winning 5 men's doubles and 3 mixed doubles slams. He was also the runner-up at the 1922 Wimbledon men's si ...

in 1923. In January 1926, he married

Kathleen McKane Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (née McKane; 7 May 1896 – 19 June 1992) was a British tennis and badminton player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with Katherine Grainger According to A. Wallis Myers of ''The Dail ...

, a two time Wimbledon singles champion. In the same year, the newly married couple took the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, being the only married couple ever to win this championship. Leslie had already reached the mixed doubles final two years earlier in 1924 where he was beaten by his future wife Kitty, and the couple would again in 1927. Apart from Wimbledon, the Godfrees played at 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 ve ...

in 1926 where they could advance to the semifinals in mixed doubles. In 1930, Godfree took part at the U.S. Championships where he reached the quarterfinals in mixed doubles, this time partnering Mercedes Malowe. He was also member of the

British Davis Cup team The Great Britain Davis Cup team has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900 in the Davis Cup. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European associat ...

from 1923 to 1927 and competed at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The o ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title)

Mixed doubles: (1 title, 2 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfree, Leslie 1885 births 1971 deaths Sportspeople from Brighton English male tennis players Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Olympic tennis players of Great Britain Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics British male tennis players Tennis people from East Sussex