Francisca "Panchita" Subirana Wolf (also y Lobo; 24 January 1900 – March 1981) was a Spanish tennis player.

Biography

Subirana was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. She won the city's tennis tournament five seasons (1916 - 1920). In 1920, she reached the final of the

World Hard Court Championships World Hard Court Championships were an annual major tennis tournament sanctioned by the International Lawn Tennis Federation, held from 1912 to 1923. It was principally held in Paris, on clay courts of the Stade Français in the Paris suburb of ...

which she lost to

Dorothy Holman Edith Dorothy Holman (18 July 1883 – 15 June 1968) was a British tennis player and three time ILTF world champion twice in singles winning the World Covered Court Championships in 1919, and the World Hard Court Championships in 1920 and once in ...

in straight sets. She was in the Spanish squad for the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

but did not play her first match against

Winifred McNair Winifred McNair (née Winifred Margaret Slocock, 9 August 1877 – 28 March 1954) was a tennis player from Great Britain. She is best remembered for her women's doubles (partnering Kathleen McKane) gold medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Be ...

. Around 1922, Subirana retired from tennis. In 1924, she married

Ricardo Wolf Ricardo Wolf (; originally Richard Wolf; also Ricardo Lobo Subirana, 1887–February 1981) was a German-born inventor, diplomat and philanthropist. After immigrating to Cuba, he served as its ambassador to Israel. In later life he and his wife r ...

(1887–1981), a German Jewish immigrant, in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

(where their names were changed to ''y Lobo'', the Spanish word for "

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

").Subirana y Lobo, Ricardo. Subirana y Lobo, Francisca. ''UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960'' In 1961, the couple moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

where Ricardo was assigned the Cuban ambassador by

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. After Ricardo retired from his diplomatic post in 1973, the Wolfs spent the rest of their lives in Israel. In 1975, they founded the

Wolf Foundation The Wolf Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization in Israel established in 1975 by Ricardo Wolf, a German-born Jewish Cuban inventor and former Cuban ambassador to Israel. Ricardo Wolf Ricardo Wolf, the founder of the Wolf Found ...

which awards the

Wolf Prize The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for "achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of natio ...

since 1978. Ricardo Wolf died at

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

in February 1981, and Francisca died there one month later at an age of 81.

World Championships finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

References

External links

* 1900 births 1981 deaths Spanish female tennis players Tennis players from Barcelona Date of death missing Sportswomen from Catalonia Spanish emigrants to Cuba 20th-century Spanish sportswomen {{Spain-tennis-bio-stub