Helga Niessen Masthoff (née Niessen; born 11 November 1941) is a former

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Her best Grand Slam singles tournament was when she reached the 1970 French Open final, losing to

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian former world number 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Her 24 women's singles major titles and total of 64 major titles (includi ...

in straight sets. She won the German Open three consecutive years from 1972 through 1974, beating

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova (, ; ; born October18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, singles for 332 weeks (List of WTA number ...

in the 1974 final, in three sets. Masthoff was the runner-up at that tournament in 1971, losing to

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in w ...

. She won the German national singles title on ten occasions (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978). At the 1968 Olympic Games in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

when tennis was a demonstration sport, Masthoff won the singles and doubles (with Edda Buding) gold medals and the silver medal in mixed doubles (with Jürgen Faßbender). Masthoff teamed with

Kathleen Harter Kathleen Harter (born October 27, 1946) is a former nationally ranked tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of ...

to reach the women's doubles final at the 1976 French Open, losing to the team of Fiorella Bonicelli and Gail Sherriff Lovera 6–4, 1–6, 6–3. Masthoff played on West Germany's Fed Cup team from 1965 to 1967, in 1969 and 1970, and from 1972 through 1977. Her overall win–loss record was 38–18, 23–10 in singles and 15–8 in doubles. According to

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

, Masthoff was ranked in the world top 10 in 1970, 1971, and 1973, reaching a career high of world No. 6 in 1970. In 1970, she received the

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (, ), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and Paralympic Games ...

(Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Grand Slam singles performance

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977 (in January and December).

References

External links