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

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 ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with

Katherine Grainger Dame Katherine Jane Grainger (born 12 November 1975) is a Scottish athlete. She is a 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallist, four-time Olympic silver medallist and six-time World Champion for Great Britain. She served as Chancellor of Oxford Broo ...

. According to A. Wallis Myers 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 Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...

matched this record at the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. 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 change ...

. 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 * W ...

singles title twice. In the 1924 final, Godfree recovered from a set and 4–1 (40–15) down against

Helen Wills Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, ...

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. The 1924 Wimbledon final was not Godfree's only victory over Wills. Godfree also defeated Wills during the 1924

Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generat ...

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 (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events eve ...

, 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

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 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

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in 1986, in honour of the centenary year of play at Wimbledon. Godfree was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

in 1978. In badminton, Godfree won eight

All England Open Badminton Championships The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament, held annually in England. With the introduction of the BWF's latest grading system, it was given Super Series status in 2007, upgraded to Super Series Premi ...

from 1920 through 1925, considered the unofficial World Badminton Championships until 1977. She was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' 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 ...

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, 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 competitors 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 for Great Britain People from Bayswater Tennis players from the City of 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 British 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 Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles 20th-century English sportswomen