Simone Mathieu

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Simone Mathieu
Country France France
Born (1908-01-31)31 January 1908
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died 7 January 1980(1980-01-07) (aged 71)
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open W (1938, 1939)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon W (1933, 1934, 1937)
US Open F (1938)

Simone Mathieu (31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a female tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine.

Contents

Career[edit]

Mathieu is best remembered for winning the singles title at the French Championships in 1938 and 1939 and for reaching the final of that tournament an additional six times, in 1929, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1937. In those finals, she lost three times to Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, twice to Helen Wills Moody, and once to Margaret Scriven-Vivian.

Mathieu won 11 Grand Slam doubles championships: three women's doubles titles at Wimbledon (1933–34, 1937), six women's doubles titles at the French Championships (1933–34, 1936–39), and two mixed doubles titles at the French Championships (1937–38). She completed the rare triple at the French Championships in 1938, winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles titles.

Mathieu's 13 Grand Slam titles are second only to Suzanne Lenglen's 31 among French women.

According to Wallis Myers and John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Mathieu was ranked in the world top ten from 1929 through 1939 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of World No. 3 in those rankings in 1932.[1]

During the Second World War, Mathieu was head of the Corps Féminin Français, the women branch of the Free French Forces, similar to the British Auxiliary Territorial Service.[2]

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.

Major finals[edit]

Grand Slam tournaments[edit]

Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)[edit]

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1929 French Championships Clay United States Helen Wills 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 1932 French Championships Clay United States Helen Wills 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up 1933 French Championships Clay United Kingdom Margaret Scriven 2–6, 6–4, 4–6
Runner-up 1935 French Championships Clay Nazi Germany Hilde Krahwinkel 2–6, 1–6
Runner-up 1936 French Championships Clay Nazi Germany Hilde Krahwinkel 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 1937 French Championships Clay Nazi Germany Hilde Krahwinkel 2–6, 4–6
Winner 1938 French Championships Clay France Nelly Landry 6–0, 6–3
Winner 1939 French Championships Clay Poland Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 6–3, 8–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline[edit]

Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 – 1944 1945 19461 Career SR
Australia A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NH NH A 0 / 0
France QF QF 3R A F QF QF F F SF F F F W W NH R A A 2 / 14
Wimbledon A 1R 2R A 3R SF SF SF QF SF QF SF SF QF QF NH NH NH 1R 0 / 14
United States A A A A A A A A A A A A A QF 1R A A A A 0 / 2
SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 1 / 3 1 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 2 / 30

A = did not participate in the tournament.

NH = tournament not held.

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

1In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701–2. ISBN 0-942257-41-3. 
  2. ^ Hammerton, John (editor) (10 April 1941). "Free French 'A.T.S.'". The War Illustrated (London: William Berry) (Volume 4, issue no. 84): 384. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 

External links[edit]

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