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Simonne Mathieu

(Redirected from Simone Mathieu)

Simonne Mathieu[a] (French pronunciation: [simɔn matjø] née Passemard;)[1] (31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, who was active in the 1930s. She won the French Championships singles title in 1938 and 1939.

Simonne Mathieu
Full nameSimonne Emma Henriette Passemard-Mathieu
Country (sports) France
Born(1908-01-31)31 January 1908
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died7 January 1980(1980-01-07) (aged 71)
Chatou, France
PlaysRight–handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2006 (member page)
Singles
Career record510-94 (84.4%)
Career titles147
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1932, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenW (1938, 1939)
WimbledonSF (1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937)
US OpenQF (1938)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenW (1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939)
WimbledonW (1933, 1934, 1937)
US OpenF (1938)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenW (1937, 1938)
WimbledonF (1937)

During World War II, she created and led the Corps of French Volunteers in the Free French Forces, the first female unit in the military history of France.

Tennis career

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Mathieu is best remembered for winning two major singles titles 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.

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 21 among French women.

According to A. Wallis Myers and John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail respectively, Mathieu was ranked in the world top 10 from 1929 through 1939 (no rankings were issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world No. 3 in 1932.[2]

The winners' trophy of the women's doubles event at the French Open is named in her honour as the Coupe Simonne-Mathieu.[3]

World War II

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During World War II, Captain Mathieu was founder of the Corps Féminin Français, the women's volunteer branch of the Free French Forces, similar to the British Auxiliary Territorial Service.[4] Mathieu was succeeded in that position by Captain Hélène Terré.[5] For their service, each woman was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor.[6]

Honours

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She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.[7]

In November 2017, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced that the third show-court at Roland Garros will be named Court Simonne-Mathieu in her honor.[8]

Grand Slam finals

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

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1929 French Championships Clay   Helen Wills 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1932 French Championships Clay   Helen Wills 5–7, 1–6
Loss 1933 French Championships Clay   Margaret Scriven 2–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 1935 French Championships Clay   Hilde Krahwinkel 2–6, 1–6
Loss 1936 French Championships Clay   Hilde Krahwinkel 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1937 French Championships Clay   Hilde Krahwinkel 2–6, 4–6
Win 1938 French Championships Clay   Nelly Landry 6–0, 6–3
Win 1939 French Championships Clay   Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 6–3, 8–6

Doubles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1930 French Championships Clay   Simone Barbier   Elizabeth Ryan
  Helen Wills		 3–6, 1–6
Win 1933 French Championships Clay   Elizabeth Ryan   Sylvie Jung Henrotin
  Colette Rosambert		 6–1, 6–3
Win 1933 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Elizabeth Ryan   Freda James
  Billie Yorke		 6–2, 9–11, 6–4
Win 1934 French Championships Clay   Elizabeth Ryan   Helen Jacobs
  Sarah Palfrey		 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 1934 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Elizabeth Ryan   Dorothy Andrus
  Sylvie Jung Henrotin		 6–3, 6–3
Loss 1935 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Hilde Krahwinkel   Freda James
  Kay Stammers		 1–6, 4–6
Win 1936 French Championships Clay   Billie Yorke   Jadwiga Jędrzejowska
  Susan Noel		 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1937 French Championships Clay   Billie Yorke   Dorothy Andrus
  Sylvie Jung Henrotin		 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win 1937 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Billie Yorke   Phyllis King
  Elsie Goldsack		 6–3, 6–3
Win 1938 French Championships Clay   Billie Yorke   Nelly Adamson
  Arlette Halff		 6–3, 6–3
Loss 1938 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Billie Yorke   Sarah Palfrey
  Alice Marble		 2–6, 3–6
Loss 1938 US Championships Grass   Jadwiga Jędrzejowska   Sarah Palfrey
  Alice Marble		 8–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win 1939 French Championships Clay   Jadwiga Jędrzejowska   Alice Florian
  Hella Kovac		 7–5, 7–5

Mixed doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1937 French Championships Clay   Yvon Petra   Marie-Luise Horn
  Roland Journu		 7–5, 7–5
Loss 1937 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Yvon Petra   Alice Marble
  Don Budge		 1–6, 4–6
Win 1938 French Championships Clay   Dragutin Mitić   Nancye Wynne Bolton
  Christian Boussus		 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1939 French Championships Clay   Franjo Kukuljević   Sarah Palfrey
  Elwood Cooke		 6–4, 1–6, 5–7

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 – 1944 1945 19461 Career SR
Australian Open A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A NH NH A 0 / 0
French Championships 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
US Championships 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

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

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

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Also spelled "Simone" in several sources.

References

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  1. ^ "Who is the real Simonne? – Roland-Garros – The 2022 Roland-Garros Tournament official site". Roland Garros. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ 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 978-0-942257-41-0.
  3. ^ "An A to Z of Roland Garros". rolandgarros.com. Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  4. ^ Hammerton, John, ed. (10 April 1941). "Free French 'A.T.S.'". The War Illustrated. 4 (84). London: William Berry: 384. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  5. ^ "» Les volontaires féminines de la France Libre" (in French). 2 July 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  6. ^ Franck Lehodey (December 2010 – January 2011). "Simonne Mathieu, libre arbitre" (PDF). Tennis Info (in French) (428): 24. ISSN 0221-8127.
  7. ^ "Hall of Famers – Simonne Mathieu". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Simonne Mathieu, more than just a tennis great". rolandgarros.com. Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT). 23 November 2017.
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