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Pauline May Betz Addie (née Betz, August 6, 1919 – May 31, 2011) was an American professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills.
Betz won the first of her four singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1942, saving a match point in the semifinals against Margaret Osborne while trailing 3–5 in the final set. She defeated Louise Brough in a close final in both 1942 and 1943.
In 1943, she won the Tri-State tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, defeating Catherine Wolf in the final without losing a point in the first set, a "golden set". In 1944, she won the final of the U.S. Championships against Margaret Osborne duPont.
She won the Wimbledon singles title in 1946, defeating Louise Brough in the final, the only time she entered the tournament, without losing a set. At the 1946 French Championships, held that year after Wimbledon, she lost the final in three sets to Margaret Osborne after failing to convert two match points. At the U.S. Championships in 1946, she defeated Patricia Canning Todd in the semifinal and Doris Hart in the final.
According to John Olliff, Betz was ranked world no. 1 in 1946 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945). She was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1939 through 1946. She was the top ranked U.S. player from 1942 through 1944 and in 1946.
Pauline Betz won the Cleveland Women's World Professional Championships in 1953, 1955, and 1956, defeating Doris Hart, the reigning U.S. champion, in the 1956 final. In May 1956, she also played another match against Hart at Milwaukee, winning in two straight sets.
R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.
1In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.
Professional
Her amateur career ended in 1947 when the USTA revoked her amateur status for exploring the possibilities of turning professional. Betz played two professional tours of matches against Sarah Palfrey Cooke (1947) and Gussie Moran (1951). A professional tour against Maureen Connolly was planned for 1955, but did not materialize due to Connolly's career-ending injury.
Death
Betz died of complications related to Parkinson's disease on May 31, 2011. She is buried with her husband Bob Addie in a double plot in St Gabriel Cemetery in Potomac, Maryland.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson
Awards and honors
On September 2, 1946, Betz appeared on the cover of TIME magazine.
Betz was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965. In 1995, she was inducted in the ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. The Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac, Maryland, was renamed in her honor on May 1, 2008. Addie, Albert Ritzenberg, and Stanly Hoffberger founded the center in 1972.
Grand Slam finals
Singles (5 titles, 3 runners-up)
5–7, 2–6 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 6–3, 8–6 6–3, 6–8, 4–6 6–2, 6–4 6–2, 6–8, 5–7 11–9, 6–3
Doubles: 7 (7 runner-ups)
6–3, 1–6, 4–6 6–2, 5–7, 0–6 4–6, 3–6 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 3–6, 3–6 3–6, 6–2, 3–6 4–6, 6–0, 1–6
Mixed Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
6–4, 4–6, 4–6 8–10, 4–6 7–5, 9–7
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
Australian Open A A NH NH NH NH NH A 0 / 0 French Open A NH R R R R A F 0 / 1 Wimbledon A NH NH NH NH NH NH W 1 / 1 U.S. Championships 1R QF F W W W F W 4 / 8 SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 1 / 1 1 / 1 1 / 1 0 / 1 2 / 3 5 / 10
Personal life
In 1949, Betz published an autobiography titled Wings on my Tennis Shoes. That same year she married Bob Addie, born Addonizio, a sportswriter for the Washington Times-Herald and Washington Post. The couple had five children, including poet and novelist Kim Addonizio, Rusty, Gary, Jon and Rick. Her granddaughter Aya Cash is an actress. Betz died in her sleep on May 31, 2011, aged 91.
Records
Tine Scheuer-Larsen (1995) Yaroslava Shvedova (2012)
See also
External links
Categories: 1919 Births, 2011 Deaths, Pauline Betz, American Female Tennis Players, French Championships Champions, International Tennis Hall Of Fame Inductees, Sportspeople From Dayton, Ohio, Tennis Players From Los Angeles, Rollins Tars Women's Tennis Players, Tennis Players From Ohio, United States National Champions, Wimbledon Champions, Grand Slam Champions In Women's Singles, Grand Slam Champions In Mixed Doubles, Professional Tennis Players Before The Open Era, World Number 1 Ranked Female Tennis Players, Rollins College Alumni, Columbia Graduate School Of Arts And Sciences Alumni, 20th-century American Sportswomen
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