Simonne Mathieu

Simonne Mathieu

Full name	Simonne Passemard-Mathieu
Country (sports)	France
Born	31 January 1908 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died	7 January 1980 (aged 71)
Plays	Right–handed
Int. Tennis HoF	2006 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 3 (1932, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	W (1938, 1939)
Wimbledon	SF (1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1933, 1934, 1937)
US Open	F (1938)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1937, 1938)
Wimbledon	F (1937)

Simonne Mathieu (French pronunciation: ​[simɔn matjø]; 31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a female tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine who was active in the 1930s. Her first name is spelled "Simone" in many sources.

Career

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

The winners' trophy of the Women's Doubles event at the French Open is named in her honour as the Coupe Simone-Mathieu.^[2]

During the Second World War, Mathieu was head of the Corps Féminin Français, the women's branch of the Free French Forces, similar to the British Auxiliary Territorial Service.^[3] She received the title of Officier de la Légion d'honneur.^[4]

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.^[5]

Grand Slam tournaments finals

Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runners-up)

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

Doubles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runners-up)

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

Mixed doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

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

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

R#

RR

Q#

A

NH

(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; or (NH) tournament not held.

Tournament	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941 – 1944	1945	1946^1	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

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

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

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. "An A to Z of Roland Garros". www.rolandgarros.com. Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT).
3. 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.
4. Franck Lehodey (December 2010 – January 2011). "Simonne Mathieu, libre arbitre" (pdf). Tennis Info (in French) (428): 24. ISSN 0221-8127.
5. "Hall of Famers – Simonne Mathieu". International Tennis Hall of Fame.

External links

• Simonne Mathieu at the International Tennis Hall of Fame