The husband and wife who conquered Wimbledon! Trailblazer Kitty Godfree won two Women’s titles and even defeated her future spouse in the mixed doubles – before the pair united to become the only married couple to win the event at SW19
- Kitty Godfree triumphed in the women’s singles in 1924 and 1926
- Also beat husband Leslie in the doubles in 1924 before winning with him in 1926
- Latest Wimbledon 2023 news, including schedule, travel updates and results
She was the Wimbledon champion who kept tennis very much in the family.
Kitty Godfree won two singles titles at SW19 and went on to triumph in the mixed doubles with her husband Leslie in 1926 – two years after defeating him in the same category.
The couple remain the only husband and wife to win together at Wimbledon, but Kitty also contested the women’s doubles with her sister Margaret in 1922.
They were the only sisters to take part in a doubles final at Wimbledon until the year 2000, when Serena and Venus Williams won the event.
Away from the famous contest in south-west London, Kitty won five Olympic medals, including gold at the games in Antwerp in 1920.
Kitty Godfree won two singles titles at Wimbledon and went on to triumph in the mixed doubles with her husband Leslie in 1926. Above: The couple together
Kitty Godfree made her Wimbledon debut in 1919 and won her first singles title in 1924
Born Kathleen McKane in 1896, Godfree made her Wimbledon debut in 1919, winning her first singles title in 1924.
That victory saw her become the only woman to beat American tennis great Helen Wills at Wimbledon. Wills would go on to win eight singles titles at SW19.
By then, Godfree was also one of Britain’s best badminton players and had won seven of her eight titles in the rival sport.
She gained her last badminton title in 1925, the year before triumphing again in the women’s singles at Wimbledon.
All of this was achieved without any formal coaching.
Kitty’s dalliance with her future husband – who hit the first ever ball on Centre Court after its opening in 1922 – began when they were competing against each other.
In 1924, she beat Leslie in the mixed doubles when partnered up with Brian Gilbert, who had made it as far as the semi-finals in the men’s singles event in 1922.
Kitty and Leslie, then the captain of England’s tennis team, married secretly in South Africa in January 1926.
Incredibly, players did not then receive prize money at Wimbledon and instead female contestants were given vouchers for jewellers Mappin and Webb.
Ms Godfree admitted in 1991 how she broke the rules by saving up enough vouchers to buy a £70 ring, which she then sold to buy her dream first car.
Even after retirement, Kitty remained a keen tennis fan and was still playing at her local club beyond the age of 90. Above: Kitty at Wimbledon in 1984
Kitty Godfree is seen in action at Wimbledon. She won two singles titles and the mixed doubles twice
Kitty is seen competing before a huge audience at Wimbledon in 1923
Kitty is seen strolling onto the court for the women’s singles final with her Spanish opponent Lil de Alvarez in 1926
Incredibly, players did not then receive prize money at Wimbledon and instead female contestants were given vouchers for jewellers Mappin and Webb. Ms Godfree admitted in 1991 how she broke the rules by saving up enough vouchers to buy a £70 ring, which she then sold to buy her dream first car
Kitty and Leslie, then the captain of England’s tennis team, married secretly in South Africa in January 1926. Above: The Daily Mail’s report of the union
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she told how a friend suggested the idea. Having bought the ring, she went with him to a car dealer.
‘Then we went off to a motor dealer my boy friend knew and I saw his little open two-seater car – bright green with a little red devil on the bonnet,’ she said.
‘I called it the Red Devil. That was how I bought my first car and I never told anyone about it.’
Overall, Kitty amassed seven major tennis titles – including two victories at the US Open – and also represented Scotland at Lacrosse.
Even after retirement, Kitty remained a keen tennis fan and was still playing at her local club beyond the age of 90.
She was also a skilled skater who played cricket and took up golf in her sixties.
When she passed away aged 96 in 1992, she was also a keen cyclist.
Overall, Kitty amassed seven major tennis titles – including two victories at the US Open – and also represented Scotland at Lacrosse
Kitty is seen far right at Roehampton in 1926 with fellow female players (left to right) Bunny Ryan of America, Suzanne Lenglen of France, Didi Vlasto of France, fellow Britons Dorothea Lambert Chambers and Joan Fry, and Lili de Alvarez of Spain
Kitty (left) with fellow Wimbledon champions Suzanne Lenglen (centre) and Bunny Ryan
Suzanne Lenglen and Kitty Godfree walk off the court together after their match in 1925
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday last year, Kitty’s and Leslie’s son Martin told how his father kept the Centre Court ball in a drawer for decades.
Mr Godfree discovered it in 1947 but believes it was later thrown away after being savaged by moths.
‘I went into his room while he was getting dressed and a drawer which contained his socks was open,’ he said.
‘So, nosy little bugger that I probably was, I put my hand in and said: “Oh Dad, what’s this tennis ball doing here?”‘ Martin remembers.
‘Knowing him, he probably said: “Oh it was something that happened a few years ago.”
Kitty and Leslie married in 1926 had son Martin together. They are pictured above in 1926
Princess Anne hands a special commemorative pin to Kitty Godfree, then 91, at Buckingham Palace in 1988
Kitty (second from right) is seen with fellow players Joan Lycett, Evelyn Colyer and Betty Nutthall
Kitty Godfree is seen on the tennis court in 1934. She was by then a multiple champion
Kitty Godfree pictured holding her racquets in 1923
He continued: ‘It stayed there. He died in 1971 (aged 86) and I think it was probably there then.
‘But like all things woolly – and socks in those days were – the moth took a fancy to them. It also took a fancy to the nap on the tennis ball.
‘So the last time I remember seeing it, about the time he died, it was just a grey, uninteresting-looking round object.
‘I suspect, when it came to sorting out his belongings, that went in the bin… rather a sad story.’
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