Simonne Mathieu
French tennis player

Simonne Mathieu

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French tennis player
A.K.A.
Simone Mathieu, Simone Passemard
Gender:
Female
Places:
France
Is:
AthleteTennis player
Work field:
Sports
Birth:
31 January 1908(Neuilly-sur-Seine, France)
Death:
7 January 1980(Chatou, France)
Star sign:
Aquarius
Family:
Spouse(s):
René Mathieu
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Biography

Introduction

Simonne Mathieu ([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, 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 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 10 from 1929 through 1939 (no rankings were issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world No. 3 in 1932.

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

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. Mathieu was succeeded in that position by Captain Hélène Terré. For their service, each woman was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor.

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

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.

Grand Slam tournaments finals

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

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)

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)

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

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent;(NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 – 1944 1945 1946 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.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.