Dorothy Head Knode
| Country (sports) | File:Flag of the United States (23px).png United States |
|---|---|
| Born | July 4, 1925 Richmond, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 25, 2015 (aged 90) Novato, California, U.S. |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 661-220 (75%) |
| Career titles | 89 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (1955, 1957) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | F (1955, 1957) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1953, 1957) |
| US Open | SF (1955, 1957) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | {{#property:P555}} |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | F (1956) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | 2R (1967) |
Alice[1] Dorothy Head Knode (née Head; July 4, 1925[2] – October 25, 2015), also known as Dottie Head Knode, was an American tennis player who reached the women's singles final of the French International Championships in 1955, losing to Angela Mortimer in three sets, and 1957, losing to Shirley Bloomer in straight sets. She reached the semifinals of six other Grand Slam singles tournaments from 1952 through 1957.
Career
[edit | edit source]In 1948, she won the singles title at the Cincinnati Masters (then known as the Tri-State Championships) after defeating Mercedes Madden Lewis in the final in straight sets.[3] Knode won the singles title at the German Championships in 1950, 1952, and 1953. She also won the singles title at the U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships in 1951, 1955, 1958, and 1960 and the bronze medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago.[4] She and partner Darlene Hard were the runners-up in women's doubles at the 1956 French International Championships, losing to the team of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton 6–8, 8–6, 6–1.
According to Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Knode was ranked in the world top 10 in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, and 1958 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of World No. 5 in those rankings in 1955 and 1957.[5] Knode was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1956 through 1959. She was the third-ranked United States player in 1957 and 1959.[6]
Her other career singles highlights include winning the Alexandria International Championships in Alexandria, Egypt in 1958.[7]
In October 2008, Knode was still active in international and national senior events.[citation needed] She won the 80-and-over Super-Seniors World Individual Championships in Antalya, Turkey in 2005.
She died in Novato, California, in October 2015 at the age of 90[8] after suffering from arthritis and Alzheimer's.[9]
Grand Slam finals
[edit | edit source]Singles: (2 runner-ups)
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | United Kingdom Angela Mortimer | 6–2, 5–7, 8–10 |
| Loss | 1957 | French Championships | Clay | United Kingdom Shirley Bloomer | 1–6, 3–6 |
Doubles (1 runner-up)
[edit | edit source]| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1956 | French Championships | Clay | United States Darlene Hard | United Kingdom Angela Buxton United States Althea Gibson |
8–6, 6–8, 1–6 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
[edit | edit source]| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 19461 | 19471 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | NH | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships | R | R | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | SF | SF | A | F | 3R | F | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | 1R | 0 / 10 |
| Wimbledon | NH | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | 4R | A | 4R | SF | A | QF | 2R | SF | 2R | A | 3R | A | A | 3R | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 11 |
| U.S. Championships | QF | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | 3R | 2R | A | 3R | A | A | 1R | SF | QF | SF | QF | QF | A | A | 4R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 15 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 36 |
R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.
1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Prominent Women Tennis Players: Basic Facts
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- ^ Ancestry LifeStory: Alice Dorothy Head
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Dorothy Head Knode at the International Tennis FederationLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1925 births
- 2015 deaths
- American female tennis players
- Tennis players from Contra Costa County, California
- 20th-century American sportswomen
- Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in tennis
- Sportspeople from Richmond, California