(1909 – 1982)
Wimbledon Champion in 1934 and 1937, Dorothy is not the only woman smashing it out of the park – this visit marks my 100th statue!
As well as Wimbledon titles, Dorothy won the 1935 Australian Championships and had success as a mixed doubles player at Wimbledon, winning a total of three titles.
Dorothy won her first junior tennis tournament at 16, making her Wimbledon debut at the age of 18. By the 1933 Wimbledon Championships, she was seeded no. 2 but declined to compete in the French Championships that same year, as, because of her religious convictions, she did not want to play on a Sunday. Dorothy’s Methodist faith was integral to her and she continued to teach at a Methodist Sunday School in Dudley even at the height of her fame.
Her wedding day in 1937 drew huge crowds of onlookers with journalists at the event calling it ‘a riot’. Check out the archived footage if you can, it’s great to see a crowd get behind a female sports hero.
Dorothy’s daughter unveiled the sculpture near Priory Park’s tennis courts in her hometown of Dudley. The statue is entitled, The Return of Dorothy Round, capturing her quick paced return serves. She could definitely take someone out with that racket.
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