Tag: Dorothy Round

Dorothy Round

(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.

Wimbledon Busts – Various female champions

In 2004, The All England Lawn Tennis Club commissioned sculptor Ian Rank-Broadly to produce five bronze busts of the former Ladies’ Singles British Champions to sit outside Centre Court:

Kathleen ‘Kitty’ McKane Godfrey (1896-1992) – 1924 and 1926 Champion

Dorothy Round (1909-1982) – 1934 and 1937 Champion

Angela Mortimer (1932 -2025) – 1961 Champion
Written off by a tennis coach as she only started playing the sport at the age of 15, Angela went on to become the 1961 Wimbledon Champion, beating fellow Brit Christine Truman – the first all British women’s final since 1914.  What made the match all the more unusual, was that both players had a sensory disability.  Angela was partially deaf and her competitor Christine Truman was almost blind in one eye.  Seen as an outlier and tennis amateur, Angela’s victory earned her a £20 voucher to spend at a sport shop.

Ann Haydon Jones (1938 – ) – 1969 Champion
Beating Billie Jean King at Wimbledon, Ann was the first left-handed female player to do so.

Virginia Wade (1945 – ) – 1977 Champion
I get sidetracked researching Virginia’s tennis career as she was the model used in David Wynne’s Tower Bridge sculpture, ‘Girl with a Dolphin’. Wow.  Even more wow, Virginia still holds the title of last British woman champion. 

I rock up at Wimbledon having not booked anything in the hope I can get some pictures of the busts.  Access denied.  As it turns out, even with booking a tour, it seems that the route does not feature the artwork.  My only hope is to get a Wimbledon final ticket or improve my backhand – whichever happens first.

I’m still trying to see them.  If anyone has friends in high places please get in touch.  In the meantime, I (think) I have captured them thus.