Pauline Betz

Early life Betz attended Los Angeles High School and learned her tennis from Dick Skeen. She continued her tennis and education at Rollins College (graduating in 1943), where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Betz earned an MA in economics from Columbia University.

Career Amateur Betz won the Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1941 and also won the Eastern Grass Court Championships that same year with a close win in the final against Sarah Palfrey Cooke. She won the Dixie International Championships three times (1940–1942).

Betz won the first of her four singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1942, saving a match point in the semifinals against Margaret Osborne while trailing 3–5 in the final set. She defeated Louise Brough in a close final in both 1942 and 1943.

In 1943, she won the Tri-State tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, defeating Catherine Wolf in the final without losing a point in the first set, She was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1939 through 1946. She was the top ranked U.S. player from 1942 through 1944 and in 1946.

Professional Her amateur career ended in 1947 when the USLTA revoked her amateur status for exploring the possibilities of turning professional. Betz played two professional tours of matches against Sarah Palfrey Cooke (1947) and Gussie Moran (1951).

Pauline Betz won the Cleveland Women's World Professional Championships in 1953, 1955, and 1956, defeating Doris Hart, the reigning U.S. champion, in the 1956 final. In May 1956, she also played another match against Hart at Milwaukee, winning in two straight sets.

Death Betz died of complications related to Parkinson's disease on May 31, 2011. She is buried with her husband Bob Addie in a double plot in St Gabriel Cemetery in Potomac, Maryland.

Awards and honors On September 2, 1946, Betz appeared on the cover of TIME magazine. The Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park in Potomac, Maryland, was renamed in her honor on May 1, 2008. Addie, Albert Ritzenberg, and Stanly Hoffberger founded the center in 1972.

Grand Slam finals Singles (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Doubles: 7 (7 runner-ups)

Mixed Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups) ResultYearChampionship SurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1941 U.S. Championships Grass Bobby Riggs Sarah Palfrey Jack Kramer 6–4, 4–6, 4–6Loss 1943 U.S. Championships Grass Pancho Segura Margaret Osborne Bill Talbert 8–10, 4–6Win 1946 French Championships Clay Budge Patty Dorothy Bundy Tom Brown 7–5, 9–7

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 19461 Career SR Australian ChampionshipsAA NH NH NH NH NHA 0 / 0 French ChampionshipsA NH R R R RA F 0 / 1 WimbledonA NH NH NH NH NH NH W 1 / 1 U.S. Championships1RQF F W W W F W 4 / 8 SR0 / 10 / 10 / 11 / 11 / 11 / 10 / 12 / 3 5 / 10

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.

1In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

Personal life In 1949, Betz published an autobiography titled Wings on my Tennis Shoes. That same year she married Bob Addie, born Addonizio, a sportswriter for the Washington Times-Herald and Washington Post.

Records