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Helen Wills Biography

Early Years, Center Court, Chronology, Retirements And Comebacks, "little Miss Poker Face", "every Woman Who Goes Into Athletics Owes Something To Her"



1905-1998

American tennis player

Helen Wills revolutionized the face of sports for American women. At a time when women were not thought capable of athletic achievement, Wills played some of the best tennis in the world, with a strength and ferocity that was far more typical of the male athletes of her time than of the female ones. She was not only dominant in women's tennis, winning thirty-one Grand Slam events over the course of her career, but she also played and beat some of the top-ranked men of her time, including the ranking Italian men's champion and the best player at Stamford University.



Sketch by Julia Bauder

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsTennis