Simonne Mathieu

Simonne Mathieu^[a] (French pronunciation: [simɔn matjø] née Passemard;)^[1] (31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, who was active in the 1930s. She won the French Championships singles title in 1938 and 1939.

Simonne Mathieu

Full name	Simonne Emma Henriette Passemard-Mathieu
Country (sports)	France
Born	(1908-01-31)31 January 1908 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died	7 January 1980(1980-01-07) (aged 71) Chatou, France
Plays	Right–handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2006 (member page)
Singles
Career record	510-94 (84.4%)
Career titles	147
Highest ranking	No. 3 (1932, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	W (1938, 1939)
Wimbledon	SF (1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937)
US Open	QF (1938)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	W (1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939)
Wimbledon	W (1933, 1934, 1937)
US Open	F (1938)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	W (1937, 1938)
Wimbledon	F (1937)

During World War II, she created and led the Corps of French Volunteers in the Free French Forces, the first female unit in the military history of France.

Tennis career

Mathieu is best remembered for winning two major singles titles at the French Championships (in 1938 and 1939), and for reaching the final of that tournament an additional six times, in 1929, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1937. In those finals, she lost three times to Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, twice to Helen Wills Moody, and once to Margaret Scriven.

Mathieu won 11 Grand Slam doubles championships: three women's doubles titles at Wimbledon (1933–34, 1937), six women's doubles titles at the French Championships (1933–34, 1936–39), and two mixed-doubles titles at the French Championships (1937–38). She completed the rare triple at the French Championships in 1938, winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed-doubles titles.

Mathieu's 13 Grand Slam titles are second only to Suzanne Lenglen's 21 among French women.

According to A. Wallis Myers and John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail respectively, Mathieu was ranked in the world top 10 from 1929 through 1939 (no rankings were issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world No. 3 in 1932.^[2]

The winners' trophy of the women's doubles event at the French Open is named in her honour as the Coupe Simonne-Mathieu.^[3]

World War II

During World War II, Captain Mathieu was founder of the Corps Féminin Français, the women's volunteer branch of the Free French Forces, similar to the British Auxiliary Territorial Service.^[4] Mathieu was succeeded in that position by Captain Hélène Terré.^[5] For their service, each woman was named an Officer of the Legion of Honor.^[6]

Honours

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.^[7]

In November 2017, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced that the third show-court at Roland Garros will be named Court Simonne-Mathieu in her honor.^[8]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1929	French Championships	Clay	Helen Wills	3–6, 4–6
Loss	1932	French Championships	Clay	Helen Wills	5–7, 1–6
Loss	1933	French Championships	Clay	Margaret Scriven	2–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss	1935	French Championships	Clay	Hilde Krahwinkel	2–6, 1–6
Loss	1936	French Championships	Clay	Hilde Krahwinkel	3–6, 4–6
Loss	1937	French Championships	Clay	Hilde Krahwinkel	2–6, 4–6
Win	1938	French Championships	Clay	Nelly Landry	6–0, 6–3
Win	1939	French Championships	Clay	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	6–3, 8–6

Doubles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1930	French Championships	Clay	Simone Barbier	Elizabeth Ryan Helen Wills	3–6, 1–6
Win	1933	French Championships	Clay	Elizabeth Ryan	Sylvie Jung Henrotin Colette Rosambert	6–1, 6–3
Win	1933	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	Freda James Billie Yorke	6–2, 9–11, 6–4
Win	1934	French Championships	Clay	Elizabeth Ryan	Helen Jacobs Sarah Palfrey	3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1934	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	Dorothy Andrus Sylvie Jung Henrotin	6–3, 6–3
Loss	1935	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Hilde Krahwinkel	Freda James Kay Stammers	1–6, 4–6
Win	1936	French Championships	Clay	Billie Yorke	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska Susan Noel	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	1937	French Championships	Clay	Billie Yorke	Dorothy Andrus Sylvie Jung Henrotin	3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win	1937	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Billie Yorke	Phyllis King Elsie Goldsack	6–3, 6–3
Win	1938	French Championships	Clay	Billie Yorke	Nelly Adamson Arlette Halff	6–3, 6–3
Loss	1938	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Billie Yorke	Sarah Palfrey Alice Marble	2–6, 3–6
Loss	1938	US Championships	Grass	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	Sarah Palfrey Alice Marble	8–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win	1939	French Championships	Clay	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska	Alice Florian Hella Kovac	7–5, 7–5

Mixed doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1937	French Championships	Clay	Yvon Petra	Marie-Luise Horn Roland Journu	7–5, 7–5
Loss	1937	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Yvon Petra	Alice Marble Don Budge	1–6, 4–6
Win	1938	French Championships	Clay	Dragutin Mitić	Nancye Wynne Bolton Christian Boussus	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	1939	French Championships	Clay	Franjo Kukuljević	Sarah Palfrey Elwood Cooke	6–4, 1–6, 5–7

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941 – 1944	1945	19461	Career SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	A	0 / 0
French Championships	QF	QF	3R	A	F	QF	QF	F	F	SF	F	F	F	W	W	NH	R	A	A	2 / 14
Wimbledon	A	1R	2R	A	3R	SF	SF	SF	QF	SF	QF	SF	SF	QF	QF	NH	NH	NH	1R	0 / 14
US Championships	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	QF	1R	A	A	A	A	0 / 2
SR	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	1 / 3	1 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 1	2 / 30

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

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

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

Notes

1. Also spelled "Simone" in several sources.