Black Country born tennis champion
TENNIS ace Dorothy Round was born at 25 Grange Road, Dudley, on July 13, 1909, the daughter of builder and contractor, John Benjamin Round and Maude Helena, née Williams.
She began to play tennis seriously at the age of 12, her game helped by practising against her three elder brothers. Dorothy first made her mark in the tennis world in 1924, at a competition at Pwllheli, where, wearing her Dudley Girls’ High School blazer and playing with an old racquet, she faced experienced Wimbledon veteran Joan Strawson. The teenager lost but still played some impressive tennis.
In 1928 Dorothy first played at Wimbledon but lost in the first round. She made the second round in 1929 and in 1932 she reached the quarter finals.
In the 1930s, women’s tennis was dominated by ‘the two Helens’ – American arch rivals Helen Wills Moody and Helen Jacobs. At the 1933 US championships, Dorothy Round lost her semi-final to Helen Jacobs and that same year she lost in the final at Wimbledon to Helen Wills Moody. But in 1934, Helen Wills Moody was absent from Wimbledon and Dorothy reached the final again, facing Helen Jacobs, who had beaten her in their last four matches.
Dorothy took the game to her opponent, never letting Jacobs settle into her usual grass court rhythm. The match went to three sets, with Dorothy triumphant – 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
For the Wimbledon home crowd, used to the dominance of American players, it was an epic victory – made even more momentous as, with Fred Perry’s victory in the men’s singles, it was the first British Wimbledon double since 1909.
Dorothy went on to win the Australian Open in 1935, the first overseas player to be champion, and won Wimbledon for a second time in 1937. She was also mixed doubles champion at Wimbledon in 1934, partnered by Ryuki Miki of Japan, and again in 1935 and 1936, when she was played alongside Fred Perry.