Wimbledon women

The history of amateur tennis pre- and post-Second World War has been dominated by the sporting biographies of male players with women’s stories largely ignored. This chapter, based largely on Janine van Someren’s doctoral research, ¹ addresses this omission within the historiography. By focusing on the previously untold stories of four British tennis players – Mrs. Phyllis King (née Mudford, who competed at the Wimbledon Championships 1928–53), Mrs. Joan Hughesman (née Curry, Wimbledon 1939–60), Mrs. Joy Michelle (née Hibbert, Wimbledon 1947–57) and Mrs. Christine Janes (née Truman, Wimbledon 1957–74) – it also illuminates women’s experiences “on tour” before the coming of the open era in 1968. Reference is also made to player biographies published either in Britain or the US. These women and their contemporaries lived through interesting times for tennis – times in which important questions about class, gender and the female body were raised and grappled with.