Between the wars
France · born Marseille, 1911 · died 2007 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1932 with Josane Sigart
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1932
Wimbledon ladies' doubles title, with Josane Sigart of Belgium
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Wimbledon ladies' doubles finals in a row, 1931 and 1932
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Match points saved in the first round in 1932, on the way to the title
6-4, 6-3
1932 final win over Helen Jacobs and Elizabeth Ryan
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French junior titles, 1927 and 1928
Doris Emily Metaxa was born on 12 June 1911 in Marseille, into a family of Greek origin, and played for France as a member of Racing Club de France. She won the French junior championship in 1927 and 1928. In singles her best results were the third round at the French Championships in 1931 and 1932 and the last 16 at Wimbledon in 1932.
Her grass court career was short and built on one partnership. With the Belgian Josane Sigart she reached the Wimbledon ladies' doubles final in 1931 as fourth seeds, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the unseeded British pair Dorothy Shepherd-Barron and Phyllis Mudford. A year later they came back, survived three match points in the first round and won the title, beating the second seeds Helen Jacobs and Elizabeth Ryan 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
A week after the 1932 final she announced her engagement to the England rugby player and journalist Peter Howard, and her competitive career ended with her marriage that summer. She raised three children and lived the rest of her life in England, where she died at Brent Eleigh, Suffolk, on 7 September 2007, aged 96.
| Wimbledon 1931 final | With Josane Sigart, seeded 4, lost to Dorothy Shepherd-Barron and Phyllis Mudford 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1932 first round | With Sigart beat Mary Heeley and Freda James 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 after trailing 2-5 in the third set and facing three match points |
| Wimbledon 1932 final | With Sigart, seeded 4, beat Helen Jacobs and Elizabeth Ryan, seeded 2, 6-4, 6-3. Umpire: H.J. Chivers |
| Wimbledon singles | Reached the last 16 in 1932, her best singles result at a major |
| Wimbledon mixed | Quarter-final in 1934 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Women's doubles | with Josane Sigart |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1932
In the first round of the 1932 ladies' doubles Metaxa and Sigart trailed the British pair Mary Heeley and Freda James 2-5 in the third set and faced three match points. They won 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and did not stop until they had the title. The Compendium lists the match among the great escapes of the Championships.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)London, July 1932
A week after winning Wimbledon she announced her engagement to Peter Howard, the England rugby player and journalist. They married that summer, and her tournament career ended there.
Source: For A New World (Initiatives of Change), Geoffrey Pugh; WikipediaParis, 1927 and 1928
Before Wimbledon she was a junior champion of France twice, in 1927 and 1928, playing for Racing Club de France. She was born in Marseille, according to the AELTC record of champions.
Source: Wikipedia; Wimbledon Compendium 2025Later life
Known to friends as Doë, she shared her husband's commitment to Moral Re-Armament for the rest of her life. After his death she kept up a correspondence with people across the world; a friend recalled letters full of humour and insight. The Times carried her obituary when she died in 2007, aged 96.
Source: For A New World (Initiatives of Change), Geoffrey PughFamily
Her son Philip Howard, born in London in 1933, became a long-serving journalist and literary editor at The Times. His obituaries noted that his mother had won the ladies' doubles at Wimbledon in 1932.
Source: The Scotsman, obituary of Philip HowardFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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