Between the wars
United States · born Anaheim, California, 1892 · died 1979 · 19 Wimbledon titles
All playersBack to the rankings
19
Wimbledon titles, doubles and mixed, 1914 to 1934
12
Wimbledon women's doubles titles, a record
31-0
Wimbledon doubles record with Suzanne Lenglen
45
Years her Wimbledon record stood, 1934 to 1979
659
Titles in singles, doubles and mixed
Born in Anaheim, California, in 1892, Ryan learnt the game on asphalt courts and spent most of her adult life in England, where her sister Alice had married an Englishman. She first played Wimbledon in 1912 and won her first title there, the women's doubles, in 1914. After the First World War she partnered Suzanne Lenglen, and by 1934 she had won 12 Wimbledon doubles titles and seven in mixed. She reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1921 and 1930 and the US final in 1926, but never won a major singles title. Her 26 major titles included four French doubles championships, and she won 659 titles in all events. She turned professional to earn a living as a teacher, entered the Hall of Fame in 1972 and died at Wimbledon in 1979.
| Major singles finals lost | 3: Wimbledon 1921, Wimbledon 1930, US 1926 |
|---|---|
| Other grass singles titles | 30: Kent Championships 7 (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928); Northern Championships 5 (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925); Irish Championships 4 (1919, 1920, 1921, 1923); Queen's 4 (1923, 1924, 1925, 1929); South of England Championships 3 (1919, 1920, 1921); Longwood Bowl 2 (1925, 1926); Longwood Bowl (autumn) 2 (1925, 1926); Seabright 2 (1925, 1926); Welsh Championships (1924) |
| Major doubles titles | 13 doubles (Wimbledon 12, US 1), 9 mixed (Wimbledon 7, US 2) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1914 with Agnes Morton; 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1925 with Suzanne Lenglen; 1926 with Mary Browne; 1927 and 1930 with Helen Wills; 1933 and 1934 with Simonne Mathieu |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1919, 1921 and 1923 with Randolph Lycett; 1927 with Frank Hunter; 1928 with Patrick Spence; 1930 with Jack Crawford; 1932 with Enrique Maier |
| Wimbledon singles finals | 1921: lost to Suzanne Lenglen 6-2, 6-0. 1930: lost to Helen Wills Moody 6-2, 6-2 |
| US Championships 1926 | Singles final lost to Molla Mallory 4-6, 6-4, 9-7 from 4-0 up in the third set and a match point. Doubles won with Eleanor Goss 3-6, 6-4, 12-10; mixed won with Jean Borotra |
| US mixed 1933 | Won with Ellsworth Vines |
| Wimbledon record | 19 titles, a record until Billie Jean King won her 20th in 1979 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Women's doubles | with Agnes Morton |
| 1919 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1919 | Mixed doubles | with Randolph Lycett |
| 1920 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1921 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1921 | Mixed doubles | with Randolph Lycett |
| 1922 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1923 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1923 | Mixed doubles | with Randolph Lycett |
| 1925 | Women's doubles | with Suzanne Lenglen |
| 1926 | Women's doubles | with Mary Browne |
| 1927 | Women's doubles | with Helen Wills Moody |
| 1927 | Mixed doubles | with Francis Hunter |
| 1928 | Mixed doubles | with Pat Spence |
| 1930 | Women's doubles | with Helen Wills Moody |
| 1930 | Mixed doubles | with Jack Crawford |
| 1932 | Mixed doubles | with Enrique Maier |
| 1933 | Women's doubles | with Simonne Mathieu |
| 1934 | Women's doubles | with Simonne Mathieu |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1919 | Women's singles†| |
| 1921 | Women's singles†| |
| 1923 | Women's singles†| |
| 1924 | Women's singles†| |
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| 1928 | Women's singles†| |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1919 | Women's singles†| |
| 1921 | Women's singles†| |
| 1922 | Women's singles†| |
| 1923 | Women's singles†| |
| 1924 | Women's singles†| |
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1920 | Women's singles†| |
| 1921 | Women's singles†| |
| 1922 | Women's singles†| |
| 1923 | Women's singles†| |
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1919 | Women's singles†| |
| 1920 | Women's singles†| |
| 1921 | Women's singles†| |
| 1923 | Women's singles†| |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1923 | Women's singles†| |
| 1924 | Women's singles†| |
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| 1929 | Women's singles†| |
| Longwood Bowl | ||
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| 1926 | Women's singles†| |
| 1926 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1919 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1920 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| 1921 | Women's singles†South of England Championships | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1926 | Women's doubles | with Eleanor Goss |
| 1926 | Mixed doubles | with Jean Borotra |
| 1933 | Mixed doubles | with Ellsworth Vines |
| Seabright Invitational | ||
| 1925 | Women's singles†| |
| 1926 | Women's singles†| |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1924 | Women's singles†| |
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
"I hope I don't live to see my record broken, but if someone is to break it, I hope it is Billie Jean."
The person behind the player.
Grass courts · 1920s
Her strokes were built to attack, apart from a safe backcourt chop for when she was pinned behind the baseline. American Lawn Tennis wrote in 1923: "It is hard to imagine her on the defensive because she rarely allows herself to get into such a situation." On slow grass her forehand chop gave opponents particular trouble.
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1924
In the singles quarter-final she took a set off her own doubles partner, 8-6, the first set Suzanne Lenglen had lost since 1921. Lenglen won the match and then withdrew from the Championships, which left Ryan without a partner and out of the doubles by default in the quarter-finals.
Source: Tennis AbstractSeabright 1925
On a damp grass court she beat Helen Wills 6-3, 6-3 in about 40 minutes, using her forehand chops and volleys to keep the ball low. A year later she beat Wills again at the same event, losing only five games.
Source: Tennis AbstractForest Hills 1926
In the US singles final she led Molla Mallory 4-0 in the third set and held match point, then lost 4-6, 6-4, 9-7. Allison Danzig wrote that she "wilted before the devastating attack." That year she still won two US titles: the women's doubles with Eleanor Goss, 12-10 in the final set, and the mixed with Jean Borotra.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FamePress box
Ted Tinling said she was too heavy to win a major singles title. The American writer John Tunis disagreed, calling her "stocky without being heavy", and noticed a reserve of mental power behind eyes that off court were "perpetually in a twinkle."
Source: Tennis AbstractWimbledon 1979
By 1979 Billie Jean King had 19 Wimbledon titles, level with Ryan. Ryan, 87, was at the Championships, and turned down a request from Bud Collins to film an interview with King. On 6 July she was taken ill after watching the men's doubles final and died later that day. The next day King won her 20th title.
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