Between the wars
United States · born Globe, Arizona, 1908 · died 1997 · Wimbledon champion 1936
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6
Wimbledon singles finals, 1929 to 1938
4
Consecutive US singles titles, 1932 to 1935
6-2, 4-6, 7-5
1936 Wimbledon final against Hilde Sperling
19-11
Wightman Cup match record, 1927 to 1939
Born in Globe, Arizona, on 6 August 1908, Jacobs grew up in Berkeley, California, where she trained at the Berkeley Tennis Club under William "Pop" Fuller and later studied at the University of California. She won the US Championships four years running from 1932 to 1935 and Wimbledon in 1936, the year she was ranked world No. 1. Helen Wills Moody beat her in six major finals. She won three US doubles titles and the 1934 US mixed. She played Wightman Cup for the United States from 1927 to 1939. In 1943 she joined the WAVES, the women's naval reserve, served in naval intelligence and retired as a commander. She wrote about 20 books and entered the Hall of Fame in 1962.
| Major singles titles | 5: Wimbledon (1936); US (1932, 1933, 1934, 1935) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 9: Wimbledon 1929, Wimbledon 1932, Wimbledon 1934, Wimbledon 1935, Wimbledon 1938, US 1928, US 1936, US 1939, US 1940 |
| Other grass singles titles | 5: Seabright 3 (1928, 1929, 1932); Pennsylvania Championships 2 (1940, 1941) |
| Major doubles titles | 3 doubles (US 3), 1 mixed (US 1) |
| Wimbledon final won | 1936: beat Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, in a year Helen Wills Moody did not enter |
| Wimbledon finals lost | 1929 to Wills 1-6, 2-6; 1932 to Wills Moody 3-6, 1-6; 1934 to Dorothy Round 2-6, 7-5, 3-6; 1935 to Wills Moody 3-6, 6-3, 5-7 after holding match point; 1938 to Wills Moody 4-6, 0-6 |
| US final 1933 | Led Wills Moody 8-6, 3-6, 3-0 at Forest Hills when Wills Moody retired: her only win over her rival |
| US doubles | 1932, 1934 and 1935 with Sarah Palfrey; mixed 1934 with George Lott |
| Wightman Cup | Played for the United States from 1927 to 1937 and in 1939, with a record of 19 wins and 11 losses |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Women's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1932 | Women's doubles | with Sarah Palfrey Cooke |
| 1932 | Women's singles | |
| 1933 | Women's singles | |
| 1934 | Women's doubles | with Sarah Palfrey Cooke |
| 1934 | Mixed doubles | with George Lott |
| 1934 | Women's singles | |
| 1935 | Women's doubles | with Sarah Palfrey Cooke |
| 1935 | Women's singles | |
| Seabright Invitational | ||
| 1928 | Women's singles†| |
| 1929 | Women's singles†| |
| 1932 | Women's singles†| |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1940 | Women's singles†| |
| 1941 | 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
"Nothing but prejudice has prevented our wearing them for years."
The person behind the player.
Berkeley, 1920s
Both Helens learned the game at the Berkeley Tennis Club under the same coach, Pop Fuller, and both went to the University of California. The Jacobs family even moved into the house the Wills family had lived in. The two hardly spoke. Wills, reserved, was Little Miss Poker Face; Jacobs was the more outgoing of the pair.
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 1929 · Forest Hills 1933
In 1929 she planned to play Wimbledon without stockings and thought better of it when a ban was threatened. By 1933 she was playing in shorts at Forest Hills, saying they were cool and comfortable and her racquet no longer caught in her skirt. She called them "really a tremendous advantage".
Source: University of Illinois PressForest Hills 1933
In the US final Jacobs took the first set 8-6, the first set she had ever won from Wills. At 3-0 to Jacobs in the third, Wills put on a sweater and retired, citing pain in her back and hip. Jacobs later wrote that Wills's temperament, usually her greatest asset, was that day her greatest liability.
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 1935
In the final she led Wills Moody 5-3 in the third set and reached match point. Wills Moody threw up a short lob; Jacobs let it bounce, then mishit it. Wills Moody won the last four games and the title 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1938
Jacobs turned her ankle at 4-4 in the first set of the final and chose not to retire. Wills Moody won the last eight games. Five years after the Forest Hills default, it was Wills Moody who offered the sympathy: she said afterwards that she was "very sorry about Helen's ankle".
Source: WikipediaWashington, 1943
She left tennis in 1943 to join the WAVES and served as a naval intelligence officer in Washington. She returned to active duty during the Korean War and retired as a commander, one of five women to reach that rank. Her novel By Your Leave, Sir told the story of a WAVE.
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