Between the wars
Great Britain · born Brighton, 1885 · died 1971 · hit the first ball on the new Centre Court and won the 1926 mixed with his wife
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1922
Served the first ball on the new Centre Court at Church Road
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Wimbledon titles: men's doubles 1923, mixed 1926
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Married couple ever to win the Wimbledon mixed: Leslie and Kitty Godfree
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Wimbledon mixed finals: 1924, 1926, 1927
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Years in the British Davis Cup team, 1923 to 1927, all in doubles
Leslie Allison Godfree was born in Brighton on 27 April 1885 and educated at Brighton College. A lawyer, he served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross. He played Wimbledon from 1920 to 1930 but was a doubles player above all; in eleven singles events there he never passed the third round.
On 26 June 1922 he served the first ball on the new Centre Court at Church Road. In 1923 he won the men's doubles with Randolph Lycett. He lost the 1924 mixed final to Kitty McKane, a two-time Wimbledon singles champion, and married her in January 1926; that summer they won the mixed doubles together, the only married couple ever to do so, and they were runners-up in 1927. He played for Britain in the Davis Cup from 1923 to 1927, at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, and later served on the committee of the All England Club. He died at East Sheen, London, on 17 November 1971.
| Wimbledon doubles 1923 | With Lycett beat Eduardo Flaquer and Count Manuel de Gomar of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed | 1924 with Dorothy Shepherd Barron: lost the final to Brian Gilbert and Kitty McKane 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. 1926 with Kitty Godfree: beat Howard Kinsey and Mary Browne of the United States 6-3, 6-4. 1927, seeded first: lost the final to Frank Hunter and Elizabeth Ryan 8-6, 6-0 |
| First ball, 1922 | After a rain delay King George V opened the new ground at 3.30pm; at 3.45pm Godfree served to Algernon Kingscote, who netted the return |
| 1924 Olympics | In Paris played the mixed with Phyllis Covell, finishing joint fifth, and the men's doubles with Max Woosnam |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Men's doubles | with Randolph Lycett |
| 1926 | Mixed doubles | with Kathleen McKane Godfree |
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.
Centre Court, 26 June 1922
When the tarpaulin came off at 3.45pm on the opening day of the new ground, Godfree served the first ball to Algernon Kingscote, who netted the return. Godfree dashed forward and put the ball in his pocket as a memento.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Western Front
He served as a captain in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross. He was a lawyer by profession.
Source: OlympediaWimbledon, 1924
In the 1924 mixed final he and Dorothy Shepherd Barron lost in three sets to Brian Gilbert and Kitty McKane. Two years later McKane was his wife and his partner, and they won the title.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025South Africa, January 1926
He married Kitty McKane in South Africa in 1926; the Roehampton Club's history of the couple describes him as captain of the British tennis team. They remain the only married couple to have won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
Source: Roehampton ClubThe All England Club
After his playing days he worked in tennis administration and sat on the committee of the All England Club and of the Championships.
Source: OlympediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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