Barbara Knapp (29 March 1920 — 1978) was a British

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. She was also an England international in

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

. Born and raised in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Knapp attended

King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls ''(KEHS)'' () is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest o ...

and was most active on the tour during the 1950s. She made the singles third round at Wimbledon twice and was a finalist at the 1950

Canadian Championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to: * Canadian Championship, a soccer tournament * Canadian Figure Skating Championships * Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championships * Canadi ...

. At the 1950 U.S. National Championships she played a historic first round match against

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American ...

, who became the first black player to feature at the tournament. She lost to Gibson in straight sets. Knapp, a physical education at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, died in 1978 of a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Barbara 1920 births 1978 deaths British female tennis players English female tennis players English female squash players Tennis people from the West Midlands (county) Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham