Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker (née Nuthall; 23 May 1911 – 8 November 1983) was an English

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. Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Nuthall was ranked in the world's top 10 in 1927, 1929 through 1931, and 1933, reaching a career high of world no. 4 in 1929. In 1930, Nuthall won the women's singles title at the U.S. Championships.

Early life

Betty Nuthall was born on 23 May 1911 in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

and grew up in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. She was the eldest child of Stuart Nuthall, who worked on the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

and later became a hotel proprietor, and his wife Mary, both of them keen tennis players.

Career

Nuthall's father taught her tennis. She won the junior championships of Great Britain in 1924 (aged 13), 1925 and 1926. In 1927 at the age of 16, Nuthall tied

Elisabeth Moore Elisabeth 'Bessie' Holmes Moore (March 5, 1876 – January 22, 1959) was an American tennis champion who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. Moore won the singles title at the U.S. Championships on four occasions. She was inducted i ...

as the then-youngest women's singles finalist ever at the U.S. National Championships. Nuthall lost the final to

Helen Wills Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) du ...

in straight sets while serving under-handed. Also in 1927, Nuthall played on the British

Wightman Cup The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate ...

team and defeated

Helen Jacobs Helen Hull Jacobs (August 6, 1908 – June 2, 1997) was an American tennis player who won nine Grand Slam titles. In 1936 she was ranked No. 1 in singles by A. Wallis Myers. Early life Jacobs was born in Globe, Arizona, and was Jewish. Her pare ...

in her debut. She also represented Great Britain in the 1929 and 1931–34 Wightman Cup competitions. In 1930, Nuthall became the first non-American since 1892 to win a women's singles title at the U.S. National Championships, defeating

Anna McCune Harper Anna McCune Harper (née Anna Virginia McCune, July 2, 1902 – June 14, 1999) was a female tennis player from the U.S. She won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1931 partnering George Lott. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1930 U. ...

in straight sets. She was the last British female player to win the title until

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all f ...

won in 1968. In 1931, she reached the singles final of the French International Championships but lost in two sets to top-seeded

Cilly Aussem Cilly Aussem (; 4 January 1909 – 22 March 1963) was a German tennis player. She was the first German, male or female, to win the singles title at Wimbledon, which she did in 1931. She also won the women's single titles at the French Champion ...

. Also in 1930, she won the mixed doubles with her recurring partner Pat Spence. Nuthall and he went for the British Hard Court Championships in April and were only eliminated in the final, while in May they won the mixed title at the French International Championships. At the U.S. Championships in 1933, Nuthall won a quarterfinal versus

Alice Marble Alice Marble (September 28, 1913 – December 13, 1990) was an American tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships between 1936 and 1940: five in singles, six in women's doubles, and seven in mixed doubles. She was ranked world No. 1 in 193 ...

6–8, 6–0, 7–5 after being down two breaks of serve at 1–5 in the final set. In the semifinals versus Moody, Nuthall won the first set 6–2 in just 12 minutes, which was the first set Wills had lost at this tournament since 1926. Moody, however, turned around the match and won the last two sets 6–3, 6–2 despite losing her serve twice in the second set. Nuthall never again reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Nuthall won women's doubles titles at the 1930, 1931, and 1933 U.S. Championships and at the 1931 French Championships. She won mixed doubles championships at the 1929 and 1931 U.S. Championships and at the 1931 and 1932 French Championships. Nuthall was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1977.

Personal life

She and doubles partner Pat Spence were a couple off the court, and they won the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

mixed doubles tournament in 1931. In 1954, she married Franklin Shoemaker, who died in 1982. On 8 November 1983, Nuthall died in New York City of a coronary arrest.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Doubles (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Mixed doubles (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. ¹In 1946, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

References

External links

*
British Pathé Reel – "Southampton. 'We're Glad She's Glad – She's Glad We're Glad!'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuthall, Betty 1911 births 1983 deaths English female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions People from Surbiton International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Tennis people from Greater London