Clara Louise Zinke (March 30, 1909 – April 20, 1978) was an American
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 in the early part of the 20th century.
She competed on the national level as a junior and adult. She was a singles finalist in the U.S. National Girls singles championship of 1926, and at the storied international tennis tournament in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, she won more total titles (12) than any other woman in tournament history:
*Singles titles (5): 1926, '27, '29, '30 & '31
*Mixed doubles Title (1): 1931
*Doubles titles (6): 1927, '28, '30, '31, '32 & '33
She still holds tournament records in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
for most total finals appearances (18), most singles finals appearances (10) and most doubles finals appearances (7) for both men and women. (The other appearance was in mixed doubles, which she won, in 1931.) In 2004 she was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame.
Other career highlights:
*Ranked No. 1 in 1928 & 1929 USTA/Midwest section singles rankings
*Ranked No. 1 in doubles in 1928, 1929 & 1931 USTA/Midwest section rankings with Ruth Oexman
*Ranked No. 2 in the USTA/Midwest section singles rankings in 1927 (behind Marion Leighton of Chicago) and 1931 (behind U.S. top tenner
Catherine Wolf
Catherine E. Wolf (August 23, 1908 – July 20, 1969) was an American amateur tennis player in the 1920s and 1930s. She was born in Jasper, Missouri.
Wolf was ranked the number 10 women's tennis player in the United States in 1934 and 1935.
C ...
)
*Singles Champion: 1929 Western Indoor Championship; 1929 Ohio State Championships; 1927 Michigan State Championships
*Singles Finalist: 1927, 1929 & 1930 Western Tennis Championship; 1927, 1929 & 1930 Illinois State Championship
*Singles Semifinalist: 1931 Western Tennis Championship; 1928 South Atlantic Championships in Augusta; 1926 Illinois State Championship
*Doubles Champion: 1928, 1929 and 1931 Western Championship; 1929 Illinois State Championship; 1927 Michigan State Championships
*Doubles Finalist: 1926 & 1927 Illinois State Championship; 1927 Western Tennis Championship; 1929 Eastern Grass Court Championships
*U.S. National Championships at Forest Hills, NY – reached the second round in 1929
*Mixed Doubles Champion: 1929 Western Indoor Championship
*Mixed Doubles Finalist: 1926 Western Clay Court Championships with future Hall of Famer
George Lott
George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. H ...
; 1929 Seabright (NJ) Tournament with J. Gilbert Hall
External links
Clara Louise Zinke at Find A Grave"From Club Court to Center Court, The Evolution of Professional Tennis in Cincinnati" By Phillip S. Smith; 2022 Edition - pages 14, 79, 120, et al
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinke, Clara Louise
American female tennis players
Tennis players from Cincinnati
1909 births
1978 deaths
20th-century American sportswomen