Helga Niessen Masthoff (née Niessen; born 11 November 1941) is a retired

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 from

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Her best

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

singles tournament was when she reached the

1970 French Open The 1970 French Open was a tennis tournament that was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris in France from 25 May through 7 June 1970. It was the 74th edition of the French Open, the 40th to be open to foreign competitors, and the second Grand ...

final, losing to

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

in straight sets. She won the German Open three consecutive years from 1972 through 1974, beating

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

in the 1974 final in three sets. Masthoff was the runner-up at that tournament in 1971, losing to

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

. She won the German national singles title on ten occasions (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978). At the 1968 Olympic Games in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

when tennis was a demonstration sport, Masthoff won the singles and doubles (with

Edda Buding Edda Buding (13 November 1936 – 15 July 2014) was a German tennis player of Romanian birth. She received the doubles gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics doubles demonstration event partnered with Helga Niessen Masthoff. Along with Yola Ram� ...

) gold medals and the silver medal in mixed doubles (with

Jürgen Faßbender Jürgen or Jurgen is a popular masculine given name in Germany, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands. It is cognate with George. Notable people named Jürgen include: A * Jürgen Ahrend (born 1930), German organ builder *Jürgen Alzen (born 19 ...

). Masthoff teamed with

Kathleen Harter Kathleen Harter (born October 27, 1946) is a former nationally ranked tennis player from the United States. She was taught by legendary coach Dick Skeen at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, California. She was ranked no. 7 in the United State ...

to reach the women's doubles final at the

1976 French Open The 1976 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 31 May until 14 June. It was the 80th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Sla ...

, losing to the team of

Fiorella Bonicelli Fiorella Bonicelli (born 21 December 1951) is a retired professional tennis player from Uruguay. She was born in Lima, Peru but grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay where she started playing tennis when at age 11. During her career, she won the 197 ...

and Gail Sherriff Lovera 6–4, 1–6, 6–3. Masthoff played on West Germany's Fed Cup team from 1965 to 1967, in 1969 and 1970, and from 1972 through 1977. Her overall win–loss record was 38–18, 23–10 in singles and 15–8 in doubles. According to

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

, Masthoff was ranked in the world top 10 in 1970, 1971, and 1973, reaching a career high of world No. 6 in 1970. In 1970 she received the

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

(Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

Doubles (1 runner-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977 (in January and December).

References

External links