Jadwiga "Jed" Jędrzejowska (; 15 October 1912 – 28 February 1980) was a Polish

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 who had her main achievements during the second half of the 1930s. Because her name was difficult to pronounce for many people who did not speak Polish, she was often called by the nicknames "Jed" or "Ja-Ja".

Career

Jędrzejowska, a baseline player with a strong forehand, reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament on three occasions, a record for Polish tennis. In 1937 she lost in three sets to

Dorothy Round Dorothy Edith Round (13 July 1909 – 12 November 1982), was a British tennis player who was active from the late 1920s until 1950. She achieved her major successes in the 1930s. She won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937, and the ...

in the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

final and at the U.S. Championships later that year she was defeated in the final by

Anita Lizana Anita Lizana de Ellis (19 November 1915 – 21 August 1994) was a world No. 1 tennis player from Chile. She was the first Latin American, and first Hispanic person, to be ranked World Number 1 tennis player. Also, Lizana was the first Latin Am ...

. In 1939 she was a runner-up at the

French Championships 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 ...

, losing in the final to Simonne Mathieu in straight sets. In women's doubles, Jędrzejowska won the 1939 French Championships with Mathieu, defeating Alice Florian and Hella Kovac in the final in two sets. Three years earlier Jędrzejowska's and

Susan Noel Susan Diana Barham Noel-Powell (8 June 1912 – October 1991) was an English squash and tennis player. Noel was taught to play squash and tennis by her father Evan Noel, a successful racquets player. Squash career Noel won the British Op ...

were runners-up at the French Championships, losing the final to Mathieu and Billie Yorke. At the 1938 U.S. Championships Jędrzejowska and Mathieu lost the final to the American pair Alice Marble and Sarah Palfrey Cooke. In the mixed doubles final at the 1947 French Championships, Jędrzejowska and

Cristea Caralulis Cristea is a common family name in Romania. Persons named Cristea include: *Adrian Cristea, Romanian footballer * Alexandru Cristea, Romanian composer *Andreea Cristea, Romanian killed in the 2017 Westminster attack in London * Andrei Cristea, Rom ...

lost to

Eric Sturgess Eric William Sturgess (10 May 1920 – 14 January 2004) was a South African male tennis player and winner of six Grand Slam doubles titles. He also reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament three times but never won. Sturgess was ra ...

and

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without winning a game. At the age of 44, Jędrzejowska reached the women's doubles quarterfinals of the 1957 French Championships with partner

Pilar Barril Pilar Barril (10 October 1931 – 30 September 2011) was a Spanish 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 u ...

. She won four consecutive singles titles at the

London Championships London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

between 1936 and 1939. Jędrzejowska won the singles event at the

Kent Championships The Kent Championships also known as the Kent All-Comers' Championships was a tennis tournament held in Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, Kent, England between 1886 and 1996 and was held in the first half of June. From 1887 until 1910 the tournament was ...

in 1937 and 1938 and additionally won singles titles at the country championships of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(1932), Austria (1934) and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

(1932, 1935 and 1936). According to A. Wallis Myers and

John Olliff John Sheldon Olliff (1 December 1908 – 29 June 1951) was an English tennis player, author and sportsjournalist. Life Olliff took part in the Wimbledon Championships from 1928. In singles, he advanced to the fourth round several times until ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''The Daily Mail'', Jędrzejowska was ranked in the world top 10 from 1936 through 1939 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of world No. 3 in 1937.

Personal life

Jędrzejowska married Alfred Gallert in 1947.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (3 runners-up)

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

Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

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 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

Notes

References

External links

Le coup droit
(French site, Jedrzejowska's tennis style appears in "Pologne") {{DEFAULTSORT:Jedrzejowska, Jadwiga 1912 births 1980 deaths Sportspeople from Kraków Polish female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles 20th-century Polish women