Klára Hensch (, ; 1913–1996) was a Hungarian
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player in the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
era. She represented Hungary in many international team matches. She reached the quarterfinal of the Wimbledon doubles event in 1939.
Early life and family
Somogyi was born in 1913 in
Arad. Her great-great-grandfather was cavalry captain in the
Anglo-German legion of the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. Her great-grandfather József Somogyi (1807–1872)
was a
Honvéd Major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
from
Marosvásárhely who fought in the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...
. Her father was Jenő Somogyi, an architect, who designed the Traian bridge in Arad. She fell in love with tennis at the age of fifteen. She studied in a German school in
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
(''Szeben''). At the age of seventeen she finished third in the second class mixed doubles at
Cluj
Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
. Meanwhile, the
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...
had transferred her region from Hungary to Romania, and she had to move to
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
in 1938 to further compete for Hungary.
Tennis career
In 1928 she found early success in the Romanian national championships where she finished second in doubles and third in mixed doubles. By 1932 she was already a two-time Romanian national champion. She clinched two more consecutive national mixed doubles titles up to 1937 with the same pair
Arnulf Schmidt. After moving to Hungary she was crowned
Hungarian National Champion as well in singles in 1938 and 1939 and doubles in 1939 and 1944. Her first international challenge came at the Central Europe Tennis Team Cup, which Hungary grabbed after an overwhelming victory over Italy. Somogyi had an easy match against Wally San Donnino.
On international individual level her breakthrough came in the 1937 edition of the
German International Championships doubles, a semifinal accomplishment alongside Vittoria Tonolli, which was only spoiled by her opponents
Madzy Rollin Couquerque
Madzy Rollin Couquerque (14 April 1903 – 16 July 1994) was a Dutch female hockey- and tennis player who was active from the 1920s until the late 1950s. She won 40 national tennis titles and made 37 appearances in the Dutch national hockey team. ...
and
Hilde Krahwinkel preventing her the final. At the same tournament she was a mixed doubles quarterfinalist with Hungarian champion partner
Ottó Szigeti
Ottó Szigeti (; 22 December 1911 – 5 April 1976) was a Hungarian tennis player in the 1930s and 1940s.
Tennis career
Szigeti played under the name Ottó Schmidt as a professional.
As an amateur, he reached the semifinals of the French Op ...
. In early 1939 she reached the final of the German Covered Courts tournament in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
only being defeated by
Gracyn Wheeler, the same occurred in the doubles where Wheeler and Hamel triumphed over Somogyi and Kovács. The same year she reached the mixed quarterfinals of the
Queen's Club Championships
The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for men's and women’s tennis, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals, ...
teaming with Szigeti but lost to
Henner Henkel
Heinrich Ernst Otto "Henner" Henkel (; 9 October 1915 – 13 January 1943) was a German tennis player during the 1930s. His biggest success was his singles title at the 1937 French Championships.
Biography
Henner was born in 1915 the son of ...
and Wheeler. Next week at the
Wimbledon Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
they were dropped out in the early second round by
Cam Malfroy
Camille Enright Malfroy, (21 January 1909 – 8 May 1966)[Betty Nuthall
Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker (née Nuthall; 23 May 1911 – 8 November 1983) was an English tennis player. Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Nuthall was ranked in the wor ...](_blank)
. Although Somogyi found success in the Ladies' doubles where she and Wheeler lost only to first-seeded
Sarah Fabyan and
Alice Marble
Alice Irene 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. ...
. A month later in the German International Championships in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
she was a doubles quarterfinalist and a singles semifinalist. In the latter she met Krahwinkel and lost in straight sets. In August she competed in
Båstad
Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
where she came short against Wheeler in the singles championship match but were victorious in the doubles partnering her. Still in August she played a final in
Ostend
Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
losing to eventual champion to
Madzy Rollin Couquerque
Madzy Rollin Couquerque (14 April 1903 – 16 July 1994) was a Dutch female hockey- and tennis player who was active from the 1920s until the late 1950s. She won 40 national tennis titles and made 37 appearances in the Dutch national hockey team. ...
in three struggling sets. Somogyi got tired for the third set after Rollin Couquerque broke her baseline gameplan with a smart netplay and forced her to run from corner to corner. She got less lucky in the doubles only reaching the semifinal stage.
Personal life
She married and had a daughter named Judit. During the
Siege of Budapest
The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...
the family hid in the humid basement to survive the air strikes. Her
joints
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
got cold, and as a result of the relating health issues including arthritis, she was unable to play any more and subsequently abandoned tennis. Because of her alleged German affiliation like participating in the wartime German Championships and having German language knowledge she was labelled as "untrustworthy", a term used to people who had some sort of
German connection by the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
of the
Hungarian People's Republic
The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...
. Thus she couldn't find a job and so started a small weaving business. She moved to
Velence and got involved in self-supporting agriculture. After her husband's death she went back to
Hegyvidék
Hegyvidék (, literally "''Highlands''", or "''Mountain-land''") is the official name of the XII district of Budapest (), capital of Hungary. It is a region of Buda, on the west bank of river Danube.
Geography
Being the only district in Bu ...
and lived there for the rest of her life.
Footnotes
Works cited
Online media
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Somogyi, Klara
1913 births
1996 deaths
Sportspeople from Arad, Romania
Hungarian female tennis players
Date of birth missing
Date of death missing
20th-century Hungarian sportswomen