4 British Women Who Won Wimbledon Before Andy Murray

Murray has been celebrated as Britain’s first Wimbledon singles champ in 77 years. But since Fred Perry’s victory in 1936, four British women have done the same exact thing.

Dorothy Round Little, 1937

Dorothy Round Little, 1937

Via: Topical Press Agency / Getty Images

Dorothy Round Little won her second Wimbledon title at age 29 with "dazzling cross-court backhands" against Polish player Jadwiga Jędrzejowska. It was 1937, one year after Andy Murray's predecessor Fred Perry won his last male singles title. (Little won her first title in 1934 — the same year Perry won his first.)

With her "large heart and agile mind," Little often refused to play on Sundays. She published two books, Modern Lawn Tennis and Tennis For Girls, before her last Wimbledon appearance in 1939. After retiring, she worked as a coach, journalist, and president of the Worcester Lawn Tennis Club.

Angela Mortimer Barrett, 1961

Angela Mortimer Barrett, 1961

Via: Central Press / Getty Images

Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett beat her fellow Englishwoman Christine Truman Janes to become Wimbledon's women's singles champion in 1961. A "wily tactician with a limitless supply of determination," Barrett too was 29 at the time of her victory. She was also partially deaf and recovering from a virus she picked up in Egypt after winning the French championship in 1955.

She retired in 1964, having never won another Grand Slam title. You can watch archival video of Barrett's winning match here.


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