Dorothy Head Knode

{{short description|American tennis player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox tennis biography |name = Dorothy Head Knode |image = |caption = |fullname = |country = {{USA}} |residence = |birth_date = {{birth date|1925|7|4}} |birth_place = Richmond, California, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|2015|10|25|1925|7|4}} |death_place = Novato, California, U.S. |height = |college = |turnedpro = |retired = |plays = Right-handed |careerprizemoney = |tennishofyear = |tennishofid = |website = |singlesrecord = 661-220 (75%) |singlestitles = 89 |highestsinglesranking = No. 5 (1955, 1957) |AustralianOpenresult = |FrenchOpenresult = F (1955, 1957) |Wimbledonresult = SF (1953, 1957) |USOpenresult = SF (1955, 1957) |Othertournaments =  |Olympicsresult = |doublesrecord = |doublestitles = |highestdoublesranking = |grandslamsdoublesresults = |AustralianOpenDoublesresult = |FrenchOpenDoublesresult = F (1956) |WimbledonDoublesresult = |USOpenDoublesresult = |OthertournamentsDoubles =  |OlympicsDoublesresult = |Mixed =  |mixedrecord = |mixedtitles = |AustralianOpenMixedresult = |FrenchOpenMixedresult = 2R (1967) |WimbledonMixedresult = |USOpenMixedresult = }}

'''Alice<ref>[http://tennis-women.blogspot.com/2012/02/nationality-birth-death-marriages-of.html Prominent Women Tennis Players: Basic Facts]</ref> Dorothy Head Knode''' (née '''Head'''; July 4, 1925<ref name="ITF">{{cite web |title=Dorothy KNODE |url=https://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=20005112 |website=ITF Tennis |publisher=International Tennis Federation |access-date=24 August 2018}}</ref> – October 25, 2015), also known as '''Dottie Head Knode''', was an American tennis player who reached the women's singles final of the French International Championships in 1955, losing to Angela Mortimer in three sets, and 1957, losing to Shirley Bloomer in straight sets. She reached the semifinals of six other Grand Slam singles tournaments from 1952 through 1957.

==Career== In 1948, she won the singles title at the Cincinnati Masters (then known as the Tri-State Championships) after defeating Mercedes Madden Lewis in the final in straight sets.<ref>{{cite web | title=From Club Court to Center Court – The Evolution of Professional Tennis in Cincinnati | url=http://assets.usta.com/assets/663/15/Compendium_2012_Final_Web_Version_(1).pdf | publisher=USTA | author=Phillip S. Smith | page=23 | year=2012}}</ref> Knode won the singles title at the German Championships in 1950, 1952, and 1953. She also won the singles title at the U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships in 1951, 1955, 1958, and 1960 and the bronze medal at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news | title=MacKay Wins Net Title | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LGtIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N1YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6390%2C2721680 | newspaper=The Victoria Advocate | date=July 25, 1960}}</ref> She and partner Darlene Hard were the runners-up in women's doubles at the 1956 French International Championships, losing to the team of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton 6–8, 8–6, 6–1.

According to Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Knode was ranked in the world top 10 in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, and 1958 (no rankings issued from 1940 through 1945), reaching a career high of World No. 5 in those rankings in 1955 and 1957.<ref>{{cite book | author=Bud Collins | title=The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book | publisher=New Chapter Press | location=New York City | year=2008 | pages=695, 702–3 | isbn=978-0-942257-41-0}}</ref> Knode was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, and 1956 through 1959. She was the third-ranked United States player in 1957 and 1959.<ref>{{cite book | author=United States Tennis Association | title=1988 Official USTA Tennis Yearbook | publisher=H. O. Zimman, Inc. | location=Lynn, Massachusetts | year=1988 | pages=260–1}}</ref>

Her other career singles highlights include winning the Alexandria International Championships in Alexandria, Egypt in 1958.<ref>{{cite news |title=Knode Cops Singles Crown At Alexandria |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/oklahoma/oklahoma-city/oklahoma-city-daily-oklahoman/1958/03-23/page-99/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |work=Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman |publisher=Newspaper Archives |date=23 March 1958 |location=Oklahoma City |page=99 |format=Subscription}}</ref>

In October 2008, Knode was still active in international and national senior events.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} She won the 80-and-over Super-Seniors World Individual Championships in Antalya, Turkey in 2005.

She died in Novato, California, in October 2015 at the age of 90<ref>[https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/83032793/person/36568668407/story?_phsrc=OzZ5552&_phstart=successSource Ancestry LifeStory: Alice Dorothy Head]</ref> after suffering from arthritis and Alzheimer's.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ninjabaker.com/node/795 |title=Gluten-Free Grateful Thanksgiving |access-date=2019-05-15 |archive-date=2019-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325184709/https://ninjabaker.com/node/795 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Grand Slam finals==

===Singles: (2 runner-ups)===

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- !Result !Year !style="width:160px"|Championship !style="width:50px"|Surface !style="width:140px"|Opponent !style="width:105px" class="unsortable"|Score |- | style="background:#FFA07A" | Loss || 1955 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || {{flagicon|GBR}} Angela Mortimer || 6–2, 5–7, 8–10 |- | style="background:#FFA07A" | Loss || 1957 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || {{flagicon|GBR}} Shirley Bloomer || 1–6, 3–6 |}

===Doubles (1 runner-up)=== {| class='sortable wikitable' |- !Result !Year !style="width:160px"|Championship !style="width:50px"|Surface !style="width:140px"|Partner !style="width:140px"|Opponents !style="width:105px" class="unsortable"|Score |- | style="background:#FFA07A"|Loss ||1956 || style="background:#ebc2af;"|French Championships || Clay || {{flagicon|USA}} Darlene Hard || {{flagicon|GBR}} Angela Buxton {{flagicon|USA}} Althea Gibson || 8–6, 6–8, 1–6 |}

==Grand Slam singles tournament timeline== {{performance key|short=yes|active=no}}

{|class="wikitable" ! Tournament !! 1943 !! 1944 !! 1945 !! 19461 !! 19471 !! 1948 !! 1949 !! 1950 !! 1951 !! 1952 !! 1953 !! 1954 !! 1955 !! 1956 !! 1957 !! 1958 !! 1959 !! 1960 !! 1961 !! 1962 !! 1963 !! 1964 !! 1965 !! 1966 !! 1967 !! 1968 !! 1969 !! Career SR |- | style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Australian Championships | align="center" | NH | align="center" | NH | align="center" | NH | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 0''' |- | style="background:#EFEFEF;" | French Championships | align="center" | R | align="center" | R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;" | F | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" style="background:#D8BFD8;" | F | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 10''' |- | style="background:#EFEFEF;" | Wimbledon | align="center" | NH | align="center" | NH | align="center" | NH | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 11''' |- | style="background:#EFEFEF;" | U.S. Championships | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:yellow;" | SF | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" |A | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 15''' |- | style="background:#EFEFEF;" | SR | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 0 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 0 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 0 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 0 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1 | align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 36''' |}

R = tournament restricted to French nationals and held under German occupation.

1In 1946 and 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{ITF profile}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Head Knode, Dorothy}} Category:1925 births Category:2015 deaths Category:American female tennis players Category:Tennis players from Contra Costa County, California Category:20th-century American sportswomen Category:Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in tennis Category:Sportspeople from Richmond, California

Dorothy Head Knode

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