Kitty Godfree, byname of Kathleen McKane Godfree, née Kathleen McKane, (born May 7, 1896, London, Eng.—died June 19, 1992, London), British tennis participant, a dominant determine in ladies’s tennis within the Twenties who received two singles titles on the All-England Championships at Wimbledon, 5 doubles titles in Grand Slam occasions, and 5 Olympic medals, together with a gold in ladies’s doubles on the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belg.
Godfree misplaced the 1923 All-England closing to Suzanne Lenglen of France, however she returned the subsequent yr to change into the one girl ever to beat American Helen Wills at Wimbledon. At the identical event, she received the blended doubles championship together with her accomplice Jack Gilbert. In 1926 she repeated her feat, once more successful each the singles and the blended doubles, this time paired together with her husband, Leslie Godfree. She received the U.S. championships in ladies’s doubles (1923 and 1927) and in blended doubles (1925). She represented England within the Wightman Cup collection yearly till 1934, when she retired with a 17-year profession complete of 46 singles and 107 doubles titles. She was additionally All-England badminton champion 4 instances within the early Twenties and was a member of the nationwide lacrosse workforce in 1918. She was made a vp of the All-England Club in 1989.