Althea Louise Brough Clapp
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University of Southern California
1996
With her high-kicking twist serve, superb backhand and fierce determination, Althea Louise Brough (b.1923) won 35 Grand Slam titles from 1942 to 1957. As a teenager, Brough honed her tennis skills on California’s public courts. By the time she entered the University of Southern California, she had won three national junior championships and competed in the U.S. Nationals. She crowned her distinguished career with a fourth Wimbledon singles victory at age 32.
As a doubles player, Brough had just one peer – her remarkable partner, Margaret Osborne duPont. ‘The inevitable duPont and Brough’ accumulated an unmatched 12 U.S. doubles titles and 20 Grand Slam titles over all. Appropriately, the two great friends came together again in 1967, when both were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Career Highlights
- 35 Grand Slam titles (6 Singles, 21 Doubles, 8 Mixed Doubles)
Ranked in USTA Top 10 from 1941-1950, 1952-1957; No.1 in 1947
Three Grand Slam Triple Crowns (U.S. 1947, Wimbledon 1948, 1950)
U.S. Champion Girls’ 18 Singles 1940, 1941; Doubles 1941
U.S. Singles Champion 1947
U.S. Doubles Champion 1942-1950, 1955-1957
U.S. Mixed Doubles Champion 1942, 1947-1949
U.S. Hard Court Doubles Champion 1948
Wimbledon Singles Champion 1948-1950, 1955
Wimbledon Doubles Champion 1946, 1948-1950, 1954
Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Champion 1946-1948, 1950
French Doubles Champion 1946-1947, 1949
Australian Singles Champion 1950
Australian Doubles Champion 1950
U.S. Clay Court Champion Women’s 40 Doubles 1971-1973
U.S. Clay Court Champion Women’s 45 Doubles 1974
U.S Wightman Cup Team Member 1946-1948, 1950, 1952-1957 (22-0 record); Team Captain 1956
Winner of USTA Service Bowl 1948
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 1967
Deceased: February 3, 2014