Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Dorothy Cheney, Tennis Star, Turns 94 Today

Dorothy "Dodo" Cheney ( born in Los Angeles September 1, 1916) has great tennis roots. Her father Tom Bundy was a former U.S. doubles tennis champ and her mom is a former tennis Hall of Famer May Sutton Bundy.

In 1936, she reached the quarter finals of the United States Open. Then in 1937-1939, she was a member of the U.S. Wightman Cup teams. She reached star status in 1938 when she became the first American woman to win the Australian Open beating Dorothy Stevenson in the final 6-3, 6-2.

Due to World War II, she was unable to compete in the Australian, French and Wimbledon tourneys. However she played in U.S. tournaments and rose to number 3 in 1937, 1938 and 1941.

She competed in numerous doubles championships and was a three-time runner up in Grand Slam women's doubles tournaments. She holds more then 300 United States Tennis Association titles.

She has played winning tennis from her teens into her 90's.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Richard,

Thank you for remembering Dodo's birthday. She is truly a national treasure. She and her mother taught me how to play tennis in the late 1950's at my elementary school in Santa Monica. They dedicated themselves to sharing tennis with children and I will always be grateful to her for that. I have kept up with her over the past several years and am amazed that she is still winning trophies. She is truly a great tennis star!

Thanks again for reminding me that it was her birthday. I hope to get out on the court now that the hot summer is almost over. Just thinking of Dodo will motivate me to get out there and enjoy!

Stephanie W
Las Vegas NV

Richard Schwartz said...

Hi Stephanie:

So happy to learn how Dodo motivated you to play tennis and how my blog has inspired you to get out there and play.
I did a recent blog about a San Franciso player, Dan Lucey (remembering Dan Lucey) who had a similar effect on me.
Sorry for the delay in my response.

Richard