Brough (Clapp), Louise

Louise Brough (Clapp), Althea
Born: March 11, 1923
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Citizenship: United States
Handed: Right
Inducted: 1967

Grand Slam Record
Australian  Singles 1950
   Doubles 1950

 Wimbledon Singles 1948-50, 1955
   Singles finalist 1946, 52, 54
   Doubles 1946, 1948-50, 1954
   Doubles finalist  1947, 51, 52
   Mixed 1946-48, 50
   Mixed finalist  1949, 55

 U.S. Singles 1947
   Singles finalist 1942, 43, 48, 54, 57
   Doubles 1942-50, 1955-57
   Doubles finalist 1952-54
   Mixed 1942, 1947-49
   Mixed finalist 1946

 French Doubles 1946-47, 1949
   Doubles finalist 1950
   Doubles 1942-50, 1955-57
   Doubles finalist 1950

Tournament Record
Wightman Cup   1946-50, 1952-57

 Italian Doubles Finalist 19511952-57

One of the great volleyers in history was Althea Louise Brough, whose handiwork at the net earned her l3 titles at Wimbledon alone, in singles, doubles and mixed, including a rare triple–championships in each–in 1950. Of the foremost U.S. females only Chris Evert (19 times) and Billie Jean King (18) lasted longer in the American Top Ten. Brough was there 16 times between 1941 and 1957, No 1 in 1947. She was in the World Top Ten 12 times, 1946 through 1957, No. 1 in 1955.

Louise Brough was born March 11, 1923, in Oklahoma City, OK, but grew up in Southern California, where she came to prominence as a junior, winning the U.S. 18-and-under title in 1940 and 1941.

Wimbledon was not held during World War II, but when the tournament reopened in 1946 Brough was ready to play a dominant role for a decade in the leading tournament, and is recalled as one of the most overwhelming players to compete there. In the first postwar visit she appeared in every final and just missed out on a triple, losing the singles to Pauline Betz. But the right-handed Brough won the doubles with Margaret duPont and the mixed doubles with Tom Brown.

During the Brough decade a Wimbledon final without her was unusual. Between 1946 and 1955, she won her way into 21 of the 30 finals, taking the singles in 1948, 1949, 1950, and 1955, the doubles also in 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1954 with duPont, and the mixed doubles in 1946 with Tom Brown, in 1947 and 1948 with John Bromwich and in 1950 with Eric Sturgess.

Although she won the U.S. Singles Championship at Forest Hills only in 1947, she was a finalist on five other occasions. Doubles was the stage for her utmost success in the U.S., allied with duPont in possibly the finest female team ever, certainly the most victorious in major events. They won 20 Big Four titles together (12 U.S., five Wimbledon, three French), a mark equaled by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in 1989.

Included in their record dozen U.S. titles was the longest championship run in any of the Big Four Events: nine straight doubles between 1942 and 1950. (Max Decugis and Maurice Germot won the French doubles 10 straight times between 1906 and 1920, but competition then was restricted to French citizens.) Brough and duPont did not enter the U.S. doubles in 1951 and 1952, but they returned to increase their record match winning streak to 41 before narrowly losing the 1953 final to Doris Hart and Shirley Fry, 6-2, 7-9, 9-7, despite holding two match points. As a team in the U.S. doubles they won 12 of 14 times entered and 58 of 60 matches, losing but five sets.

Altogether, Brough won 35 of the major titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles to rank fifth on the all-time list behind Margaret Court (62), Martina Navratilova (56), Billie Jean King (39) and Margaret duPont (37). Brough won the Australian singles in 1950. Her various U.S. titles amounted to 18, and she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

A willowy blonde, 5-foot-71/2, she was quiet and diffident but the killer in the left court when at play alongside duPont. Despite their close friendship and partnership, they were keen rivals in singles, and Brough’s most difficult Wimbledon triumphs were the three-set wins over duPont in 1949 and 1950, the most stirring the 10-8, 1-6, 10-8 decision in 1949.

After retiring from the amateur circuit she married Dr. A.T. Clapp, and later occasionally played in senior (over 40) tournaments, winning the U.S. Hard Court Doubles in that category in 1971 and 1975 with Barbara Green Weigandt.

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