Helen Hull Jacobs
Born: August 06, 1908
Died: June 02, 1997
Hometown: Globe, Arizona, United States
Citizenship: United States
Handed: Right
Inducted: 1962
Grand Slam Record
U.S. Singles 1932-35
Singles finalist 1928, 36, 39, 40
Doubles 1932-35
Doubles finalist 1931, 36
Mixed 1934
Mixed finalist 1932
French Singles finalist 1930, 34
Doubles finalist 1934
Wimbledon Singles 1936
Singles finalist 1929, 32, 34, 35, 38
Doubles finalist 1932, 36, 39
Tournament Record
Italian Singles 1934
Doubles 1934
Wightman Cup 1927-37, 1939
Helen Hull Jacobs had the misfortune to be a contemporary of Helen Wills Moody. Four times in the battle of Helens in the final round at Wimbledon, Jacobs lost. She also lost to her arch-rival at Forest Hills in the 1928 U.S. final.
On top of all those defeats to Helen the First, Jacobs was beaten in the 1934 Wimbledon final by Dorothy Round of Britain, and three times she was turned back in a U.S. final by Alice Marble (1936, 1939, 1940).
Particularly bitter for her to take was a defeat in the 1935 Wimbledon final. Moody that season was struggling, and in the final round Jacobs led at match point, 5-3. Victory seemed at hand when Wills threw up a lob that barely got to the net, and Jacobs waited to smash it for the final point. But a wind current caught the ball and Jacobs, off balance, hit it into the net. Moody rallied and went on to her seventh Wimbledon title. At the time, Jacobs had none.
In spite of so much adversity, Jacobs, a 5-foot-6, 145-pound right-hander, born August 6, 1908, in Globe, AZ, was as stout of heart as any champion. A U.S. finalist eight times over a stretch of a dozen years (1928-40), Jacobs won four straight, 1932-35, ringing up a 28-match winning streak until dropping a hard-fought 1936 final, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to her Forest Hills nemesis, Alice Marble. Only Helen Wills (46) and Chris Evert (31) had longer U.S. streaks, but she and Evert were the only victors four straight years. In 1932 at Forest Hills she caused a sartorial furor, introducing shorts to the female tournament. At last in 1936 she took the victor’s silver at Wimbledon, beating Hilda Krahwinkel Sperling, 4-6, 7-5. Twice she made it to the French final but fell to the other Helen, 6-2, 6-1, in 1930, and lefty Peggy Scriven, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, in 1934.
Jacobs’ unflagging courage, her iron will to win, was her biggest asset. She had little of the power that Moody applied, and Jacobs’ forehand stroke was so unsatisfactory that she forsook it for a sliced cut at the ball, not too effective either to stand off a full-blooded drive or to repel a volleyer. Her backhand, while not severe, was steadfast, reliable against any amount of pressure and she won heavily with it.
It was at the net where she was most effective. She was not as conclusive with her volley or her smash as Marble, but she was a skilled foe at close quarters, and her fighting traits counted most, whatever her position on the court. Even when afflicted with injuries, she refused to be discouraged. Her admirable qualities including sportsmanship and great self-reliance, had a strong appeal for tennis galleries.
A feud was built up in publications between the two Helens that Jacobs said never existed. Moody was pictured as resenting Jacobs following in her footsteps. Both played at the Berkely (CA) Tennis Club, had the same coach, “Pop” Fuller, won national junior championships two years in a row and attended the University of California. The Jacobs’ family lived in the Wills’ former home. The two Helens did not see each other except in connection with tennis.
Jacobs, after eight losses to Moody, finally got the victory she was after in the 1933 U.S. Championships, although even then it was not a complete one. She won the first set against Moody, 8-6, and lost the second, 6-3. When the score went to 3-0 in Jacobs’ favor in the third set, Moody walked to the umpire’s stand, informed the official that because of pain in her back she was unable to continue, and conceded the match. Jacobs had dealt Moody her first big defeat since 1926. It would be Jacobs’ lone win in an 11-match rivalry.
She was ranked in the World Top Ten 12 straight times from 1928, No. 1 in 1936, and in the U.S. Top Ten 13 times between 1927 and 1941, No. 1 in 1932, 1933, 1934, and 1935, and served in the Navy in World War II. She was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962.
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