May Sutton Bundy

May Godfrey Sutton was the first American to win the singles title at Wimbledon. She was born on September 25, 1886 in Plymouth. England, Sutton. She made history by beating Dorothea Chambers in Wimbledon in 1905, becoming the first American to do so.

Sutton was only six when she and her family moved to a ranch in Pasadena ,California. This was where she started to play tennis often, on the tennis court made by her father. She and her sisters Violet, Florence and Ethel would eventually make names for themselves in the California tennis circuit in their teens. Sutton, especially, made waves when she won the US Championship singles title at the age of 18 in 1904, a year prior to her v historic Wimbledon victory.

Sutton shocked the tennis world with her first-ever victory in Wimbledon, not only because she was able to defeat two-time Wimbledon champion Dorothea Chambers, but because she played the match with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a skirt that exposed her ankles, quite a sight for the prim and proper Brits.

After this win, Chambers was able to recover the title in 1906, and in true fashion Sutton again captured the title a year later. Afterwards the American concentrated her efforts to winning matches in the US.

Sutton married fellow tennis player Tom Bundy in 1912, and seemed ready and content to settle down and have a family. However, the lure of the game was too much, and Sutton made a comeback in 1921 at the age of 35, becoming the 4th ranked player in the world. She was also selected to America’s Wightman Cup team when she was already nearing her 40s.

Sutton was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1956. She died two decades later, in 1975.