Stammers, Kay (1914—)

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Stammers, Kay (1914—)

British tennis player. Name variations: Katherine Menzies. Born on April 3, 1914, in St. Albans, Hertsfordshire, England.

Beginning her tennis career at an early age, British tennis player Kay Stammers was a junior champion at age 14 and was the first 17-year-old to compete in the Wimbledon championships (1931). Stammers went on to represent Great Britain against the United States in the Wightman Cup for five years (1934–39), beating out such players as Helen Hull Jacobs and Alice Marble . She also won the Surrey hard court singles championship three years in succession, from 1932 to 1934, and again in 1936. Stammers, who was known for her strong left-handed forearm drive, was the first British player to beat Helen Newington Wills in 11 years (1935).