Former world No. 1 Louise Brough Clapp passed away at her home with her family in Vista, California, earlier this week at the age of 90.
A winner of 35 major titles, Brough Clapp was one of the most dominant female players of the 1940s and 50s. She won six Grand Slam singles titles, 21 in doubles, and eight in mixed doubles. Considered to be a great volleyer, she was enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967.
In all, Louise won 13 titles at Wimbledon—where she appeared in 21 of the 30 finals contested from 1946 through 1955 in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles—17 titles at the U.S. Championships, three titles at the French Championships, and two titles at the Australian Championships.
Born in 1923 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she moved to Beverly Hills as a child and grew up playing tennis on public courts at Roxbury Park. She won the U.S. 18-and-under titles in 1940 and 1941.