 Gladys
M. Heldman
Read Gladys Heldman Obituary
Dynamic, strong-minded and gutsy, Gladys
M. Heldman (b.1922) fought and won the battle for parity in women's
professional tennis. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford, heldman
took up tennis at age 25 following her marriage to scientist
Julius Heldman, former U.S. junior champion. She became devoted
to the game, achieving a ranking within two years and competing
at Forest Hills andn Wimbledon. In 1953 she founded World
Tennis magazine.
During her highly successful 20-year
tenure as magazine editor and publisher, Heldman served as a
leading advocate for players. In 1970, with women receiving a
fraction of men's prize money, Heldman organized the first professional
tournament for women; she obtained sponsorship from Virginia
Slims and launched the women's pro circuit. In 1979 Heldman joined
a select group of non-players to be inducted into the International
Tennis Hall of Fame.
Career Highlights
B.A.'42 Stanford University,
Phi Beta kappa (No.1 in class); M.A.'43 University of California
at Berkeley (in medieval history)
Founder, Publisher and Editor
of World Tennis magazine 1953-1972
Ranked No.1 in Texas 1951, 1952
Played in the U.S. Championships
1949-1953, Wimbledon 1954
Ranked in USTA Top 10 in Women's
35 Doubles, Women's 45 Doubles, Mother and Daughter 1979
Staged U.S. National Indoor Championships
with record profit 1959
Organized and brought 82 overseas
players by chartered plane to compete in U.S. National Championships
1962
Founder and Organizer, Women's
Pro Tour (Virginia Slims) 1970-1973
Founder and Organizer, Futures
Tour (Avon Circuit) 1975-1976
Brought first-ever Women's Pro
Tour to Europe 1971
Brought first-ever Women's Pro
Tour to Japan 1972
Staged first-ever $100,000 tournament
in Boca Raton, Florida 1972
Winner of USTA Service Bowl 1952
U.S. Tennis Writers Annual Award
1965
World Championship Tennis Annual
Award 1980
Women's Sports Foundation Annual
Award 1982
Author of Tennis (with
Pancho Gonzales); The Book of Tennis (with Cornel Lumiere);
Championship Strategy (with Pancho Segura); and a novel,
The Harmonetics Investigation
Inducted
into the International Tennis hall of Fame 1979
Inducted into the Texas Tennisi
Hall of Fame 1988
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