The Cal 100: No. 84 -- Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman

Cal did not have a women's tennis team when she was a Cal student 100 years ago, but she became a tennis star and pioneer. The Wightman Cup is named for her

We count down the top 100 individuals associated with Cal athletics, based on their impact in sports or in the world at large – a wide-open category. See if you agree.

No. 84: Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman

Cal Sports Connection: A 1911 Cal graduate, Wightman won two U.S. National tennis singles title while a student at Cal.

Claim to Fame: She won 17 Grand Slam tennis titles, and the Wightman Cup is named after Wightman, who is considered a major influence in women’s sports.

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Fame fades over time, which is why Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman is not higher on our list. In her era she was one of the most important figures in women’s sports, but her era was 100 years ago.

Cal did not have a women’s tennis team when she entered Cal in 1907, and women could not use the university tennis courts after 8 a.m. But that did not prevent the Golden Bears from having a women’s team match against their archrival. Wightman took it upon herself to organize the team match against Stanford, and Cal won it.

Wightman graduated from Cal in 1911, but by then she had already won two singles titles at the U.S. Nationals (which became the U.S. Open in 1968). She won titles in 1909 and 1910, then won it a third time in 1911, also winning titles in women’s doubles and mixed doubles that year. She won a fourth U.S. Nationals singles title in 1919 after having given birth to three children, an achievement that was unheard of at the time.

She continued to compete at a high level into her 60s. She reached the U.S. Nationals quarterfinals in 1928 at the age of 41, and won the women’s doubles title that year. Wightman won her last major title at the U.S. Indoor Championships, in women's doubles, in 1943, at age 57. At age 60, she reached the finals of the U.S. Indoor Championships.

She finished her career with 17 Grand Slam titles (four singles, seven women’s doubles, six mixed doubles). Wightman played singles at only one other Grand Slam event in her career – the 1924 French Open (then the French national championship) -- although she did win the 1924 women’s doubles title at Wimbledon.

Wightman was a coach of the best women’s players of the era, including Helen Wills and Helen Hull Jacobs, and became a leader in women’s sports. Wills partnered with Wightman to win the 1924 Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles. Wightman also won the gold medal in mixed doubles that year, even though her partner had suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the semifinals.

Wightman was the driving force in establishing a team competition between American and British women, donating the money for a trophy. The trophy and the event became known as the Wightman Cup, which is the women’s version of the Davis Cup.

Oh, and by the way, Wightman won the U.S. national singles championship in squash in 1927, won a Massachusetts table tennis championship and reached the mixed doubles finals of a national badminton event.

Cal 100: No. 85 -- Robert Paylor

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Cover photo of Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman courtesy of Cal Athletics

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