By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Anita Lizana of Chile has a special chapter in the history of tennis as the first player from South America to win a major singles title at the 1937 U.S. Championships, the modern-day U.S. Open. However, Lizana has another talking point in history of the sport as she was the last player to win the U.S. women’s singles title in her first attempt.
It actually was only one and done for the five-footer from Santiago, Chile as she only entered the tournament one time. She rolled through the field at Forest Hills, winning the title without losing a set, defeating Jadwiga Jedrzejowska of Poland in the final 6-4, 6-2.
She was married the following summer to a Brit and settled in Dundee, Scotland and limited her tournament play as she began her family life, just before the world erupted into World War II. She was also a singles quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 1936 and 1937 and also returned to the All England Club after the war and reached the doubles quarterfinals in 1947. She was recognized as the world’s No. 1 player in 1937 based on her one-sided win at Forest Hills as well as other strong tournament results.
Bud Collins, in his definitive historical volume “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” (available here for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_5krCDbHZ5H2CD) described Lizana as “a significant blip” with her one U.S. title in her one appearance and that she was “short, quick, solid groundstroker with good passing shots, drop shots, admirable footwork.”
In his summary of the 1937 year in tennis, Collins wrote the following of the Chilean’s historic win: “Lizana, a quarterfinal loser at Wimbledon to Simone Mathieu, 6-3, 6-3, had led (Helen) Jacobs at the same stage in 1936 (4-2, 30-0 in the third). But re-crossing the Atlantic, petite Anita accomplished an incomprehensible tour de force at the U.S. Championships: One visit only to Forest Hills, one title, no sets lost (in fact merely 28 games in six easy matches). Her quickness and maddening drop shots carried the No. 2 foreign seed well. Around Lizana others fell: No.3-seeded ex-finalist Sarah Palfrey Fabyan in a first-round shaker to No. 13 American Dorothy Andrus of New York, 12-10, 0-6, 7-5; a too-casual defending champion Marble in the quarterfinals to eager 21-year-old Californian Dodo Bundy (daughter of 1904 champ, May Sutton), 1-6, 7-5, 6-1; Jacobs in the semifinal to Jedrzejowska, 6-4, 6-4. Lizana cooled the blazing forehand of the Pole in winning, 6-4, 6-2, the first all-foreign U.S. final. That completed a shutout of American women at the four majors, making it their most poverty-stricken year since 1918 when Norwegian Molla Mallory won the lone major available in that war year.”
