ITF name | Karen Susman |
---|---|
Country (sports) | United States |
Born |
San Diego, CA, USA |
December 11, 1942
Plays | Right–handed |
Singles | |
Highest ranking | No.4 (1962) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
French Open | QF (1964) |
Wimbledon | W (1962) |
US Open | QF (1959, 1964) |
Doubles | |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
French Open | 3R (1964) |
Wimbledon | W (1961, 1962) |
US Open | W (1964) |
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
French Open | 3R (1964) |
Wimbledon | QF (1960, 1964) |
Karen Hantze Susman (née Hantze; born December 11, 1942) is a retired female tennis player from the United States. Susman won the 1962 women's singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Věra Pužejová Suková in the final 6–4, 6–4, but did not defend her title in 1963. She also won three Grand Slam women's doubles titles, all with Billie Jean King. She also won the 1960 Wimbledon junior girls' singles title.
Susman and King, as an unseeded team, won the 1961 women's doubles title at Wimbledon, defeating the third-seeded team of Jan Lehane O'Neill and Margaret Court in the final 6–3, 6–4. Susman and King successfully defended their title in 1962, defeating the South African team of Renée Schuurman and Sandra Reynolds Price in the final 5–7, 6–3, 7–5. Susman and King reached the 1964 women's doubles final at Wimbledon, losing to the top-seeded team of Court and Lesley Turner Bowrey 7–5, 6–2. For Wimbledon's centenary celebration in 1977, Susman and King teamed for the last time. As the eighth-seeded team, they were upset in a second round match on Centre Court by the team of Mary Carillo and 7–9, 6–4, 6–3.
Susman and King won the 1964 women's doubles title at the U.S. Championships, defeating Court and Bowrey in the final 3–6, 6–2, 6–4. Susman and King reached the 1962 women's doubles final at the U.S. Championships, losing to the team of Maria Bueno and Darlene Hard 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. They also reached the 1965 women's doubles final at the U.S. Championships, losing to the team of Nancy Richey Gunter and Carole Caldwell Graebner 6–4, 6–4. Susman played little in 1963, deciding not to defend her Wimbledon singles and doubles titles. She returned to play in 1964, and at Wimbledon, she lost in a third-round match to Margaret Smith. She entered the U.S. Championships the same year, but withdrew before the tournament. Susman played little in the 1960s and 1970s but her last Grand Slam singles tournament was at the 1980 US Open. She defeated Tanya Harford in the first round 3–6, 6–2, 6–4 and Janet Newberry Wright in the second round 7–5, 6–1 before losing to 14th-seeded 6–3, 6–1.