Location: Priory Park, Dudley, West Midlands
Artist: John McKenna
Dorothy Edith Round (13 July 1909 – 12 November 1982), was a British tennis player who was active from the late 1920s until 1950. She achieved her major successes in the 1930s. She won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937, and the singles at the Australian Championships in 1935. She also had success as a mixed doubles player at Wimbledon, winning a total of three titles. After her wedding in 1937, she played under her married name, Mrs D.L. Little. During the Second World War, she played in North America and became a professional coach in Canada and the United States. Post-war, she played in British regional tournaments, coached, and wrote on tennis for newspapers. She was inducted posthumously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986.
The Wimbledon winner’s daughter Tricia Swindell officially unveiled the life-sized sculpture near the tennis courts in her home town of Priory Park on 20th September 2013. The sculpture was created by Scottish artist John McKenna who has highlighted her combination of mental determination and perfect physical condition. The memorial is a celebration of her successes; winning Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937 and the first woman from overseas to win the Australian Open tennis championships in 1935.
