Gladys Heldman

Gladys Medalie Heldman is one of the noted females in the history of tennis. Born on May 13, 1922, she was previously a non-athletic New Yorker. However, after marrying Julius Heldman, the United States junior champion in 1936, she developed a love for the sport and started playing the game.

Heldman’s daughters also play tennis and had even won some junior tournaments and ranked as high as No. 5 in the world. Her highest achievement in terms of ranking was at No. 1 in Texas, and landed on No. 2 in the Southwest. She went as far as competing in Wimbledon back in 1954 as well as making an appearance at the U.S. Championships which was held at Forest Hills.

However, despite her great performance in the tennis playing world, Heldman made a bigger mark when she founded the World Tennis magazine, which she started in 1953. Her magazine became known as a supporter of the disgruntled female tennis players such as Rosie Casals and Billie Jean King. These female tennis players felt that they were treated unfairly in the world that was earlier considered as a game for men.

For over two decades, Heldman held her post as the founder-owner-publisher-editor-chief-writer of the World Tennis magazine. Due to her alliance with the female tennis players, she later became an instigator as well as housemother of a professional circuit that was separate from the already established one. This circuit began in 1970, and under her guidance, World Tennis blossomed into an internationally known voice of tennis.

World Tennis, however, did not remain in Heldman’s hands after 1972. She sold the magazine during the said time to CBS Publications, and in due time, she stepped out of the tennis politics world. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame by 1979, and in June 22, 2003, she passed away peacefully.