BOUMAN, “KEA” (Kornelia Bouman)
Netherlands
Born 23 November 1903 in Armelo
Died 17 November 1998 in Delden
Married Karl Alexander "Alex" Wilhelm Tiedemann on 27 January 1931 in Armelo
[Active 1923 to 1930]
The only Dutch female to win a singles slam, beating Irene Peacock in the 1927 French final 6-2 6-4. Two years later Kea won the French doubles with Lili de Alvarez. Bill Tilden described her game, “very strong with a good serve, hard forehand, and excellent footwork."
In her youth Bouman took up tennis on the cement court of Armelo located in a remote eastern corner of Holland. As her game developed she moved to The Hague to obtain better tennis competition. Like many a female champion Kea sharpened her game by hitting against stronger males. Tennis wasn't her only sport; golf and field hockey were also played at a high level.
Kea first won the Dutch Nationals in 1923. She would repeat as champion in 1924, 1925 and 1926. 5 titles each in doubles and mixed would leave her with a total of 14 Dutch titles.
She set a milestone in 1924 by winning the bronze medal in Mixed Doubles with Henk Timmer, becoming the first Dutch female to win an Olympic medal.
As the 1920s went on her prominence grew. In 1926 she had a breakthrough at the French. Benefitting from a default by #2 seed Helen Wills (a victim of appendicitus), Kea survived a tussle with Helene Contostavlos in the quarters, finally wining out at 6-2 7-9 8-6. This deep run was ended by #3 seed Mary Browne in semifinals 8-6 6-3.
Just weeks later Kea became the first Dutch female to reach the last 8 at Wimbledon when she lost a tight 3 set quarterfinal to Molla Mallory.
1927 proved to be her banner year. Seeded #3 on the strength of her 1926 result, the steady Bouman dropped two sets in 5 victories, the toughest match being a 3 set squeaker over the adventurous but at times unsteady Bobbie Heine. The 5-7 6-4 6-3 win prevented an all South African final, for in the next round Kea won over #4 seed Irene Peacock 6-2 6-4. To this day Bouman is the only Dutch female winner of a Grand Slam in singles. Betty Stove made the final at Wimbledon in 1977 but lost to Virginia Wade. Bouman's year continued with a trip to the United States. Here she made the quarterfinals at the US Nationals, then went west to end with a tournament victory at the first Pacific Southwest Championships in Los Angeles. It had been quite a year.
Married to Swiss rower Alex Tiedemann in 1931, the couple emigrated to the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) until 1940. They later lived for a time in the United States, returning to the Netherlands with their children in 1950. In 1998 Kea died only four days after Henk Timmer, her great friend and partner in winning the Olympic Bronze 74 years earlier.
There is a street in Amsterdam named in her honor.
Quality results in Grand slams and the Olympics
Singles
French Open W (1927), SF (1926)
Wimbledon QF (1926)
US Open QF (1927)
Doubles
French Open W (1929)
Wimbledon QF (1928, 1929)
Mixed Doubles
Wimbledon QF (1929)
Olympic Bronze medal with Henk Timmer in 1924.
World Top Ten Rankings
1927: #9
1928: #8
At the 1927 French with Bill Tilden
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea_Bouman
[Thanks to Rollo for this information]
