Cilly Aussem

Aussem was born in Cologne on 4 January 1909, the daughter of a wealthy salesman Johann Joseph 'Jean' Aussem and Ulrike Franziska 'Helen' Wisbaum.[3] At the age of fourteen, she returned to Cologne after spending several years in Geneva getting a boarding school education. It was at this time that she started taking tennis lessons at the local club KTHC Stadion Rot-Weiss, driven by her mother, who was the first to notice her talent.[3] She contacted Roman Najuch, the reigning world professional champion. Najuch referred Aussem to Willy Hanneman, a tennis coach from Cologne. Hannemann taught Aussem a great sliced backhand, a precisely placed serve, and an effective drop shot. In 1925 she won the junior singles title at the German Championships in Erfurt and was ranked nr. 6 nationally.[3]

Aussem won the German Championships for the first time in 1927, when she was 18 years old. In Hamburg she defeated reigning champion Ilse Friedleben in the final in straight sets.[4] But Aussem, who was described as a graceful, small, and psychologically sensitive girl, seemed incapable of withstanding the mental and physical pressures of competitive sports. Usually, the family traveled to exclusive places all over Europe. During the family's summer vacation at the French Riviera, Aussem's ambitious mother asked the world's best player, Bill Tilden, for advice. After having a look at small, shy, Cilly he replied: "My dear lady, Cilly will become a great champion, if you take the next train back to Germany!"[5][6]

Tilden became Aussem's coach and made her a world class player. Aussem's trademark became her powerful flat forehand. Newspaper articles said that Aussem had a great sliced backhand and effective drop shots.[7] But her biggest qualities were her precision, athletic conditioning, and fighting spirit.

Cilly Aussem in 1930

In 1928 Aussem's mother claimed that Paula von Reznicek had twice beaten her daughter by using hypnotism, which led to a lawsuit in which Von Reznicek filed charges of 'defamation of character' and Aussem's mother charged her with 'insulting assault'.[8][9][10] She lost her German Championships singles title in 1928 after a three-sets defeat in the final to Daphne Akhurst.[11]

Aussem suffered from eye inflammation throughout 1929 but in 1930 she had her breakthrough.[12] With Tilden, she won all the mixed double titles on the Riviera that season. At the French Championships, Aussem and Tilden defeated the world's top two mixed doubles teams, Elizabeth Ryan / Jean Borotra and Eileen Bennett Whittingstall / Henri Cochet, and took the French title.[13] Aussem also reached a singles semifinal, where she lost to Helen Jacobs.

At Wimbledon, Aussem won against Jacobs in the quarterfinal and faced Ryan in a semifinal. The match ended unexpectedly. While running, Aussem tumbled, fell, twisted her ankle and lost consciousness.[14][15] After that incident, health problems hampered the remainder of Aussem's tennis career. Her eyes became more and more sensitive, so that she had to spend hours in a darkened room waiting for her matches to start.[16]

In August 1930 she won her second German Championships singles title after a straight-sets victory in the final against compatriot Hilde Krahwinkel.[17] At the end of 1930, three years after starting to play in international championships, she reached second place in the world rankings.

1931 was Aussem's most successful year. She won the French Championships, defeating Betty Nuthall of the United Kingdom, and the German Championships after a win in the final against Irmgard Rost. Aussem also won the Wimbledon singles championship, defeating her compatriot Hilde Krahwinkel in the final in straight sets. She became the first German woman to do so. Aussem again was ranked World No. 2 behind Helen Wills Moody.[5] An English newspaper described Aussem as follows: "There is a Paavo Nurmi of tennis from Germany, a beautiful young girl. Her quickness and her fighting spirit are singular!"

All seemed to be prepared for a great international career when something happened that stopped Aussem's rapid rise. Celebrating the successful year of 1931, Aussem and her friend and teammate, Irmgard Rost, decided to travel to Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Aussem won some tournaments there but also caught a serious liver inflammation.[18] Back in Germany, she underwent surgery from which she recovered only very slowly. During the two years she was not allowed to participate in sports, she dreamed about a comeback.

In 1933, Aussem returned to the courts but was not able to regain her form. In 1934, she again reached ninth place in the worldwide rankings but started losing to players she had always beaten. She lost at Wimbledon to Helen Jacobs in a quarterfinal and decided to quit the tour at age 25.[19]

During her winter holidays in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1935, Aussem met her Italian husband-to-be, Earl Fermo Murari dalla Corte Brà.[20][6] The wedding took place in Munich on 11 March 1936 and the pair moved to Mombasa, Kenya. During her stay there she contracted malaria.[3] Aussem spent the last two decades of her life mainly in her husband's castle in Portofino. Very rarely did people notice her as a discreet spectator at tennis tournaments.

In 1963, she underwent another liver surgery, a late consequence of that trip to South America three decades before. Aussem did not recover. She died on 22 March 1963, at the age of 54.[5]

German tennis player and writer Roderich Menzel wrote: "Everywhere where she swang her racket and warmed the spectators hearts with her magic smile, she unknowingly inspired young girls to play tennis the way she did. If we remember her today, we feel deep love in our hearts. And we confess proudly: She was our mistress of tennis."[21]

Since 1965 the Junior Championships of the German Tennis Association are held under the name "Grosse Cilly Aussem Spiele".[22]

¹ Aussem did not play. Her opponent got a walkover.

• Bernd Tuchen: Ich galt als Wunderkind ... Cilly Aussem – das Leben der ersten deutschen Wimbledon-Siegerin. Shaker Media, Aachen 2008, ISBN 978-3-86858-089-1.

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final