Ilse Friedleben

Vocation

Notable

German high-ranking tennis player who was active until the beginning of the 1930s. In the years before World War I, both Ilse and her sister Toni were among the best German female tennis players. After the war, the first years of the Weimar Republic became Friedleben's most successful years. Between 1920 and 1926 she won the German Championships at Hamburg six times, only being defeated once by Nelly Neppach in 1925. In 1927, the year the International Lawn Tennis Federation lifted the ban on German players on international tournaments, the time of her dominance seemed to come to an end. Although she could reach the final at Hamburg again, she was beaten by emerging 18-year-old Cilly Aussem. In the same year, Aussem took her place at the top of the German tennis ranking. She played at Wimbledon in 1927 and 1929, but saw her first round exit in each year. Still at the 1927 French Championships, she was able to reach the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champion, Dutch Kea Bouman, in three sets. Her last triumph was her German title in 1932, the year Aussem couldn't participate due to an illness. In spring 1933, Friedleben was still ranked fifth on national level. After the Nazi Party had seized power in Germany in January, German tennis clubs began to expel Jewish members. In April, the German tennis association announced that Jewish players would no longer be allowed to play for Germany in international tournaments. Friedleben who was of Jewish faith fled to Switzerland in the same month. From then on, only little is known of her life. She is said to have worked as a teacher in Switzerland after World War II. She died in London in December 1963, aged 70. Link to Wikipedia biography