Background
Heldman, the daughter of New York Court of Appeals judge George Z. Medalie, first became interested in tennis after marrying Julius Heldman, the left-handed United States junior champion in 1936.
Heldman, the daughter of New York Court of Appeals judge George Z. Medalie, first became interested in tennis after marrying Julius Heldman, the left-handed United States junior champion in 1936.
Stanford University.
Originally a New Yorker, Gladys rose to a Number. 1 ranking in Texas, as well as Number. 2 in the Southwest; she even appeared at Wimbledon in 1954 and also competed in the United States. Championships at Forest Hills.
Gladys Heldman is best known for founding in 1953, and for promoting the women"s game during the 1950s and 1960s.
She worked with female tennis players to create a separate women"s circuit in 1970. Female players felt they were being denied the financial rewards of the men"s game.
With backing from Joe Cullman of Philip Morris, the first participants in the circuit, known as the "Houston Nine," played the first Virginia Slims Circuit tournament in Houston in late 1970. The players accepted $1 contracts from Heldman.
The tournament was a success, and although the American players were temporarily suspended by the USTA, the Virginia Slims Circuit became so popular that it eventually merged with the USTA. Heldman sold her magazine to Columbia Broadcasting System Publications in 1972 and was out of tennis politics by the middle of the 1970s.
Heldman was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979, Texas Tennis Hall of Fame in 1988, Industry Training Authority Women"s Hall of Fame in 1998, and International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
She is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.