Celebrating Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, USTA Colorado celebrates women tennis pioneers and Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame inductees who have significantly contributed to tennis throughout the state of Colorado and beyond.

Class of 2001 / Joan Birkland
Blessed with incredible athletic ability, Joan excelled in tennis, golf, and basketball. Despite the lack of sporting opportunities available to women at that time, she went beyond what was expected of girls in sports during her day. Joan holds the distinction of twice winning the state golf and tennis titles in the same year, 1962 and 1966. She captured 21 major Colorado and Intermountain tennis titles in all, six singles and 15 doubles crowns. She has been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Joan is a national leader in the advancement of girls and women in sport. She is the Founderof Sportswomen of Colorado and has served as its Executive Director for more than two decades.

Class of 2002 / Dorothy Mauk
Believed to be the first woman in the nation to work full–time in the sports department of a major metropolitan daily newspaper, Dorothy was literally “drafted” for her pioneering position as sportswriter at the Denver Post. Although nearly 40 different sports came under Dorothy’s purview, tennis received the most attention. She made her inaugural courtside appearance in 1965, and for 17 years she covered nearly every tournament in Colorado, including the annual United Bank Tennis Classic in the 1970s and early 80s, and the 1974 debut of Denver’s World Team Tennis franchise, the Racquets. Dorothy served on the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation board of trustees for numerous years. In 1971, the Colorado Tennis Association presented Dorothy with the inaugural Bud Robineau Award for her contributions to the tennis community.

Class of 2000 / Carol Baily
At Arizona State University, Carol twice helped her team capture the national tennis championship. As a touring professional, she appeared in the U.S. and Australian Opens, and reached a personal high ranking of No. 51 in singles in 1980. In Colorado, Carol captured 14 singles and 27 doubles titles in the state’s three major tournaments: the Colorado State and the Denver City Opens and the Intermountain Sectional Championship. Her 41 combined major state titles rank second all-time. Carol has twice been ranked No. 1 in the world, in the women’s 40 singles and doubles in 1991 and women’s 45 singles and doubles in 1996. Representing the U.S. at the World Team Championships in the early and mid-1990s, Carol led the U.S. to three world titles – in 1993, 1995 and 1996