Champion’s sister-in-law dies at 89

The sister-in-law of Black Country Wimbledon ladies’ tennis champion Dorothy Round has died.

Kathleen Round, better known as Kay, died in hospital in York after a short illness at the age of 89.

Born Kathleen Coulson, of Himley Road, Dudley, she married into the Round family in 1939, two years after Dorothy’s second ladies’ championship victory.

Mrs Round moved to North Yorkshire shortly after Christmas to be near her daughter Shirley and her family.

Her son Nigel, a retired building surveyor, lives in High Park Crescent, Sedgley.

Her son-in-law Paul Dunstan said: “Kay was a very kind and giving person.

“She loved helping people and had a real passion for animals and was a great supporter of the RSPCA.

“Kay was not a tennis player and never challenged Dorothy but the two families were very close and would often go on holidays together,” he added.

Kay and her late husband Bert were widely known in the region.

Mr Round was a co-director of the Mark Round building firm in New Street, Dudley, and a long-serving member of the Old Dudleian Lodge of the Freemasons.

The couple were also prominent members of Dudley Conservative Club and Mrs Round was active in the Meals on Wheels service. Mr and Mrs Round lived first in Oakham Road and later Priory Close until they retired to Wolverley in 1969.

Following her husband’s death in 1975 Kay moved to Kinver.

A private cremation service is to be held in Yorkshire, followed by a memorial service to be held at St Peter’s Church, Kinver, on Thursday at 2.30pm.

Dorothy Round, who was born in Dudley on July 13 1908, went on to claim two Wimbledon singles winners medals in 1934 and 1937.

She was also, in 1935, the first overseas woman player to win the Australian Championship.

She died in 1984 in Kidderminster.

The tennis star’s last surviving sibling, her cousin, also called Kathleen Round, lives in Dudley and turned 100 at the end of last year.