Casals, Rosemary

1948-

American sports- and businesswoman

Casals was born to poor El Salvadoran immigrant parents in San Francisco. Before she was a year old her parents sent her and her older sister to be raised by their great aunt and uncle. This great uncle introduced Rosemary to tennis and became her only coach. She struggled to overcome class and racial prejudice to become a champion in a game then still dominated by wealthy white Europeans, and agitated successfully for greater equality in prize money and publicity for women players.

For years from 1967, Casals and Billy Jean King dominated the women's doubles competitions. After knee surgery in 1978 she left professional tennis and entered the sports promotion business and established a television production company, but in 1990 she and King won the US Open Seniors' women's doubles championship.

References

Dever, Maria, and Dever, Aileen. Relative Origins: Famous Foster and Adopted People. (Portland: National Book Company, 1992)
Altman, Linda Jacobs. Rosemary Casals: The Rebel Rosebud. (St. Paul: EMC Corporation, 1975)
Thacher, Alida M. Raising a Racket: Rosie Casals. (Milwaukee: Raintree Editions, 1976)
Who's Who in America, 1996
"Rosemary Casals." Available at: http://www.gale.com/gale/cwh/casalsr.html