Clara Louise Zinke Judd (March 30, 1909 – April 20, 1978) was an American tennis player in the early part of the 20th century. Later in life, she became a social worker.

Early life and education

Zinke was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Stanley Gustav Zinke and Beulah Few Zinke. Her father was a physician. She graduated from Hughes High School and the University of Cincinnati.

Sports career

Zinke played tennis competitively on the national level as a junior and adult. She was a singles finalist in the U.S. National Girls singles championship of 1926, and at the international tennis tournament in Cincinnati, she won more total titles (12) than any other woman in tournament history: Zinke still holds tournament records in Cincinnati for most total finals appearances (18), most singles finals appearances (10) and most doubles finals appearances (7) for both men and women. (The other appearance was in mixed doubles, which she won, in 1931.) Other career highlights:

Later life and legacy

Zinke was an amateur pianist and songwriter, and active in lawn bowling and surf fishing. She worked as a social worker for the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Housing Authority, and was an admissions counselor at a nursing home. Her first husband was John B. Sparling; they married in 1931 and divorced in 1933. Her second husband was college professor and hospital superintendent Henry Northey Hooper; they married in 1941, and he died in 1966. Her third husband was bank executive WIlliam M. Judd. She died in 1978, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 69. In 2004 she was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame.