Early career Round entered her first tennis tournament when she was 16 when she appeared at a competition held at Pwllheli in Wales. In September 1925, Round entered the Junior Worcestershire Championships, and on 7 September 1925 she won the title, defeating Miss Lily Darby of Smethwick in straight sets. She retained the Worcestershire singles junior title the following year and added the doubles title at the same tournament. In September 1926, Round competed in the Junior Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, where she reached the semifinals. In June 1927, Round won three titles at the Worcestershire County Lawn Tennis Tournament, becoming the singles, doubles and mixed doubles champion.
First appearances at Wimbledon and other major tournaments Round entered her first
Wimbledon Championships in 1928 after coming through the qualifying event, and she was knocked out in the first round The following year, she suffered from nerves as she was defeated by
Betty Nuthall in the second round. Round put in some impressive performances at the Wightman Cup trials held at Wimbledon in April 1930, defeating a number of established British players. In the same month,
"Bunny" Austin one of the top British male players, called Round "a bright new star". In 1930 she made her first tennis trip abroad, to the
French Championships where she entered the doubles event, partnered with
Mrs. Holcroft Watson and the mixed doubles event, Her participation in the tournament resulted in a number of newspapers commenting on the possible difficulties caused by Round's refusal to play on Sunday because of her religious principles and the fact that the finals of the French Championships were played on that day. She reached the semifinals of the doubles, where the English pair were beaten by the French pair
Mathieu and Barbier, 7–5, 7–5. She also reached the third round of the mixed doubles. In this year, it was reported that she was being coached by
Dan Maskell. At the
1931 Wimbledon Championships, she reached the quarterfinal stage for the first time after defeating fifth-seeded
Lili Álvarez in the third round, and she was rewarded with a spot on the British team for the
Wightman Cup, the annual women's team tennis competition between Great Britain and the United States, which in 1931 was held in August at Forest Hills. She lost her singles match against
Anna Harper in three sets after failing to convert any of her seven matchpoints. In a newspaper article from 1935, Round stated that it was her Wightman Cup loss that prompted her have more tournament play and she increased the number of tournaments that she played in to around 12 per season. In 1932, she again reached the Wimbledon singles quarterfinal, losing to first-seeded and three-time Wimbledon champion
Helen Wills Moody, 6–0, 6–1. She declined to compete in the French Championships in 1933 because she did not want to play on a Sunday because of her religious convictions.
First Grand Slam singles final was probably Round's most formidable tennis opponent. In May 1933, Round scored a victory over Helen Jacobs in the final of the
British Hard Court Championships, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3. At the
1933 Wimbledon Championships, she was seeded no. 2, and after a win against Helen Jacobs in the semifinal, she reached her first
Grand Slam final. Wills Moody, now five-time Wimbledon singles title-holder, proved too strong, but Round managed to take a set from her, which was the first set Wills Moody lost in a Grand Slam final since 1925. She proceeded with a tour to the United States where she competed in the
1933 Wightman Cup and won the singles title at the
Eastern Grass Court Championships in Rye, beating compatriot
Mary Heeley in the final. The result of the match, held on 12 August 1933, was 6–2, 6–4. Round competed in the 1933
Pacific Coast Championships, held in San Francisco, and was a runner-up to
Alice Marble in the singles event but won the doubles event with partner
Mary Heeley. In February and March 1934, Round travelled with a British team to the Jamaican Tennis Championships. She reached the singles final, losing to Helen Jacobs, 6–4, 6–1. The following May, Round retained her British Hard Court Championships single title in Bournemouth, beating
Peggy Scriven in the final.
Grand Slam successes Seeded number 2 in the 1934 Wimbledon Championships, she won the tournament, defeating sixth-seeded
Lolette Payot in the quarterfinals and eighth-seeded
Simonne Mathieu in the semifinals, and Helen Jacobs, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 in the final. She also won the mixed doubles competition, partnered with
Ryuki Miki. In late 1934, Round was part of a British team that sailed to Australasia, arriving at Auckland on 2 November 1934 on board the
Mariposa. After playing matches in New Zealand, the British team went to Australia in mid-November, where they were given a reception by the New South Lawn Tennis Association on 19 November 1934. Round won the
Victorian Championships, held in Melbourne, in December 1934 after a two-sets win in the final against
Joan Hartigan. In January 1935, Round added the Australian Championships title to her Wimbledon one, beating compatriot
Nancy Lyle in the final, 6–1, 1–6, 6–1. With this victory, Round became the first overseas player to win the Australian Championships. Also in January 1935,
Modern Lawn Tennis, her first instructional book on tennis, was published by George Newnes. Round lost her Wimbledon singles title in the summer of 1935, defeated in the quarterfinals by Australian
Joan Hartigan, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6. However, she retained her mixed doubles title in that year, partnered with
Fred Perry. The pair beat Australians
Nell Hopman and
Harry Hopman, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2. In July 1935, it was reported that she had taken a post as a dress designer and sports wear adviser to a firm of outfitters. Despite being the top seed in the singles of the Wimbledon Championships of summer 1936, Round lost in the quarterfinals, beaten by German
Hilde Sperling. This match generated some controversy, when, during play, Round broke a shoulder strap. When Round requested permission to leave court to change, her opponent Sperling replied that she would prefer to keep on playing in case she got cold while waiting, forcing Round to carry on with the strap held by a safety pin. Despite the singles loss, Round retained her mixed doubles title, again partnered with Fred Perry. The pair defeated
Don Budge and
Sarah Fabyan, 7–9, 7–5, 6–4. In July 1936, a "lawn tennis experiment" was staged in the form of a match between Round and a top male player
Bunny Austin. The match undertaken on "handicap terms" ended even at one set all. In early 1937, Round was appointed to the National Advisory Council of Physical Fitness, tasked with improving the fitness of the nation. Her second and final Wimbledon singles title came on 3 July 1937 when she defeated the Polish player
Jadwiga Jędrzejowska 6–2, 2–6, 7–5. According to
A. Wallis Myers of
The Daily Telegraph and the
Daily Mail, Little was ranked in the world top 10 from 1933 through 1937, reaching a career high of World No. 1 in 1934.
Final Wimbledon appearance Following her marriage in September 1937 and birth of her son in July 1938, Round took a break from tennis competition. In January 1938,
Tennis for Girls Round's second instructional book, was published. In December 1938, it was reported that Round was planning a comeback to competitive tennis, but she stated that her participation at Wimbledon would depend on the progress she made during the year. She returned to tennis in 1939, appearing at the Herga Club's Tournament in Harrow at the end of March. She won her first tournament after her comeback on 13 April 1939, winning the Tally Ho! club's Easter tournament. Later in the year, she reached the fourth round in the singles and the third round of the doubles at Wimbledon. In August 1939, playing as Mrs Little in Pwllhelit, she won the Dorothy Round Challenge Cup. In May 1940, Round won the doubles, partnered with Mrs. S H. Hammersley, at the Priory Lawn Tennis Tournament held at Edgbaston, Birmingham. In July 1940, Round announced that she was planning to go to Canada with her young son and that she was considering turning "pro" and doing some coaching.
Playing and coaching in North America In July 1940, Round went to Canada with her two-year-old son Ian, and while there, she became a professional tennis coach. She also took part in competitions, exhibition matches and raised money for charity in Canada and the USA as well as promote the sale of War Bonds in the U.S. In August 1940, Round won both the singles and doubles (partnered with Mrs Ross Harrington) in the Eastern Canada Championships held at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Round turned professional in 1941 when she accepted a summer coaching position at the Seigniory Tennis Club in Canada. In February 1942, Round was living on the campus of Lake Erie College, where she was coaching tennis players. She took over the coaching post from
Mary Browne. In June 1942, Round appeared with Mary Hardwick, Bobby Riggs and Wayne Sabin in a tennis exhibition held at the Edgemoor Club, Washington D.C. The event was to raise money for the British and American Ambulance Corps.
Her later playing career In 1944, Round returned to the UK, where she performed exhibition matches. She was reinstated as an amateur in 1945 by the
Lawn Tennis Association. but, according to the contemporary player and sports journalist,
John Olliff, former professionals could not appear at the Wimbledon Championships or at national championships organised under the jurisdiction of the International Lawn Tennis Association. However, Round remained an active tennis player, and after a break in 1946 when she had her second child, she continued to appear in British tournaments until the 1940s and later. In June 1947, it was announced that she would cover the Wimbledon Championships for the
Liverpool Daily Post. In August 1947, she appeared at the
Scottish Hard Court Championships, reaching the final of the singles and winning the doubles and mixed doubles titles. In July 1948, she appeared at the Midlands Counties Championship in Birmingham, where she lost the singles final to
Barbara Knapp. In September 1949, Round was part of the Worcestershire team playing in the Inter-Counties Hard Court Tournament against a South Wales team. Round reached the third round of the singles in the
Midland Counties Championships, held in Birmingham in 1950. ==Tennis-linked activities after finishing her playing career==