Tennis Ace Alice Marble Overcame Personal Tragedy to Help America
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Alice Marble won 18 Grand Slam titles and was once America’s number-one tennis player. No one knew until after her death that she risked her life as a spy. Marble’s husband was killed in action in Germany during World War II. Days earlier, she had a miscarriage, and upon hearing of her husband’s death, she attempted suicide. While recuperating, she was asked to spy for U.S. intelligence. She was tasked with reconnecting with an ex-lover, a Swiss banker, to gather Nazi financial data. During the mission, she was nearly killed after she was shot in the back by a Nazi official. She told her story in Courting Danger: My Adventures in World-Class Tennis, Golden-Age Hollywood, and High-Stakes Spying.