the Pacific Coast Championships, beating Ream Leachman in the final. During Wills's run of East Coast grass court tournaments in the run up to the U.S. Championships she lost four times to Leslie Bancroft. At the 1922 U.S. Championships she participated for the first time in the women's singles event and reached the final, losing just one set to Marion Zinderstein Jessup in the quarterfinal. The New York Times described the final between 16-year old Wills against 38-year old six-time champion Molla Mallory as the "battle of youth against experience". Mallory won the final in two sets to gain her seventh title. Wills won her first Grand Slam title in the doubles event, partnering Zinderstein Jessup, after a three-sets victory in the final against Mallory and Edith Sigourney. Partnering Howard Kinsey she was runner-up in the mixed doubles event to Mary Browne and Bill Tilden. She also took part in the girls' singles championship and successfully defended her 1921 title. At the end of the year she was the No. 3 ranked singles player nationally and the top-ranked player in California. 1923: First U.S. Championships title Wills defended her Pacific Coast Championships singles title in June when she defeated Charlotte Hosmer in the final. On August 10, 1923 Wills made her debut in the inaugural Wightman Cup, the annual team tennis competition for women contested between teams from the United States and Great Britain. She won both her singles matches against Mabel Clayton and Kitty McKane as well as her doubles match with Mallory. Directly following the Wightman Cup she entered the U.S. Championships and won her first women's U.S. national title at the age of 17 after a straight-sets victory in the final against seven-time champion Molla Mallory, making her the youngest champion at that time. After returning to California she won her final tournament of the year, the California State Championships, against Hosmer in the final. She finished the year ranked No. 1 in California as well as nationally. A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph ranked her No. 3 in the world behind Lenglen and McKane. 1924: Olympic and U.S. champion During the winter months Wills worked on her game and according to her trainer Pop Fuller she had improved her overhead, service and footwork. In April the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) selected Wills for the Olympic team and for the Wightman Cup and the