boarding school, where she graduated in 1923 at the top of her class. Her father's family grew wheat and kept a ranch near Antioch, and she occasionally practiced her tennis game nearby at the Byron Hot Springs resort. Wills attended the University of California, Berkeley, as both her parents had done, on an academic scholarship, and graduated in 1925 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society. When she was eight years old, her father bought her a tennis racket and they practiced on the dirt courts next to the Alameda County Hospital as well as at Live Oak Park. Wills' interest in tennis was kindled after watching exhibition matches by famous Californian players including May Sutton, Bill Johnston and her particular favorite, Maurice McLoughlin. In August 1919, she joined the Berkeley Tennis Club as a junior member on the advice of tennis coach William "Pop" Fuller who was a friend of her father. In the spring of 1920, she practiced for a few weeks with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, four-time winner of the U.S. Championships singles title, on strokes, footwork and tactics. Tennis career 1919-21: First tournaments and titles In September 1919, at the age of 13, she entered her first tournament, the California State Championships, held at her own Berkeley Tennis Club. After a bye in the first round she lost in two close sets to Marjorie Wale. Reporting on the tournament the San Francisco Examiner commented that "she will bear watching in the future". By the end of 1919 she was the 7th ranked junior player in California. In 1920 she competed in four tournaments in Northern California (Sacramento, Berkeley and San Francisco) and at the end of 1920 she was the 9th ranked singles player in California. In July 1921 she travelled to the East Coast for the first time where she played in four warm-up tournaments on grass in preparation for the U.S. Girls National Championships in Forest Hills. The trip was sponsored by the California Tennis Association. In September 1921, Wills won the singles and doubles titles at the California State Championships, defeating Helen Baker in the final in three sets. At the end of 1921 Wills was ranked No. 14 in the national singles, No. 2 in the Californian ranking, behind Helen Baker and No. 1 in the national juniors. 1922: U.S. Championships finalist In May 1922 she won the singles title at