Suzanne Lenglen

Tennis Player

• Born: May 24, 1899
• Birthplace: Compiègne, France
• Died: July 4, 1938
• Place of death: Paris, France

Sport: Tennis

Early Life

Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was born in Compiègne, France, on May 24, 1899, to Charles and Anais Lenglen. Charles operated a prosperous business he inherited from his father. Soon after Suzanne was born, Charles sold the business, and the Lenglens moved to a villa in Maretz-sur-Matz, near Compiègne, where they spent the summer months. Their winter months were spent in Nice in the south of France.

Suzanne became a big, strong girl who had unusual athletic ability, exceeding boys her age in athletic pursuits. In Nice, she excelled in diabolo, a popular game among European children that involves a spinning top held on a string between two sticks. She studied dance in Nice as well.

The world’s best tennis players often played in Nice in the winter, and Suzanne’s father soon became interested in the game. In June of 1910, he presented Suzanne with her first tennis racket. Soon she became interested in the game and three months later entered her first tournament, winning four rounds to capture second place.

The Lenglens continued to return to Nice every fall and joined the prestigious Nice Tennis Club. Suzanne was coached by her father, who prescribed rigorous physical conditioning and conducted long practice sessions. In Nice, Suzanne played with some of the best male players on the French Riviera to perfect her game.

The Road to Excellence

In 1913, at the age of fourteen, Suzanne surprised everyone by winning the women’s championship of the Nice Tennis Club; she was later selected to represent the club in a contest against an Italian club, where she won one match after another. In 1914, she entered the Carlton Club tournament in Cannes, where she faced the world’s top women players. Suzanne won the event, beating Mrs. R. J. Winch, an Englishwoman and former Wimbledon player, in three sets. With those victories, Suzanne became the most popular player in southern France.

As she celebrated her fifteenth birthday, Suzanne entered the World Hardcourt Championship at the Stade Français in Saint Cloud, a suburb of Paris. She continued to be victorious, winning the world titles in singles and doubles while placing second in mixed doubles.

Suzanne’s father would not allow her to enter the tournament at Wimbledon in 1914. He wanted her to wait one more year before facing Dorothea Chambers, the winner of six Wimbledon singles titles. However, World War I brought about the suspension of the tournaments at Saint Cloud and Wimbledon, and Suzanne had to wait until 1919 to reenter international competition. Suzanne’s reputation had already been established, however.

The end of World War I brought with it a sense of relief, a desire to forget and escape the memories of the war. Sports became widely popular, and the 1920’s became known as the Golden Age of Sport, an era of unprecedented athletic achievements as well as glamorous and flamboyant heroes. Suzanne soon shared the spotlight with such notable champions as Gertrude Ederle, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey, and Babe Ruth.

The Emerging Champion

Suzanne received widespread recognition as France encouraged athletic competition for women after the war. In 1919, as a representative of France, Suzanne entered Wimbledon. Interest in seeing the young tennis prodigy brought many spectators to the All England Tennis Club, and gate receipts increased dramatically. Suzanne won easily in the first rounds, defeated Elizabeth Ryan in a difficult semifinal match, and, in the final, faced the defending champion Dorothea Chambers, a forty-year-old who had won seven singles titles. The match lasted three sets, requiring forty-four games—a record that stood until 1970—and Suzanne defeated the long-reigning champion.

With her first Wimbledon victory, Suzanne became a star. She dramatically changed tennis attire and play for women. At Wimbledon, she had not worn the customary corset. She later replaced the long pleated skirt with a short silk one and the hat with a colorful bandeau. Her new attire gave her the freedom that her leaping, whirling, and balletic style of play required.

The following year, Suzanne defeated Chambers 6-3, 6-0, and won the gold medal in singles and mixed doubles play in the Olympic Games. In 1921, she continued her reign as queen of tennis with victories at the Hardcourt Championships and at Wimbledon. However, later that year, she lost—by default because of illness—to Molla Mallory at Forest Hills. She regained her crown by defeating Mallory at Wimbledon the next year. In 1924, she defended her titles at the Hardcourt Championships but withdrew from Wimbledon, again because of illness; she returned to win both titles in 1925.

The next year brought the culminating victory of Suzanne’s career. On February 16, 1926, she entered the long-awaited match with Helen Wills, the reigning American champion. In a hard-fought, controversial match, she defeated Wills in straight sets, retaining her title as world hard champion. Later that year, Suzanne returned to Wimbledon in pursuit of her seventh title. However, she had a dispute with the tournament organizers, kept the Queen of England waiting, and withdrew from the tournament.

Continuing the Story

In 1926, Suzanne signed a professional contract with C. C. Pyle to begin the Suzanne Lenglen North American Tour, the first professional tour in the United States. On October 6, 1926, she made her debut at Madison Square Garden, in New York, as the first professional tennis player. However, the tour was opposed by the United States Tennis Association, difficulties arose between Suzanne and Pyle, and the tour ended in February of 1927.

Suzanne returned to France, but the French Tennis Federation refused to rank her, declaring her ineligible for amateur competition. She continued to play professional tennis for a few months and then retired from competition. She wrote several books about tennis and a collection of short stories, The Love Game (1925). She later opened a tennis school in Paris. During the Wimbledon competition of 1938, Suzanne became extremely ill and died of pernicious anemia on July 4.

Summary

Suzanne Lenglen became a world champion in 1914, before her fifteenth birthday. She was the French singles, doubles, and mixed doubles champion in 1920-1923, 1925, and 1926. In 1920, she was Olympic singles and mixed doubles champion. She was Wimbledon champion six times, winning in 1919-1923 and in 1925. She was also the doubles champion in those years and mixed doubles champion in 1920, 1922, and 1925. For seven years she was nearly invincible. Suzanne single-handedly revolutionized women’s tennis, altering the style of play and attire. She embodied the liberation of women and the brilliance and flamboyance of the Golden Age of Sport. For her many achievements and contributions, she was named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978 and to the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.

Bibliography

Engelmann, Larry. The Goddess and the American Girl: The Story of Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Phillips, Caryl. The Right Set: A Tennis Anthology. New York: Vintage Books, 1999.

Smith, Lissa, ed. Nike Is a Goddess: The History of Women in Sports. New York: Grove Atlantic, 2001.

Wallechinsky, David, and Jaime Loucky. The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, 2008.