The 1883 Women's tennis season was a tennis circuit composed of 25 national, regional, county, and regular tournaments. The season began in May in Dublin, Ireland, and ended in October in Staten Island, United States.[1]
 Maud Watson is title leader this year (3 singles, 3 doubles, 2 mix doubles) | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 22 May – 5 October |
| Edition | 8th |
| Tournaments | 25 |
| Categories | Important (2) National (0) Provincial/Regional/State (4) County (4) Regular (15) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Maud Watson (3) |
| Most tournament finals | Maud Watson (3) |
← 1882 1884 → | |
Season summary edit
Prior to the creation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the establishment of its world championship events in 1913 the Wimbledon Championships, the U.S. National Championships, the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and the Northern Championships were considered by players and historians as the four most important tennis tournaments to win.[2][3][4]
1883 sees a decrease in the number women's singles events being held as the tennis circuit continues to form.[5] In May 1883 at the first major event of the year the Irish Championships[6] in Dublin, Ireland. In the women's Ireland's May Langrishe wins the singles title defeating her sister Beatrice Langrishe, she also picks up the mixed doubles title with Ernest Browne.[7] In terms of draw size the West of England Championships was the largest tournament of the year with a draw of 46 across three events.
In June 1883 at the second major tournament of the year the Northern Championships in Manchester featured a full schedule of events the singles title going to Edith Coleridge, she also picks up the doubles title with Rose Collier, whilst the mixed event is won by the pairing of Clara Fletcher and Ernest Browne (himself winning both mixed titles at both major tournaments).[7]
At the 1883 Wimbledon Championships the world's first major tennis tournament, it still remained an all men's event, no women's events were staged. At the U.S. National Championships there was still no women's championship events held. In October 1883 the first official event for women is held at the Staten Island Cricket Club organised by the Brighton Ladies Club for Outdoor Sports, the event is known as the Camp Washington Ladies Tournament a Miss Goodwin defeats Adeline Robinson in the singles final, however she wins the doubles title with a Miss Grandy.[8] In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation was created, that consisted of national member associations. The ILTF through its associated members then became responsible for supervising women's tour events.
Season results edit
Notes 1: Challenge Round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921),[9] in some tournaments not all.
Key
| Important.[10][11][12][13] |
| National |
| Provincial/State/Regional |
| County |
| Local |
January to April edit
No events
May edit
Mix doubles (**)
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May.[7] | Irish Championships Fitzwilliam LTC Dublin, Ireland Outdoor Grass Singles - Doubles |
 May Langrishe6-0, 6-1 |
Beatrice Langrishe |
Connie Butler E. Esmonde |
Miss Bayley Mrs Clarke Lena Rice Miss Shaw |
| May Langrishe** Ernest Browne 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 |
Lena Rice Peter Aungier
| ||||
June edit
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 June.[7] | West of England Championships Lansdowne Cricket Club Bath, England Outdoor Grass Singles - Doubles |
Maud Watson 6-1, 6-2 |
N. Pope |
Clara Hill |
 Georgina Kirkby Florence Mardall N. Pope
|
| Lilian Watson* Maud Watson 6-3, 5-6, 6-3 |
Edith Davies Grace Gibbs
| ||||
| 9 June.[7] | East Gloucestershire Championships Montpelier Gardens Cheltenham, England Outdoor Grass Singles |
Maud Watson 6-3, 6-0 |
F Davies |
Edith Davies |
Miss Cornford Florence Mardall
|
| Lilian Watson * Maud Watson 6-1, 6-1 |
Kate Cornford F Davies
| ||||
| 21 June.[7] | Leicester Open Leicester, England Outdoor Grass Singles - Doubles |
Agnes Watts 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 |
Miss Noon |
||
| 22 June.[7] | County Kilkenny Tournament Archersfield, Ireland Outdoor Grass Singles - Doubles |
May Langrishe 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 |
Mary Lysaght |
||
| 30 June.[7] | Northern Championships Manchester, England Outdoor Grass Singles - Doubles |
Edith Coleridge 6-3, 9-7 |
Miss Eckersley |
Miss L Cheetham Emily Fletcher |
N. Garnett A. McLaren B. McLaren K. Mitchell
|
| Edith Coleridge * Rose Collier 6-3, 9-7 |
Miss L Cheetham Miss Eckersley
| ||||
July edit
* (denotes doubles) ** (denotes mix doubles)x
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul.[7] | Leamington Open Tournament Leamington Spa, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
No Ladies Singles | |||
| Lilian Watson * Maud Watson 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
Miss Noon Agnes Watts
| ||||
| 21 Jul.[7] | Staffordshire C.C.C. Tournament Staffordshire Lawn Tennis Club Lichfield, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
Mrs Peter Smith 2-6, 6-4, 6-5 |
Rose Collier |
||
| 25 Jul.[7] | Norwich Open Norwich, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
G Rant 6-1, 6-2 |
J.Hartoup |
||
August edit
September edit
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep.[7] | Bournemouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament Bournemouth, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
Mrs Hornby 5-6 6-3 6-1 |
M Richards |
||
| 8 Sep[7] | Devonshire Park Championships Eastbourne, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
M Leslie 10-8 6-4 |
Miss Congreve |
||
| 12 Sep[7] | Portishead Open Lawn Tennis Tournament Portishead, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
Miss Bryant 6-2 6-3 |
J. Carter |
||
| 14 Sep[7] | Saxmundham LTC Tournament Saxmundham, England Grass Singles - Doubles |
G. Rant 6-0 6-2 |
L. Davy |
||
October edit
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct. [7] | Camp Washington Ladies Lawn Tennis Tournament Staten Island, United States Grass Singles - Doubles |
 Miss Goodwin6-2 4-6 6-5 |
Adeline Robinson |
||
November to December edit
No events
Tournament winners (singles) edit
This is a list of winners by the total number of singles titles won for 1883:
Maud Watson – Bath, Cheltenham, Exmouth, (3)
May Langrishe – Archersfield, Irish Championships, (2)- Florence Mardall – Teignmouth, Worcester, (2)
- Leila Lodwick – East Grinstead, Eggesford (2)
G. Rant – Norwich, Saxmundham, (2)- Edith Coleridge – Northern Championships, (1)
Miss Goodwin – Staten Island, (1)- Edith Coleridge – Leicester, (1)
- Mrs Peter Smith – Lichfield, (1)
- Miss G Want – Framlingham, (1)
- Georgina Woodhouse – Taunton, (1)
- Lilian Cole – Exeter, (1)
C Jones – Tenby, (1)
Jane Meikle – Moffat, (1)- Miss Hutton – Edgbaston, (1)
- Mrs Hornby – Bournemouth, (1)
- M Leslie – Eastbourne, (1)
- Miss Bryant – Portishead, (1)
Statistical summary edit
Singles edit
- Total Tournaments (25)
- Most Titles: Maud Watson (3)
- Most Finals: Maud Watson (3)
- Most Matches Played: Maud Watson (11)
- Most Matches Won: Maud Watson (11)
- Match Winning %: Maud Watson (100%)
- Most Tournaments Played: Maud Watson (3)
Doubles edit
- Total Tournaments (9)
- Most Titles: Lilian Watson & Maud Watson (3)
- Most Finals: Lilian Watson & Maud Watson (3)
Mix doubles edit
- Total Tournaments (16)
- Most Titles: Florence Mardall & Maud Watson (2)
- Most Finals: Florence Mardall & Maud Watson (2)
References edit
- ^ Garcia, Gabriel. "Season - 1883". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 266, 267. ISBN 9780047960420.
- ^ Meyers, A. Wallis (1903). Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons. p. 55.
- ^ Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 9781134445578.
- ^ Berry. David (2020). A people's history of tennis. (2) Feminists. Pluto Books London ISBN 978-0745339658. p.29.
- ^ Irish TV Documentary (4 Jul 2016). The True Tale Of The Irish Tennis Murderer. Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE). Dublin. Ireland.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Lawn Tennis Tournaments of 1883". Routledges Sporting Annual. London: George Routledge and Son. 1884. pp. 120–124.
- ^ "THE LAWN-TENNIS CONTESTS". The New York Times. New York, United States. 6 October 1883. p. 8. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 March 1922. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 198. ISBN 9781598843002.
- ^ Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis:Cultural History. London: A&C Black. p. 199. ISBN 9780718501952.
- ^ Mazak, Karoly (2017). The Concise History of Tennis. Independently published. pp. 5–36. ISBN 9781549746475.
- ^ Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 9781134445578.
- ^ Dwight, James (1886). "IX: Results of Championships Matches and Principal Open Competitions". Lawn-tennis. Boston: Wright & Ditson. pp. 88–93.