1884 women's tennis season

The 1884 Women's tennis season was a tennis circuit composed of 33 national, regional, county, and regular tournaments. The season began in March in Brooklyn, United States, and ended in December in Melbourne, Australia.[1]

1884 Women's tennis season
Maud Watson is singles title leader this year
Details
Duration6 March – 19 December
Edition9th
Tournaments33 (Amateur)
CategoriesImportant (3)
National (0)
Provincial/Regional/State (6)
County (5)
Regular (24)
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titlesEngland Maud Watson (4)
Most tournament finalsEngland Maud Watson (4)
1883
1885

Season summary

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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]

1884 sees a slight expansion in the number women's singles events being held as the tennis circuit continues to grow.[5] In March the 23rd Regiment Armory Indoors tournament is held at the 23rd Regiment Armory in Brooklyn is the first indoor wood court tournament for women held in the United States, the event is won by Bessie Hazard.

In May 1884 at the first major event of the year the Irish Championships[6] in Dublin, Ireland. In the women's singles final holder Ireland's May Langrishe is defeated by England's Maud Watson. Watson also claims the mixed doubles title with William Renshaw against Ireland's Connie Butler and Scotlands John Galbraith Horn.[1] 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 1884 at the second major tournament of the year the Northern Championships in Liverpool England's Edith Davies achieves a clean sweep winning singles title against Margaret Bracewell, she also picks up the doubles title with Miss Eckersley defeating sisters Annie and Lottie Dod,[1] and the mixed doubles title paired with Ireland's Ernest Browne.[1] In July in South Africa the first major women's tournament the Natal Championships is played in Pietermaritzburg, and in South East Asia the Singapore Cricket Club establishes a ladies lawn tennis club who stage a tournament later in December.[7]

At the 1884 Wimbledon Championships the world's first major tennis tournament women's championships events are staged for the first time, in the singles competition Maud Watson defeats her sister Lilian Watson to claim the very first ladies championship event.[8] At the U.S. National Championships there was still no women's championship events held.

In Australasia the first singles tournaments for women are held. In October the Carisbrook tournament in Dunedin, New Zealand is staged for the first time. In December the first Victorian Championships for women is held in Melbourne, Australia and played on asphalt courts. 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.

Results

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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.

* Indicates challenge round final

Key

Important.[10][11][12][13]
National
Provincial/State/Regional
County
Regular

Singles

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Results included:.[14]

Tournaments (30)
# Date end Tournament Location Surface Winner Finalist Score
1. 6-Mar-1884 23d Regiment Armory Indoors Brooklyn Wood (i)   Bessie Hazard   Miss N. Hanly 6–3, 5–6, 6–4
2. 24-May-1884[14] Irish Championships Dublin Grass   Maud Watson   May Langrishe 6–3, 6–2, 6–2
3. 24-May-1884[14] Whitehouse Open Edinburgh Grass   Jane Meikle   Julia Ferguson 10–8, 6–2
4. 31-May-1884[14] West of England Championships Bath Grass   Edith Davies   Lilian Cole 6–4, 6–4
5. 10-Jun-1884[14] Waterloo Tournament Liverpool Grass   Margaret Bracewell   E. Gordon 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
6. 14-Jun-1884[14] East Gloucestershire Championships Cheltenham Grass   Edith Davies   Louisa Martin 3–6, 6–5, 6–3
7. 19-Jun-1884[14] Northern Championships Liverpool Grass   Edith Davies   Margaret Bracewell 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
8. 21-Jun-1884[14] London Athletic Club Tournament Stamford Bridge Grass   Maud Watson   Edith Cole 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1
9. 26-Jun-1884[14] Ealing LTC Championship Ealing Grass   Mrs. Streetern   Charlotte Cooper 6–4, 4–6, 6–5
10. 1-Jul-1884[14] Kilkenny County and City Tournament Kilkenny Grass   Mabel Cahill   May Langrishe 6–4, 6–4
11. 5-Jul-1884 Natal Championships Pietermaritzburg Grass   Miss. Pearson   L. Button 6–0, 6–0, 3–6, 7–5
12. 18-Jul-1884[14] Hull Westbourne Avenue Tournament Hull Grass   Mabel Boulton   E.D. Ramsey 6–0, 7–5
13. 19-Jul-1884[15] Wimbledon Championships London Grass   Maud Watson   Lilian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3
14. 25-Jul-1884[14] Midland Counties Championships Edgbaston Grass   Miss Noon   E Richardson 3–6, 8–6, 6–3
15. 2-Aug-1884[14] Chiswick Park Tournament Chiswick Park Grass   Blanche Bingley   Miss Wing 6–3, 6–3
16. 9-Aug-1884[14] Exmouth Open Exmouth Grass   Maud Watson   Agnes Watts 6–1, 7–5, 6–3
17. 16-Aug-1884[14] North Yorkshire Tournament Scarborough Grass   Constance Hodgson   Beatrice Wood 7–5, 6–3
18. 16-Aug-1884[14] East Grinstead Open East Grinstead Grass   Miss Cobbold   Ada Strapp 6–1, 6–4
19. 21-Aug-1884[14] Saxmundham Lawn Tennis Tournament Saxmundham Grass   May Marriott   G. Rant 6–1, 6–1
20. 23-Aug-1884[14] Derbyshire Championships Buxton Grass   Agnes Watts   Florence Stanuell 6–1, 6–2
21. 23-Aug-1884[14] South of Scotland Championships Moffat Grass   Jane Meikle   Lottie Paterson 6–3, 6–4
22. 23-Aug-1884[14] Whitby Open Lawn Tennis Tournament Whitby Grass   L. Cheetham   A.J. Osmond 6–3, 6–4
23. 30-Aug-1884 St. Paul Open Saint Paul Grass   Miss Napier   Miss K. Gilman 2–1 sets
24. 5-Sep-1884[14] Bournemouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament Bournemouth Grass   F. Davies   Mrs Hornby 3–6, 6–2, 6–5
25. 6-Sep-1884[14] South of England Championships Eastbourne Grass   Frances Burton   Nellie Burton 6–2, 6–4
26. 27-Sep-1884[14] Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament Brighton Grass   M. Leslie   Eva Adshead def.?
27. 16-Oct-1884 Carisbrook Tournament Dunedin Grass   F. E. Maitland   ? Won
29. 19-Dec-1884 Victorian Championships Melbourne Asphalt   E. MacKenzie   A. Bayles 10-4 (games)
30.[16] Dec-1884 Singapore Ladies LTC Tournament Singapore Grass results unknown ditto ditto

Tournament winners

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Singles

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This is list of winners sorted by number of singles titles (major titles in bold)
  •   Maud Watson (4) Exmouth, Irish Championships, Wimbledon Championships, Stamford Bridge.
  •   Edith Davies (3) Bath, Cheltenham, Northern Championships
  •   Jane Meikle (2) Edinburgh, Moffat
  •   Bessie Hazard (1) Brooklyn
  •   Margaret Bracewell (1) Liverpool
  •   Mrs. Streetern (1) Ealing
  •   Mabel Cahill (1) Kilkenny
  •   Miss. Pearson (1) Pietermaritzburg
  •   Mabel Boulton (1) Hull
  •   Miss Noon (1) Edgbaston
  •   Blanche Bingley (1) Chiswick Park
  •   Constance Hodgson (1) Scarborough
  •   Miss Cobbold (1) East Grinstead
  •   May Marriott (1) Saxmundham
  •   Agnes Watts (1) Buxton
  •   L. Cheetham (1) Whitby
  •   Miss Napier (1) St. Paul
  •   F. Davies (1) Bournemouth
  •   Frances Burton (1) Eastbourne
  •   M. Leslie (1) Brighton
  •   F. E. Maitland (1) Dunedin
  •   E. MacKenzie (1) Melbourne

Doubles

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This is list of winners sorted by number of doubles titles (major titles in bold) Davies, Eckersley, Mardall and Watts won titles with different partners.
  •   Edith Davies &   Miss Eckersley/  Florence Mardall (4) Bath, Cheltenham, Edgbaston, Northern Championships.[14]
  •   Florence Mardall &   Edith Davies (3) Bath, Cheltenham, Edgbaston
  •   Miss Eckersley &   Margaret Bracewell/  Edith Davies (2) Liverpool II, Northern Championships
  •   Agnes Watts &   Effie Noon/  Miss Noon (2) Buxton, Exmouth.[14]
  •   Adela Langrishe &   May Langrishe (1) Irish Championships.[14]
  •   Margaret Bracewell &   Miss Eckersley (1) Liverpool II.[14]
  •   Lilian Watson &   Maud Watson (1) Edgbaston.[14]
  •   Effie Noon &   Agnes Watts (1) Exmouth.[14]
  •   Annie Riddell &   M. Rose (1) Melbourne
  •   A. Turner &   Miss Turner (1) Scarborough.[14]
  •   Miss Cobbold &  Miss Richardson (1) East Grinstead.[14]
  •   Miss Noon &   Agnes Watts (1) Buxton.[14]
  •   A. Foster &   G. Rant (1) Saxmundham.[14]
  •   Miss Mockler &   Miss Skirrow (1) Bournemouth.[14]
  •   Blanche Bingley &   M. Leslie (1) Brighton.[14]

Mixed doubles

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This is list of winners sorted by number of mixed doubles titles (major titles in bold)

Statistical summary

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Singles

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Doubles

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  • Total Tournaments: (14)
  • Most Titles:   Edith Davies (4)
  • Most Finals:   Edith Davies (4)

Mix Doubles

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Garcia, Gabriel. "Season - 1884". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  2. ^ Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 266, 267. ISBN 9780047960420.
  3. ^ Meyers, A. Wallis (1903). Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons. p. 55.
  4. ^ Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 9781134445578.
  5. ^ Berry. David (2020). A people's history of tennis. (2) Feminists. Pluto Books London ISBN 978-0745339658. p.30.
  6. ^ Irish TV Documentary (4 Jul 2016). The True Tale Of The Irish Tennis Murderer. Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE). Dublin. Ireland.
  7. ^ "The Ladies Lawn Tennis Club is established - Singapore History". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Singapore: Government of Singapore. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  8. ^ "The Championships 1884 Ladies' Singles" (PDF). Wimbledon. AELTC. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 March 1922. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  10. ^ Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 198. ISBN 9781598843002.
  11. ^ Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis:Cultural History. London: A&C Black. p. 199. ISBN 9780718501952.
  12. ^ Mazak, Karoly (2017). The Concise History of Tennis. Independently published. pp. 5–36. ISBN 9781549746475.
  13. ^ Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 9781134445578.
  14. ^ 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 ac ad ae af ag ah ai "Lawn Tennis Tournaments of 1884". Routledges Sporting Annual. London: George Routledge and Son. 1885. pp. 120–124.
  15. ^ Barrett, John (2001). Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships. London: CollinsWillow. pp. 28–30. ISBN 0007117078.
  16. ^ Government of Singapore