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Biographies of Female Tennis Players

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#1 · (Edited)
This thread will feature biographies of women who played tennis at a world class level. Note that the women will be added as we find information, so they will not appear in alphabetical order.

To find women listed in alphabetical order please go to the Blast Encyclopedia of Female Tennis Players at http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=497938

The Blast Encyclopedia of Female Tennis Players lists women by both their maiden and married names. Under the main listing for a player a link will be provided back to this thread to a biography.
 
#1,406 · (Edited by Moderator)
NOSTITZ-RIENECK, “MARIANNE” (Maria Anna Franziska von Nostitz-Rieneck)
Austria
Born 9 July 1882
Died 6 May 1952
Married Alfred von Ringhoffer, 31 July 1904
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria-A...ostitz-Rieneck

A woman with her name married Alfred von Ringhoffer, but she was born 9 July 1882, so she would have been almost thirteen only, when she won in Prague. This is she is not our 1895 Bohemian winner.
 
#1,408 · (Edited by Moderator)
NUNNELEY, “KATE” (Kathleen Mary Nunneley)
Born 16 September 1872 - Leicestershire, England
Died 28 September 1956 - Wellington, NZ

Allegedly her English tournament successes, prior to emigrating to New Zealand in late 1894 included:

1891 Ladies Handicap Brighton, 5 Prizes at South of England Tournament, Eastbourne
1892 Prizes at Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton and others
1893 Open Singles at Nottingham, Won Blackheath, Won Beckenham, Won Wellingborough
1894 Won Nottingham (d Miss Jackson 60 61), Won Nottingham Handicap (d Mrs Hillyard)

In 1904

184823


 
#1,409 · (Edited by Moderator)
NUTCOMBE-QUICKE, “BETTY” (nee Eveline Maude Froude Bellew)
United Kingdom
Born second quarter of 1872 in Stockleigh, Devon, England
Died third quarter of 1965
Md (1) Sidney Nutcombe-Quicke, second quarter of 1897, died 27 April 1898 (1 daughter)
Md (2) Reginald Crundall-Punnett, second quarter of 1913, (20 June 1875-3 January1967)
[Active as early as 1913-1925]

She was the daughterof John F. Bellew, of Stockleigh English, Devon. Died aged 93.

Reginald Crundall-Punnett was a distinguished geneticist. Though listed as Crundall-Punnett, “Crundall” was actually a middle name derived from his mother’s maiden name. An obituary of Reginald mentioned that he became very good at tennis after his marriage in 1913 to Eveline, "...herself a notable player". There were no children from her second marriage.

Made the Carlton final on the French Riviera as late as 1925, aged 52! Last entered Wimbledon in 1921. She was a Wimbledon QF in 1914

Note she is not “Elizabeth”.

 
#1,410 · (Edited by Moderator)
NUTHALL, “BETTY” (Elizabeth May Nuthall)
United Kingdom
Born 23 May 1911
Died 08 November 1983
Married Franklin Comly Shoemaker on 28 May 1954
Nickname: "Bounding Betty".
Trademark: a white headband.
[Active 1926-1939]

First overseas winner of the US Nationals (excluding Mabel Cahill of Ireland) in 1930.

A young phenom, she earned the nickname "Bounding Betty" at the age of nine. She was adored by the British public, particularly schoolgirls. Winning the 1924, 1925, and 1926 Wimbledon Junior Championships set high expectations she never could quite live up to.

The 19-year-old Brit focused her game on a strong forehand, accurate ball placement, and speed. Nuthall, who had learned tennis from her tournament-playing father Stuart, had long preferred to serve underhand, but when she won the U.S. Championships she had adopted the traditional overhand style. Describing her play in 1930, Allison Danzig wrote in The New York Times: ''Resourceful and enterprising in the range of her strokes, strong in endurance and agile in her movement.” (Hall of Fame)

On the cover of July 6, 1931 Time Magazine for its' 6 July 1931 issue.

Nuthall famously took a set from Helen Wills-moody in the semifinals of the 1933 uS Nationals. Everyone was such a state of shock (it was only the 2nd set Wills had lost in 6 years!) that no one said a word when Betty served two games in a row. As her serve was a handicap it put "Bounding Betty" at a disadvantage. She never had gained confidence in her serve despite switching to an overhand delivery; often producing scads of double faults.

Nuthall won at least 16 singles titles: the first at Magdalen Park in 1927; the last at Kensington in 1934.

World Top Ten Rankings

1927: #6
1929: #4
1930: #9
1931: #5
1933: #8







Sources:

https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/betty-nuthall/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Nuthall
 
#1,412 · (Edited by Moderator)
CAVALLAR, NORA
Austria/Italy
Born 11 November 1886 in Trieste
Died 04 August 1929 in Davos, Switzerland
Married Baron Ambrose Ralli on 17 June 1922 in Venice, Italy
[Active circa 1900-06]

Nora Cavallar took part in some of the Continental European tournaments in the years circa 1900-06, when still a teenager. She notably won the singles title at the tournament in Trieste, her native city, at least once, in 1901, and was also runner-up in the singles event at the Championships of Berlin tournament in 1903.

Nora was the daughter of Augustus Cavallar and Bertha Cavallar (née Konow). Together with her husband, Nora had two children, a boy called Paul (named after his paternal grandfather) and a girl called Olga.

In 1907, on the death of his father, Ambrose Ralli inherited two things: the title of baron and a large business empire. Baron Ambrose Ralli befriended the great Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) when the latter was living in Trieste during the years 1907-15. It is said that Baron Ambrose Ralli was the only person to buy a subscription copy of Joyce’s novel “Ulysses” (first published in book form in 1922) and that the baron helped Joyce escape from Trieste in 1915, during wartime.

The following are links to information on the Ralli and Cavallar families:

http://www.christopherlong.co.uk/gen.../fg03_229.html

http://www.thepeerage.com/p31545.htm#i315447

[Thanks to Newmark for this biography]
 
#1,413 · (Edited by Moderator)
OCHOA, ELIA (nee Elisa Rosales Villanueva)
Philippines
Born 3 December 1897
Died 20 September, 1978
Married Enrique Ochoa

The first dominant native player from the Philippines, her daughter Minda Ochoa (later Moldero) would also go on to snag several national titles.

Elisa was also the first female member of Congress in the Philippines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisa_Ochoa
 
#1,419 · (Edited by Moderator)
O’DONNELL, "MARGARET" (H. Margaret O'Donnell)
Australia (South Australia)
Born circa 1935 (aged 19 in article published 1954)
Nickname: Australia's "Gorgeous Gussie"
[Active 1950 to 1955]

First entered the Australian Nationals in 1950, playing mixed doubles only. She went on to play the singles in 1952, 1954, and 1955.

She went by Margaret, which may have been a middle name, as she is also listed as H O'Donnell.

O'Donnell must have been very attractive given the attention she got in newspapers. Often photographed, she was compared to Gussie Moran despite disdaining comparisons.

By 1955 she had earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Math and Physics from the University of Adelaide. She was torn between choosing tennis or pursuing a career in science. For a time she was coached by the legendary Nancye Bolton.

Sources:

http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10733.../en_au/event_guide/history/players/16344.html [misses her 1950 appearance]

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/47599590?

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/47599590

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/130973366

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/55794921 (photo from 1953)

[Thanks to Rollo for this information]
 
#1,421 · (Edited by Moderator)
OELREICH, "MARTHA" VON (Anna Martha Vilhelmina von Oelrich)
Sweden
Born 16 June 1868 in Torpa, Sweden
Died 4 January 1956 in Stockholm, Sweden
Married Adolf Ejnar Teodor Adlerstråhle (born 1864) on 30 December 1889
[Active circa 1899-1908]

Seven times singles champion in the international Swedish championships (1899 and 1901-1906). Adlerstråhle also became the Scandinavian champion in singles in 1906

Her career highlight was when she won bronze at 1908 Olympics. Adlerstråhle caught a stroke of good fortune when her first opponent Dorothea Lambert Chambers defaulted. Chambers was the clear favorite to take the gold. In the semifinals Martha lost 6-1 6-3 to Alice Greene.

The loss put her in the bronze medal match with fellow countrywoman Elsa Wallenberg . The pair were the first women ever to represent Sweden in the Olympics. Martha captured the bronze medal 1-6 6-3 6-2

Martha was a pioneer of hockey for women in Sweden, guarding the goal for the Crown Princess Hockey club. In later years she was Treasurer of the Swedish Lawntennisförbundet (1907-1918) and director of KLTK (1907 Kronprinsens lawn-tennis club) 1899-1950

Sources:

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4rtha_Adlerstr%C3%A5hle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Märtha_Adlerstråhle
 
#1,422 · (Edited by Moderator)
OFFICER, MARGARET
Australia (Western Australia)
Born in 1905 in Perth, Western Australia
Died 07 March 1950 in Melbourne, Victoria
Married Ian Warden Anderson on 16 September 1944 in Trinity Presbyterian Church, Camberwell, Melbourne
[Active circa 1925-1936]

Margaret Officer's successes at the Western Australia Championships included the women's singles title in 1926 and the women's doubles title in 1927 (w. Ethel Whitfield) and in 1928 (w. Peggy Murray). Margaret and her brother Robert were also runner-up in the mixed doubles event at the same tournament in 1927. They were two of the three children of Dr Edward Albert Officer and Elizabeth Buchanan Officer (née Scott). "Ned" Officer was a very talented Australian Rules footballer in his youth. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Officer

[Thanks to Gee Tee and Newmark for this information]
 
#1,423 · (Edited by Moderator)
O’HARA WOOD, MERYL (nee Meryl Aitkin Waxman)
Australia
Born 05 June 1894 in Melbourne, Australia
Died 06 May 1958 in New South Wales
Married (1) Charles Roy Lister, 1916-died in World War (dead by late 1918)
Married (2) Patrick “Pat” O'Hara Wood,(1891-3 Dec 1961) 03 August 1923 at St Kilda
[Active from 1909 to at least 1928]

An enduring player who first came to attention in 1909 when she won the Victorian schoolgirl's title. Her 'pretty' style of play won her many fans and kept her at the top of Australian tennis for nearly 25 years.

In early 1923 she was in hospital for an attack of appendicitis, described as a war widow with a small Boy. By August she was married to fellow player Pat O'Hara Wood.

She was 34 when first able to compete overseas as part of the 'Invicible' women's team of 1928.

In 1926 Pat O'Hara Wood published The World's Tennis Stars and How to Play the Game. She predeceased O’Hara Wood-as a couple they were childless.

South Australian Champion 1913, 1915
Queensland Champion 1925

At the 1928 French Championships with fellow Aussie Gerald Patterson



A photo from 1925: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161301206/view
 
#1,427 · (Edited by Moderator)
O’NEILL, ELEANOR
Ireland
Married McFadden by 1972
[Active 1955-1968]

3 times Irish Junior champion

Shared a successful doubles partnership with Geraldine Barniville. The two were affectionately called "The terrible Twins." Eleanor played Fed Cup for Ireland in 1964.

Irish Ranking (when known)

1957: #4
1961: #1
1962: #1

Sources:

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/oth...he-junior-irish-open-tennis-contest-1.1935009
 
#1,428 · (Edited by Moderator)
O’NEILL, MADELINE (nee Madeline Alice Fisher)
United Kingdom
Born 2 September 1867
Died 3 June 1934
Married Edward Armstrong O'Neill, 9 October 1890
[Active 1909-1923]

This is the "Mrs O'Neill" of yore.

Madeline O'Neill played many times in the France and the United Kingdom from 1909 to 1923.

In 1923 she would have been 56 years old. As Mark pointeds out though, many women competed at an advanced age in those days. Confirm more about her career if possible.
 
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