GOLDING, "GERMAINE" (nee Anne Germaine Regnier)
France
Born 6 June 1887 in Dijon
Died 14 August 1973 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine
Married George Jackson Lewis Golding (1871-1941) on 5 March 1912 in Paris
[Active circa 1910-1933]
1922 World Covered Court champion in singles, doubles, and mixed.
Anne Germaine Régnier, known as Germaine, was the daughter of Jean-Marie Georges Régnier, a wine merchant, and Camille Berthe Régnier (née Dietz). Jean-Marie Régnier was the son of the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Dijon, Germaine’s birthplace in north-east France. In March 1912, Germaine married the Englishman George Golding in a registry office in Paris. Their marriage certificate describes him as an officer in the British Colonial Army. He also took part in lawn tennis tournaments, but less frequently than Germaine. The Goldings probably had no children and it is difficult to trace their later life together.
Germaine Régnier first came to public attention in 1910, when she reached the Challenge Round of the women’s singles event at the French National Championships in Paris before losing a close match to Jeanne Matthey, 1-6 6-1 9-7.
In 1914, Germaine, now Mme Golding, reached the women’s singles final at the World Hard Court Championships in Paris, then the biggest clay court tournament in the world. She lost, 6-2 6-1, to her prodigiously talented 15-year-old compatriot Suzanne Lenglen, a player she was destined never to defeat. In the final Germaine tried to dictate play with her forehand, but usually made an error after three or four shots.
From 1914 to 1918, World War One interrupted Germaine Golding’s tennis career, though not completely, as she took part in a tournament at Gstaad in 1917 and was also runner-up in the women’s singles event at that year’s International Swiss Championships tournament, held in Lausanne. Later on, in 1921, Germaine partnered with Suzanne Lenglen to win the women’s doubles event at the World Hard Court Championships. This was her second title at the World Hard Court Championships – in 1920 she had won the mixed doubles title with her countryman William Laurentz.
Germaine Golding’s greatest success arguably came in 1922, at the World Covered Court Championships in Saint Moritz, Switzerland, where she won a rare “triple crown”. In the women’s singles final she defeated her compatriot Jeanne Vaussard, before taking the women’s doubles title with the same player and the mixed doubles title with her countryman Jean Borotra. At that time there were three official world championship tournaments in the sport of lawn tennis, those on covered courts (indoors), hard courts (clay) and grass courts (Wimbledon).
As indicated above, Germaine Golding had to settle for being second in France behind Suzanne Lenglen. In fact, Germaine lost three consecutive women’s singles finals at the French National Championships to Lenglen, from 1921 to 1923. The 1923 final was the most intriguing. Germaine actually led 4-0 in the second set when Lenglen righted herself and swept the next six games to win 6-1 6-4. In the tight second set the crowd believed that Golding had been robbed on a line call. As a result they actually booed Suzanne, something unheard of in France. The diva seemede to be considering default until her father ordered her to continue.
By 1924, Germaine was still good enough to win the bronze medal in the women’s singles event at the Paris Olympics, this at the age of 37. She won her last known title in Paris in 1931. Germaine would continue talking part in tournaments until 1933. For the most part she had limited her lawn tennis to continental Europe, entering Wimbledon only once, in 1923, although she defaulted without striking a ball.
Germaine Golding was a competent baseliner with a strong forehand. Her serve had a large “cut,” or slice, which made a strange bounce on impact and took some getting used to. By contrast her backhand was a weakness that better players were usually able to exploit.
Golding limited her tennis to continental Europe for the most part; entering Wimbledon only once (in 1923)-she defaulted without striking a ball.
Some sources suggest she is English. There is no evidence for this, not in her name, nor in the fact that her tennis was almost exclusively on the continent. The confusion comes from her husband George Golding, an Englishman who entered Wimbledon from 1921 to 1926.
At the World Hard Court Championships-circa 1914
Sources:
Germaine Golding Picture Thread
Germaine Golding — Wikipédia
Germaine Golding - Wikipedia
Germaine Golding Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (Which indicates that Germaine was her middle name)
Swiss Open Gstaad
[Thanks to Newmark and Rollo for this information]
