Portal:France/Featured personality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player who won 31 Grand Slam titles from 1914 through 1926. A flamboyant, trendsetting athlete, she was the first female tennis celebrity and one of the first international female sport stars, named La Divine (the divine one) by the French press.
Only four years after her first tennis strokes, Lenglen played in the final of the 1914 French Championships. The outbreak of World War I at the end of the year stopped most national and international tennis competitions, and Lenglen's burgeoning career was put on hold.
The French championships were not held again until 1920, but the Wimbledon Championships were again organised after a four year hiatus. Lenglen entered the tournament — her first on grass — and met seven time winner Dorothea Douglass Chambers in the final. The close match, later noted to be one of the hallmarks in tennis history, saw Lenglen saving two match points and winning in 10–8, 4–6, 9–7 to take her first Grand Slam victory.
Not only her performances on the court were noted, however. She garnered much attention in the media when she appeared at the Wimbledon with her dress revealing bare forearms and cut just above the calf, while all other players competed in outfits covering nearly all of the body. Staid Brits also were in shock at the boldness of the French woman who also casually sipped brandy between sets.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp (Belgium), Lenglen dominated the women's singles. On her path to the gold medal, she gave up only four games. She then teamed up with Max Décugis to win another gold medal in the mixed doubles. She was eliminated in a women's doubles semifinal and won the bronze medal after their opponents withdrew.
From 1919 through 1925, Suzanne Lenglen won the Wimbledon singles championship every year with the exception of 1924. Health problems due to her asthma forced her to withdraw after winning her quarterfinal match. Lenglen was the last French woman to win the Wimbledon ladies singles title until Amelie Mauresmo in 2006. Read more...
