Eileen Bennett Whittingstall

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Eileen Bennett Whittingstall
Country  United Kingdom
Born (1907-07-16)16 July 1907
Died 18 August 1979(1979-08-18) (aged 72)
Singles
Highest ranking No.3 (1931)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open F (1928)
US Open F (1931)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open W (1928, 1931)
Wimbledon F (1928)
US Open W (1931)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open W (1928, 1929)
US Open W (1927)

Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (16 July 1907–ca. 18 August 1979, full name Eileen Viviyen Bennett Fearnley Whittingstall[1]) was a female tennis player from the United Kingdom who won six Grand Slam doubles titles from 1927 to 1931.

Career

Although most of her success was in women's doubles or mixed doubles, Whittingstall reached the singles final of the 1928 French Championships and the 1931 US Championships. She lost both of those finals to Helen Wills Moody, 1–6, 2–6 in 1928 and 4–6, 1–6 in 1931. She twice won the women's doubles title at the French Championships, in 1928 with Phoebe Holcroft Watson and in 1931 with Betty Nuthall Shoemaker. Whittingstall and Shoemaker lost the 1932 final to the team of Moody and Elizabeth Ryan.

Whittingstall teamed with Ermyntrude Harvey to reach the 1928 women's doubles final at Wimbledon, losing to the team of Watson and Peggy Saunders 2–6, 3–6. She also teamed with Shoemaker to win the 1931 women's doubles title at the US Championships, defeating Helen Jacobs and Dorothy Round Little in the final 6–2, 6–4. Whittingstall twice partnered with Henri Cochet to win the mixed doubles title at the French Championships. In both 1928 and 1929, they defeated the team of Moody and Frank Hunter in the final. Whittingstall and Cochet lost the 1930 French final to the team of Bill Tilden and Cilly Aussem.

Whittingstall and Cochet won the mixed doubles title at the 1927 US Championships, defeating Hazel Wightman and René Lacoste in the final.

According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Whittingstall was ranked in the world top ten in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1932, reaching a career high of World No. 3 in those rankings in 1931.[2]

She was married in 1929 to Edmund Fearnley Whittingstall,[3] a painter, and divorced in 1936.[1] She is credited with first wearing an above-the-knee form of divided skirt for competitive tennis.[4]

Major finals

Grand Slam tournaments

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1928 French Championships ClayUnited States Helen Wills 1–6, 2–6
Runner-up 1931 US Championships Grass United States Helen Wills 4–6, 1–6

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 Career SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Championships A A SF F SF 2R 2R QF QF A A A A A 0 / 7
Wimbledon 1R 2R 3R QF 4R 2R 4R QF 4R 2R 4R A A 2R 0 / 12
US Championships A A 3R A A A F A A A A A A A 0 / 2
SR 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 21

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.


See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Decree Nisi Against Mrs. Eileen Fearnley Whittingstall: Whittingstall v. Whittingstall And Marsh". The Times. 17 March 1936. p. 4. 
  2. ↑ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701–2. ISBN 0-942257-41-3. 
  3. ↑ At Forest Hills
  4. ↑ Christopher Breward, Becky Conekin, Caroline Cox, ed. (2002). The Englishness of English Dress. Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85973-528-2. 

External links


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