Lottie Dod

Charlotte "Lottie" Dod (24 September 1871–27 June 1960) was a British athlete best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Championships five times, the first when she was only fifteen, in the summer of 1887. She remains the youngest player to win the women's singles tournament, though Martina Hingis was three days younger when she won the women's doubles title in 1997.

Early life

Dod was born in Bebington, Cheshire to Joseph and Margaret Dod. Joseph Dod, from Liverpool, had made a fortune in the cotton trade. The family was wealthy enough to provide for all members for life; Lottie and her brother Willy never had to work. Besides Willy, Lottie Dod had a sister, Annie, and another brother, Tony. Like their sister, they all excelled in sports. Annie was a good tennis player, golfer, ice skater and billiards player. Willy Dod won the Olympic gold medal in archery at the 1908 Games, while Tony was a regional level archer and a chess and tennis player. When Dod was nine years old, two tennis courts were built near the family's estate Edgeworth. Lawn tennis, invented in 1873, was highly fashionable for the wealthy in England, and all of the Dod children started playing the game frequently.

Related Topics:
Bebington - Cheshire - Liverpool - Cotton - Ice skater - Billiards - 1908 Games - Chess - 1873

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