Suzanne Lenglen

Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (24 May 1899 – 4 July, 1938) was a French tennis player who achieved much success in the French and British women's game from 1919 to 1926, winning 25 Grand Slam titles. 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.

Early life

A daughter of Charles Lenglen and his wife, Anais, Suzanne Lenglen was born in Compiègne (in the department of the Oise), some 70 km north of Paris. During her youth, she suffered from numerous health problems including chronic asthma, which also plagued her at a later age. Because his daughter was so frail and sickly, Charles Lenglen, the owner of a carriage company, decided that it would be good for her to compete in tennis and gain strength. Her first try at the game was in 1910, when she played on the tennis court at the family property in Marest-sur-Matz. The young girl enjoyed the game, and her father decided to train her further in the sport. His training methods included an exercise where he would lay down a handkerchief at various places on the court, to which his daughter had to direct the ball.

Related Topics:
Compiègne - Oise - Km - Paris - Asthma - Marest-sur-Matz

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Only four years after her first tennis strokes, Lenglen played in the final of the 1914 French Championships. (The tournament, a forerunner of the French Open, was only open to members of French clubs until 1925.) She lost to reigning champion Marguerite Broquedis in a closely fought three-set match: 5–7, 6–4, 6–3. That same year she won the International Clay Court Championships held at Sainte-Claude, turning 15 during the tournament. 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.

Related Topics:
1914 - French Open - Marguerite Broquedis - Sainte-Claude - World War I

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