Charlotte "Chattie" Cooper Sterry (née Charlotte Reinagle Cooper; 22 September 1870 – 10 October 1966) was an English female tennis player who won five singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships and in 1900 became Olympic champion. In winning in Paris on 11 July 1900, she became the first female Olympic tennis champion as well as the first individual female Olympic champion.[1]
Charlotte Cooper Sterry vs Blanche Bingley Hillyard at Eastbourne
Charlotte Cooper was born on 22 September 1870 at Waldham Lodge, Ealing, Middlesex, England, the youngest daughter of Henry Cooper, a miller, and his wife Teresa Georgiana Miller.[2] She learned to play tennis at the Ealing Lawn Tennis Club where she was first coached by H. Lawrence and later by Charles Martin and Harold Mahony.[a] She won her first senior singles title in 1893 at Ilkley.[3] Between 1893 and 1917 she participated in 21 Wimbledon tournaments. At her first appearance she reached the semifinals of the singles event in which she lost to Blanche Bingley Hillyard. She won her first singles title in 1895, defeating Helen Jackson in the final of the All-Comers event.[4][b] In that match she was down 0–5 in both sets but managed to win in straight sets.[5] In 1896, she successfully defended her title in the Challenge Round against Alice Simpson Pickering. Between 1897 and 1901 the titles were divided between Cooper Sterry (1898, 1901) and Bingley Hillyard (1897, 1899, 1900). The 1902 Challenge Round match against Muriel Robb was halted on the first day of play due to rainfall at 6–4, 11–13. The match was replayed in its entirety the next day and Robb won 7–5, 6–1, playing a total of 53 games which was then a record for the longest women's singles final.[6][7] In 1908 as a mother of two she won her last singles title when she defeated Agnes Morton in straight sets in the All-Comers final after a seven-year hiatus and at the age of 37.[8][9] She is the oldest Wimbledon's ladies’ singles champion and her record of eight consecutive singles finals stood until 1990 when Martina Navratilova reached her ninth consecutive singles final.[9][10]
In addition to her singles titles, Cooper Sterry also won seven All-England mixed doubles titles; five times with Harold Mahony (1894–1898) [3] and once with Laurence Doherty (1900) and Xenophon Casdagli (1908).[c] In 1913 she reached the final of the first Wimbledon women's doubles event with Dorothea Douglass, 18 years after winning her first Wimbledon title.
She won the singles title at the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships in 1895 and 1898,[3] a prestigious tournament at the time.[11] At the 1900 Summer Olympics, where women participated for the first time, Cooper Sterry won the tennis singles event. On 11 July 1900 she defeated Hélène Prévost in the final in straight sets and became the first female Olympic tennis champion as well as the first individual female Olympic champion. With Reginald Doherty, she won the mixed doubles title after a straight-sets victory in the final against Hélène Prévost and Harold Mahony.[12][d] In 1901 she won the singles title at the German Championships, and in 1902 she won the Swiss Championship.[13] Cooper Sterry remained active in competitive tennis and continued to play in championship events well into her 50s.
On 12 January 1901 she married Alfred Sterry, a solicitor, who became president of the Lawn Tennis Association. They had two children: Rex (1903–81) who was the vice-chairman of the All England Club for a period of 15 years during the 1960s and 1970s and Gwen (born 1905), a tennis player who participated at Wimbledon and played on Britain's Wightman Cup team.[2][14][15][16]
Cooper Sterry, who had been deaf since the age of 26, died on 10 October 1966 at the age of 96, in Helensburgh, Scotland.[2][17][18]
Cooper Sterry had an offensive style of playing, attacking the net when the opportunity arose. She was one of a few female players of her time who served overhead. Her main strengths were her steadiness, temperament and tactical ability.[2] Her excellent volleying skills stood out at a time when this was still a rarity in ladies tennis.[13]
^In the 1910 book by Dorothy Chambers titled "Lawn Tennis for Ladies" Cooper Sterry describes winning her first championship at the Ealing Club: "Winning my first championship of the Ealing Lawn Tennis Club at the age of 14 was a very important moment in my life. How well I remember, bedecked by my proud mother in my best clothes, running off to the Club on the Saturday afternoon to play in the final without a vestige of nerve (would that I had none now!), and winning — that was the first really important match of my life."
^ abThis was actually the all-comers final as Blanche Bingley Hillyard did not defend her 1894 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1895 by walkover.
^The Mixed Doubles only became an official Championship event in 1913.
^This was actually the all-comers final as Blanche Bingley Hillyard did not defend her 1897 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1898 by walkover.
^This was actually the all-comers final as May Sutton did not defend her 1907 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1908 by walkover.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlotte Cooper.
^"Charlotte Cooper". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
^ abcd"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Sterry [née Cooper], Charlotte Reinagle". Oxford University Press.
^ abcSmyth, J. G. (8 November 2013). "Oxford DNB article: Sterry, Charlotte Reinagle". archive.fo. Oxford University Press, 2004-2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Kelly Exelby (10 July 2012). "Tennis: Proud links to an All England legend". The New Zealand Herald.
^Barrett, John (2013). Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships (2nd ed.). Kingston upon Thames: Vision Sports Pub Ltd. p. 77. ISBN9781907637896.
^Hedges, Martin (1978). The Concise Dictionary of Tennis. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 202–203. ISBN978-0861240128.
^"Wimbledon player archive – Charlotte Sterry (Cooper)". AELTC.
^ abBud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 445, 709. ISBN978-0942257700.
^. AELTC. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
^Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN9781134445578.
^. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
^ abA Wallis Myers, ed. (1903). Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad (1 ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 170, 280. OCLC 5358651.
^Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 323, 324. ISBN9780047960420.
charlotte, cooper, tennis, charlotte, chattie, cooper, sterry, née, charlotte, reinagle, cooper, september, 1870, october, 1966, english, female, tennis, player, five, singles, titles, wimbledon, championships, 1900, became, olympic, champion, winning, paris, . Charlotte Chattie Cooper Sterry nee Charlotte Reinagle Cooper 22 September 1870 10 October 1966 was an English female tennis player who won five singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships and in 1900 became Olympic champion In winning in Paris on 11 July 1900 she became the first female Olympic tennis champion as well as the first individual female Olympic champion 1 Charlotte Cooper SterryFull nameCharlotte Reinagle Cooper SterryCountry sports United KingdomBorn 1870 09 22 22 September 1870Ealing EnglandDied10 October 1966 1966 10 10 aged 96 Helensburgh ScotlandPlaysRight handedInt Tennis HoF2013 member page SinglesCareer recordno valueGrand Slam singles resultsWimbledonW 1895 1896 1898 1901 1908 DoublesCareer recordno valueGrand Slam doubles resultsWimbledonF 1913 Grand Slam mixed doubles resultsWimbledon3R 1914 Medal record Representing Great BritainOlympic Games1900 Paris Singles1900 Paris Mixed doubles Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Playing style 3 Grand Slam finals 3 1 Singles 11 5 titles 6 runners up 3 2 Doubles 1 1 runner up 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and career Edit Charlotte Cooper Sterry vs Blanche Bingley Hillyard at Eastbourne Charlotte Cooper was born on 22 September 1870 at Waldham Lodge Ealing Middlesex England the youngest daughter of Henry Cooper a miller and his wife Teresa Georgiana Miller 2 She learned to play tennis at the Ealing Lawn Tennis Club where she was first coached by H Lawrence and later by Charles Martin and Harold Mahony a She won her first senior singles title in 1893 at Ilkley 3 Between 1893 and 1917 she participated in 21 Wimbledon tournaments At her first appearance she reached the semifinals of the singles event in which she lost to Blanche Bingley Hillyard She won her first singles title in 1895 defeating Helen Jackson in the final of the All Comers event 4 b In that match she was down 0 5 in both sets but managed to win in straight sets 5 In 1896 she successfully defended her title in the Challenge Round against Alice Simpson Pickering Between 1897 and 1901 the titles were divided between Cooper Sterry 1898 1901 and Bingley Hillyard 1897 1899 1900 The 1902 Challenge Round match against Muriel Robb was halted on the first day of play due to rainfall at 6 4 11 13 The match was replayed in its entirety the next day and Robb won 7 5 6 1 playing a total of 53 games which was then a record for the longest women s singles final 6 7 In 1908 as a mother of two she won her last singles title when she defeated Agnes Morton in straight sets in the All Comers final after a seven year hiatus and at the age of 37 8 9 She is the oldest Wimbledon s ladies singles champion and her record of eight consecutive singles finals stood until 1990 when Martina Navratilova reached her ninth consecutive singles final 9 10 In addition to her singles titles Cooper Sterry also won seven All England mixed doubles titles five times with Harold Mahony 1894 1898 3 and once with Laurence Doherty 1900 and Xenophon Casdagli 1908 c In 1913 she reached the final of the first Wimbledon women s doubles event with Dorothea Douglass 18 years after winning her first Wimbledon title She won the singles title at the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships in 1895 and 1898 3 a prestigious tournament at the time 11 At the 1900 Summer Olympics where women participated for the first time Cooper Sterry won the tennis singles event On 11 July 1900 she defeated Helene Prevost in the final in straight sets and became the first female Olympic tennis champion as well as the first individual female Olympic champion With Reginald Doherty she won the mixed doubles title after a straight sets victory in the final against Helene Prevost and Harold Mahony 12 d In 1901 she won the singles title at the German Championships and in 1902 she won the Swiss Championship 13 Cooper Sterry remained active in competitive tennis and continued to play in championship events well into her 50s On 12 January 1901 she married Alfred Sterry a solicitor who became president of the Lawn Tennis Association They had two children Rex 1903 81 who was the vice chairman of the All England Club for a period of 15 years during the 1960s and 1970s and Gwen born 1905 a tennis player who participated at Wimbledon and played on Britain s Wightman Cup team 2 14 15 16 Cooper Sterry who had been deaf since the age of 26 died on 10 October 1966 at the age of 96 in Helensburgh Scotland 2 17 18 She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013 19 Playing style EditCooper Sterry had an offensive style of playing attacking the net when the opportunity arose She was one of a few female players of her time who served overhead Her main strengths were her steadiness temperament and tactical ability 2 Her excellent volleying skills stood out at a time when this was still a rarity in ladies tennis 13 Grand Slam finals EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Singles 11 5 titles 6 runners up Edit Result Year Championship Surface Opponent ScoreWin 1895 b Wimbledon 1 Grass Helen Jackson Atkins 7 5 8 6Win 1896 Wimbledon 2 Grass Alice Simpson Pickering 6 2 6 3Loss 1897 Wimbledon Grass Blanche Bingley Hillyard 7 5 5 7 2 6Win 1898 e Wimbledon 3 Grass Louisa Martin 6 4 6 4Loss 1899 Wimbledon Grass Blanche Bingley Hillyard 2 6 3 6Loss 1900 Wimbledon Grass Blanche Bingley Hillyard 6 4 4 6 4 6Win 1901 Wimbledon 4 Grass Blanche Bingley Hillyard 6 2 6 2Loss 1902 Wimbledon Grass Muriel Robb 5 7 1 6Loss 1904 Wimbledon Grass Dorothea Lambert Chambers 0 6 3 6Win 1908 f Wimbledon 5 Grass Agnes Morton 6 4 6 4Loss 1912 Wimbledon Grass Ethel Thomson Larcombe 3 6 1 6Doubles 1 1 runner up Edit Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents ScoreLoss 1913 Wimbledon Grass Dorothea Douglass Winifred McNair Dora Boothby 4 6 2 4 ret Notes Edit In the 1910 book by Dorothy Chambers titled Lawn Tennis for Ladies Cooper Sterry describes winning her first championship at the Ealing Club Winning my first championship of the Ealing Lawn Tennis Club at the age of 14 was a very important moment in my life How well I remember bedecked by my proud mother in my best clothes running off to the Club on the Saturday afternoon to play in the final without a vestige of nerve would that I had none now and winning that was the first really important match of my life a b This was actually the all comers final as Blanche Bingley Hillyard did not defend her 1894 Wimbledon title which resulted in the winner of the all comers final winning the challenge round and thus Wimbledon in 1895 by walkover The Mixed Doubles only became an official Championship event in 1913 Medals were not awarded until the 1904 Summer Olympics This was actually the all comers final as Blanche Bingley Hillyard did not defend her 1897 Wimbledon title which resulted in the winner of the all comers final winning the challenge round and thus Wimbledon in 1898 by walkover This was actually the all comers final as May Sutton did not defend her 1907 Wimbledon title which resulted in the winner of the all comers final winning the challenge round and thus Wimbledon in 1908 by walkover References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlotte Cooper Charlotte Cooper Olympedia Retrieved 31 December 2020 a b c d Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Sterry nee Cooper Charlotte Reinagle Oxford University Press a b c Smyth J G 8 November 2013 Oxford DNB article Sterry Charlotte Reinagle archive fo Oxford University Press 2004 2013 Archived from the original on 8 November 2013 Retrieved 20 October 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Kelly Exelby 10 July 2012 Tennis Proud links to an All England legend The New Zealand Herald Dorothy Lambert Chambers 1910 Lawn Tennis for Ladies 1 ed London Outing Publishing Company Barrett John 2013 Wimbledon The Official History of the Championships 2nd ed Kingston upon Thames Vision Sports Pub Ltd p 77 ISBN 9781907637896 Hedges Martin 1978 The Concise Dictionary of Tennis New York Mayflower Books pp 202 203 ISBN 978 0861240128 Wimbledon player archive Charlotte Sterry Cooper AELTC a b Bud Collins 2010 The Bud Collins History of Tennis 2nd ed New York New Chapter Press pp 445 709 ISBN 978 0942257700 Wimbledon Top 10 Oldest Champions AELTC Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Lake Robert J 2014 A Social History of Tennis in Britain Routledge p 49 ISBN 9781134445578 Olympics Charlotte Cooper Sports Reference Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 a b A Wallis Myers ed 1903 Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad 1 ed New York Charles Scribner s Sons pp 170 280 OCLC 5358651 Robertson Max 1974 The Encyclopedia of Tennis London Allen amp Unwin pp 323 324 ISBN 9780047960420 Wimbledon players archive Gwen Simmers Sterry AELTC Charlotte Cooper Sterry Helensburgh Heroes Charlotte Cooper a biography Archived from the original on 2 December 2019 Retrieved 22 September 2017 Charlotte Cooper Sterry All time tennis legend Hall of Famers Charlotte Cooper Sterry International Tennis Hall of Fame External links EditCharlotte Cooper at the International Tennis Federation Charlotte Cooper at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Charlotte Cooper at Wimbledon Charlotte Cooper at Olympics com Charlotte Cooper at Olympedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charlotte Cooper tennis amp oldid 1114946041, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
