The 1879 Women's Tennis season was mainly composed of national, regional, county, local regular amateur tournaments. This year, seven tennis events for women were staged, four of them in Ireland and two events in England between April and October 1879.
Season summary The women's amateur tennis seasons covers a period of thirty five years from 1876 to 1912. During this period there was no single international organization responsible for overseeing tennis. At the very start in tennis history lawn tennis clubs themselves organized events and some like the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in England (f.1877) and the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Ireland (f.1879) generally oversaw tennis in their respective countries.
This would later change when tennis players started (those that could) traveled the world to compete in events organized by individual national lawn tennis associations (NLTA)'s the oldest of which then was the United States Lawn Tennis Association (f. 1881). In certain countries that did not establish a national association until later, had provincial, regional or state lawn tennis associations overseeing tournaments in a province, region or state within a country, such as the Northern Lawn Tennis Association in Manchester, England (f.1880), had responsibility for coordinating tournaments staged by clubs in the North of England region. In Australia the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association (f.1904) organised tournaments in the state of Victoria, Australia.
In 1879 seven tournaments for women were staged five of them in Ireland. In the spring the Earlsfort Terrace Tournament held in Dublin, Ireland is played on asphalt courts featuring a ladies singles and doubles event. Between April and May the newly established Oxford University Tennis Championship was held in Oxford, England that included a women's event. In June the Irish Championships are established, this was the first major national championships in the world to feature not only a women's singles event won by a May Langrishe, but also a mixed doubles event. In August the Armagh Tennis Tournament is staged at the Archery Lawn Tennis Club, Armagh that features a mixed doubles event.
In September 1879 the fourth edition of South of Ireland Championships in Limerick the singles event was won by Annie Rice.Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. (2013) Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. History - Source: http://www.lltc.ie/about-us/history |website=www.lltc.ie Publisher: Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. Limerick, Ireland. The same month the first North of Ireland Championships are staged in Belfast the women's singles was won by Miss C. Ritchie. In October 1879 in England the inaugural East Gloucestershire Championships are held at the Imperial Winter Gardens in Cheltenham, this is first significant tournament in England to feature a women's singles event, that is won by Florence Mardall and, also women's doubles event. In Bermuda the Bermuda Open Tennis Championships are held for the first time, at this time 'open' tournaments usually meant men's and women's players can compete.
At the 1879 Wimbledon Championships the world's first major tennis tournament, it still remained an all men's event, no women's events were staged.
In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation was created, that consisted of national member associations. The ILTF through its associated members then became responsible for supervising women's tour events.
Season results Notes 1: Challenge Round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921),Papers Past, (20 March 1922). Abolition of Challenge Round. Paris International Championships. Evening Post Newspaper: Volume CIII, Issue 65, National Library of New Zealand. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers. Accessed: 14 July 2022 October. in some tournaments not all.* Indicates doubles ** mixed doubles Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season
Key Main events Nauright, John, Parrish, Charles, (2012) Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, Calif, USA. ISBN 9781598843002. p. 198.Gillmeister, Heiner (1998) Tennis:Cultural History. A&C Black. London. ISBN 9780718501952. p.199.Lake, Robert J. (2014) A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History: Routledge. Oxford. p.48. National events Provincial/Regional/State events County events Regular events
January to March No events
April to May Note: The Oxford University Tennis Championship were held results unknown. EndedTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi FinalistQuarter FinalistMay 2Oxford University Tennis ChampionshipHargreaves Oxford University LTCOxford, EnglandGrassSingles? ? May 2.Earlsfort Terrace TournamentDublin, IrelandOutdoorAsphaltSingles Miss Perrydef Miss Costello May Langrishe Miss Shaw Miss Casey Miss Lane Miss Scovell
June EndedTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi FinalistQuarter FinalistJun 10Irish Championships Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis ClubDublin, IrelandOutdoorGrassSingles May LangrisheHedges, Martin (1978)6-2, 0–6, 8-6 D. Meldon Miss Casey Connie Butler Adela Langrishe Miss Costello ** E Elliott6-4, 6-4 Adela Langrishe Charles D Barry
July No events
August EndedTournamentWinnerFinalistSemifinalistQuarter finalistAug 13. Armagh ALTC TournamentArchery Lawn Tennis ClubArmagh, IrelandGrassSingles - Doubles Miss Cope ** A. J. Wilson ** def Miss Bayly Robert Shaw Templer
September EndedTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi FinalistQuarter FinalistSep 26.South of Ireland ChampionshipsLimerick, IrelandOutdoorGrassSingles Annie Rice 6–3, 6-4 T. Rice Miss Grubbe Miss Smith Mrs Armstrong ** Henry E. Tombe7-5, 6-2 Annie Rice Mr Baker Sep 30.North of Ireland ChampionshipsOrmeau Cricket GroundBelfast, IrelandOutdoorGrassSingles Miss A. Ritchie 6–3, 6-4 Miss C. Ritchie
October EndedTournamentWinnerFinalistSemi FinalistQuarter FinalistOct 11 East Gloucestershire ChampionshipsCheltenham, EnglandOutdoorGrassSingles Florence Mardall6-5, 6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 6-3 Marian Bradley Mary Abercrombie Ellen Maltby Clara Hill Ellen Ramsay Miss Shand Miss Willoughby Mary Abercrombie * Marian Bradley6-2, 6–3, 6-2 Clara Hill Florence Mardall
November to December No events
Tournament winners Singles This is list of winners sorted by number of singles titles (major titles in bold) Miss A. Ritchie (1) Belfast Florence Mardall (1) Cheltenham Miss Perry (1) Dublin II May Langrishe (1) Dublin Annie Rice (1) Limerick
Doubles This is list of winners sorted by number of doubles titles Mary Abercrombie & Marian Bradley (1) Cheltenham
Mix Doubles This is list of winners sorted by number of doubles titles (major titles in bold) Miss Cope & A. J. Wilson (1) Armagh Miss Costello & E Elliott (1) Dublin Mrs Armstrong & Henry E. Tombe (1) Limerick
References