Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Women's singles

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Contents

Women's singles tennis
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
Suzanne Lenglen 1920.jpg
Gold medalist Suzanne Lenglen
Venue Beerschot Tennis Club
Dates16–24 August 1920
Competitors18 from 7 nations
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Suzanne Lenglen Flag of France.svg  France
Silver medal icon.svg Dorothy Holman Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg Kathleen McKane Godfree Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
  1912
1924  
Women's singles
Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Events
Singles men women
Doubles men women mixed
  1912  · Summer Olympics ·  1924  

The women's singles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. A total of 18 players from 7 nations competed in the event, which was held from 16 to 24 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club. [1] The event was won by Suzanne Lenglen of France, defeating Dorothy Holman of Great Britain in the final. It was the second consecutive victory for a French woman, with Marguerite Broquedis winning the pre-war 1912 tournament. Kathleen McKane Godfree of Great Britain defeated Sigrid Fick of Sweden in the bronze-medal match.

Lenglen's victory was comprehensive, as she lost only 4 games in her 5 matches (1 to Fick in the semifinals, 3 to Holman in the final). [2]

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the women's singles tennis. A women's event was held only once during the first three Games (only men's tennis was played in 1896 and 1904), but has been held at every Olympics for which there was a tennis tournament since 1908. Tennis was not a medal sport from 1928 to 1984, though there were demonstration events in 1968 and 1984. [2]

France's Suzanne Lenglen was the "dominant women's player in the world, and considered by some as the greatest female player of all time." She highlighted a strong field, including top British players Dorothy Holman and Kathleen McKane Godfree. Absent were Molla Mallory (a bronze medalist for Norway in 1912 who had emigrated to the United States; in 1921, she would be the only woman to beat Lenglen post-war), Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers of Great Britain (the 1908 Olympic gold medalist and seven-time Wimbledon winner, who had reached the Wimbledon finals in 1919 and 1920, losing both to Lenglen), and Elizabeth Ryan of the United States (long-time doubles partner of Lenglen, who would reach the 1921 Wimbledon singles final against her). [2]

Belgium, Denmark, and Italy each made their debut in the event. France and Great Britain each made their third appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze-medal match. All matches were best-of-three sets.

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Monday, 16 August 1920Round of 32
Tuesday, 17 August 1920
Wednesday, 18 August 1920
Round of 16
Thursday, 19 August 1920
Friday, 20 August 1920
Saturday, 21 August 1920
Sunday, 22 August 1920
Monday, 23 August 1920
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Tuesday, 24 August 1920Bronze medal match
Final

Draw

Key

Finals

Semifinals Final (gold-medal match)
          
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sigrid Fick  (SWE)0 1
Flag of France.svg  Suzanne Lenglen  (FRA)66
Flag of France.svg  Suzanne Lenglen  (FRA)66
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Dorothy Holman  (GBR)3 0
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Kathleen McKane  (GBR)w/o
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Dorothy Holman  (GBR)Bronze-medal match
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sigrid Fick  (SWE)2 0
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Kathleen McKane  (GBR)66

Top half

First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  A de Borman  (BEL)
Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  M Skrbková  (TCH)w/o
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  A de Borman  (BEL)4 6
Flag of Sweden.svg  S Fick  (SWE)68
Flag of Sweden.svg  S Fick  (SWE)76
Flag of Norway.svg  C Dahl  (NOR)5 2
Flag of Sweden.svg  S Fick  (SWE)0 1
Flag of France.svg  S Lenglen  (FRA)66
Flag of Sweden.svg  L Strömberg-von Essen  (SWE)76
Flag of Denmark.svg  E Brehm  (DEN)66Flag of Denmark.svg  E Brehm  (DEN)5 3
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  M Dupont  (BEL)3 4 Flag of Sweden.svg  L Strömberg-von Essen  (SWE)0 0
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  W McNair  (GBR)Flag of France.svg  S Lenglen  (FRA)66
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg  F Subirana  (ESP)w/oFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  W McNair  (GBR)0 0
Flag of France.svg  S Lenglen  (FRA)66Flag of France.svg  S Lenglen  (FRA)66
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  M Storms  (BEL)0 0

Bottom half

First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  R Gagliardi  (ITA)60
Flag of Sweden.svg  M Lindberg  (SWE)0 0rFlag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  R Gagliardi  (ITA)1 62
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  K McKane  (GBR)66Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  K McKane  (GBR)61 6
Flag of France.svg  J Vaussard  (FRA)4 4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  K McKane  (GBR)66
Flag of France.svg  É d'Ayen  (FRA)2 3
Flag of Denmark.svg  A Hansen  (DEN)2 3
Flag of France.svg  É d'Ayen  (FRA)66
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  K McKane  (GBR)w/o
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  D Holman  (GBR)
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  G Ferelli  (ITA)w/o
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  F Arendt  (BEL)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  F Arendt  (BEL)2 3
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  D Holman  (GBR)66
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  G Beamish  (GBR)6 2
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  D Holman  (GBR)86

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References

  1. "Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics: Singles, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Singles, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 July 2021.

Sources