1885 women's tennis season

The 1885 Women's tennis season was a tennis circuit composed of 60 national, regional, county, and regular tournaments. The season began in May in Sydney, Australia and ended in November in New Haven, United States.^[1]

1885 Women's tennis season

Maud Watson is singles title leader this year
Details
Duration	4 May – 6 November
Edition	10th
Tournaments	60 (Amateur)
Categories	Important (3) National (0) Provincial/Regional/State (7) County (7) Regular (13)
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titles	Maud Watson (5)
Most tournament finals	Blanche Bingley (6)
← 1884 1886 →

Season summary

Prior to the creation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the establishment of its world championship events in 1913 the Wimbledon Championships, the U.S. National Championships, the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and the Northern Championships were considered by players and historians as the four most important tennis tournaments to win.^[2][3][4]

1885 sees a large expansion in the overall number of combined women's events being held as the tennis circuit continues to grow.^[5] At the beginning of may the first Inter-Colonial Lawn Tennis Tournament (later known as the New South Wales Championships) is held in Sydney, Australia and is won by Annie Lamb.^[6]

In late May 1884 at the first major event of the year the Irish Championships^[7] in Dublin, Ireland. In the women's singles final England's Maud Watson retains the title defeating Irleland's Louisa Martin. Watson also claims the doubles title with her sister Lilian Watson defeating the Irish sisters Adela Langrishe and May Langrishe. In the mixed doubles Watson retains the title with William Renshaw against Ireland's Connie Butler and Ireland's Ernest Browne.^[1] and completes a clean sweep of all possible events, singles, doubles and mixed doubles.^[1]

In June 1884 at the second major tournament of the year the Northern Championships in Manchester England's Maud Watson wins her second major singles title against Edith Davies. The women's doubles title is won by Ann Dod and Lottie Dod who defeated Margaret Bracewell and Beatrice Langrishe.^[1] In the mixed doubles event Maud Watson wins a second title paired with William Renshaw beating England's Margaret Bracewell and America's James Dwight.^[1]

At the 1885 Wimbledon Championships the world's first major tennis tournament in the singles competition Maud Watson defeats Blanche Bingley to claim a second ladies championship title.^[8] At the U.S. National Championships there was still no women's championship events held.

In Australasia in October the Victorian Championships held in Melbourne, Australia and played on asphalt courts is won by Mabel Shaw. In November the season ended in the United States at the New Hampshire Tennis Association Tournament at that was by Adeline Robinson. In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation was created, and consisted of 13 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),^[9] in some tournaments not all.

* Indicates challenge round final

Key

Main events.[10][11][12][13]

National events

Provincial/State/Regional events

County events

Regular events

Singles

Results included:.^[14]

Tournaments (31)

#	Date ended	Tournament	Location	Surface	Winner	Finalist	Score
1.	7-May-1885[15]	Inter-Colonial Lawn Tennis Tournament	Sydney	Grass	Annie Lamb	Miss Gordon	6–5, 6–4, 6–1, 6–1
2.	26-May-1885[14]	Irish Championships	Dublin	Grass	Maud Watson	Louisa Martin	6–2, 4–6, 6–3
3.	30-May-1885[14]	West of England Championships	Bath	Grass	Gertrude Gibbs	Edith Davies	2–6, 6–4, 6–0
4.	6-Jun-1885[14]	East Gloucestershire Championships	Cheltenham	Grass	Maud Watson	Connie Butler	6–3, 6–1
5.	13-Jun-1885[14]	Kilkenny County and City Tournament	Archersfield	Grass	May Langrishe	Miss Neville	6–1, 6–8
6.	13-Jun-1885[14]	London Championships	Stamford Bridge	Grass	Maud Watson	Lilian Watson	6–2, 6–3
7.	17-Jun-1885[14]	Acton Vale LTC Open	East Acton	Grass	Blanche Bingley	Miss Day	6–0, 6–2
8.	19-Jun-1885[14]	Waterloo Tournament	Liverpool	Grass	Lottie Dod	Margaret Bracewell	6–4, 6–2
9.	20-Jun-1885[14]	Brincliffe Lawn Tennis Club Open Tournament	Sheffield	Grass	Beatrice Wood	Florence Mardall	6–1, 6–0
10.	27-Jun-1885[14]	Northern Championships *	Manchester	Grass	Maud Watson	Edith Davies	6–3, 6–3
11.	3-Jul-1885[14]	Midland Counties Championship Cup	Edgbaston	Grass	Margaret Bracewell	Mary Steedman	6–3, 6–2
12.	9-Jul-1885[14]	Ealing Lawn Tennis Tournament	Ealing	Grass	Charlotte Cooper	Edith Gurney	6–4, 6–4
13.	9-Jul-1885[16]	Natal Championships	Durban	Grass	Mabel Grant	L. Button	18–8 games
14.	17-Jul-1885[14]	Wimbledon Championships	London	Grass	Maud Watson	Blanche Bingley	6–1, 7–5
15.	25-Jul-1885[14]	Chiswick Park Tournament	Chiswick Park	Grass	Edith Gurney	Blanche Bingley	1–6, 7–5, 6–0
16.	25-Jul-1885[14]	Leicester Open Lawn Tennis Tournament	Leicester	Grass	Margaret Bracewell	Agnes Watts	6–2, 8–6
17.	6-Aug-1885[14]	Darlington Association Tournament	Darlington	Grass	Florence Stanuell	Connie Butler	6–0, 7–5
18.	8-Aug-1885[14]	West of Ireland Championships	Sligo	Grass	C. McClintock	Maude Scovell	0–6, 6–3, 6–2
19.	14-Aug-1885[14]	East Grinstead Lawn Tennis Tournament	East Grinstead	Grass	Blanche Bingley	Edith Davies	6–2, 5–7, 6–3
20.	17-Aug-1885	Charleville Ladies' Tournament	Charleville	Grass	Miss Crookbain		Won
21.	18-Aug-1885[14]	Bournemouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament	Bournemouth	Grass	Mrs Surman	Mrs Hornby	drew
22.	20-Aug-1885	Augusta Tournament	Augusta	Grass	Miss Haynes	Katie Baldwin	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
23.	22-Aug-1885[14]	North Yorkshire Tournament	Scarborough	Grass	Mabel Boulton	Beatrice Wood	6–2, 6–2
24.	22-Aug-1885[14]	South of Scotland Championships	Moffat	Grass	Ann Dod	J. Forrest	6–0, 6–0
25.	29-Aug-1885[14]	Derbyshire Championships	Buxton	Grass	Blanche Bingley	Louisa Martin	6–3, 6–3
26.	17-Sep-1885[14]	South of England Championships	Eastbourne	Grass	Blanche Bingley	Ada Strapp	6–1, 6–0
27.	26-Sep-1885[14]	Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament	Brighton	Asphalt	EF Hudson	Constance Bryan	6–1, 6–4
28.	26-Sep-1885	Orange LTC Open	Montrose	Grass	Adeline Robinson	Grace Roosevelt	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
29.	5-Oct-1885	Camp Washington Ladies Lawn Tennis Tournament	Livingston	Grass	Miss Lesley	Miss Austin	4–6, 6–2, 6–3
30.	10-Oct-1885	Victorian Championships	Melbourne	Asphalt	Mabel Shaw	Miss Patterson	13–7 games
31.	6-Nov-1885	New Hampshire Tennis Association Tournament	New Haven	Grass	Adeline Robinson	Emma Leavitt-Morgan	6–2, 6–3

Tournament winners

Singles

This is list of winners sorted by number of singles titles (# and main titles in bold)

• Maud Watson (5) Cheltenham, Irish Championships, Northern Championships, Wimbledon Championships, Stamford Bridge.
• Blanche Bingley (4) Buxton, East Acton, Eastbourne, East Grinstead,
• Adeline Robinson (2) Montrose, New Haven
• May Langrishe (1) Archersfield
• Miss Haynes (1) Augusta
• Gertrude Gibbs (1) Bath
• Mrs Surman (1) Brighton
• Miss Crookbain (1) Charleville
• Edith Gurney (1) Chiswick Park
• Florence Stanuell (1) Darlington
• Mabel Grant (1) Durban
• Charlotte Cooper (1) Ealing
• Lottie Dod (1) Liverpool
• Miss Lesley (1) Livingston
• Mabel Shaw (1) Melbourne
• Ann Dod (1) Moffat
• Mabel Boulton (1) Scarborough
• Beatrice Wood (1) Sheffield
• C. McClintock (1) Sligo
• Annie Lamb (1) Sydney

Doubles

This is list of winners sorted by number of doubles titles (# and main titles in bold)

Note: Ann Dod and Connie Butler won titles with two different partners.

• Ann Dod & Lottie Dod/ Miss Cornelius (3) Northern Championships, Liverpool, Moffat
• Connie Butler & Louisa Martin/ Miss Marley (3) Cheltenham, Darlington, Newcastle
• Lilian Watson & Maud Watson (2) Irish Championships, Stamford Bridge.^[14]
• Lottie Dod & Ann Dod (2) Northern Championships, Liverpool.^[14]
• Miss Marley & Connie Butler (2) Darlington, Newcastle
• Blanche Bingley & Beatrice Langrishe/ Edith Gurney (2) Brighton, East Grinstead
• May Langrishe & Miss Neville (1) Archersfield.^[14]
• Gertrude Gibbs & Edith Davies (1) Bath.^[14]
• Edith Gurney & Blanche Bingley (1) Brighton.^[14]
• Margaret Bracewell & Agnes Watts (1) Buxton.^[14]
• Louisa Martin & Connie Butler (1) Cheltenham.^[14]
• Beatrice Langrishe & Blanche Bingley (1) East Grinstead.^[14]
• Bertha Steedman & Mary Steedman (1) Edgbaston.^[14]
• Miss Lesley & Miss Miller (1) Livingston
• Miss Cornelius & Ann Dod (1) Moffat.^[14]
• Miss Lydiard & Miss Wilson (1) Melbourne

Mixed doubles

This is list of winners sorted by number of mixed doubles titles (# and main titles in bold)

• Margaret Bracewell & William Renshaw/ Walter Chamberlain (5) Buxton, Cheltenham, Edgbaston, Leicester, Scarborough.^[1]
• Maud Watson & /Erskine Watson Harry Grove/ William Renshaw (4) Irish Championships, Northern Championships, Stamford Bridge, Teignmouth.^[1]
• Connie Butler & C Liddel/ Patrick Bowes-Lyon (3) Darlington, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Blanche Bingley & Harry Grove (2) Chiswick Park, East Grinstead.^[1]
• Miss Binney & A.D. Hensley (1) Abingdon.^[1]
• Mabel Cahill & Francis R. Swayne (1) Archersfield.^[1]
• Miss Cuppage & George Archibald Tisdall (1) Athboy
• Miss Carpenter & Donald Stewart (1) Bath.^[1]
• Miss Hodsdon & Frank Noon/Lady Evershed & Sir Sydney Evershed (1) Burton-upon-Trent (title shared).^[1]
• Miss T.H. Lewis & T. Lewis (1) Charmouth.^[1]
• Constance Bryan & Charles Ross (1) Brighton.^[1]
• Mrs Ravenhill & Captain H.T. Ravenhill (1) Denbigh.^[1]
• Edith Gurney & William C. Taylor (1) Eastbourne.^[1]
• Katherine J. Hole & Captain M.R. Bethune (1) Eggesford.^[1]
• Rose Tanner & J. W. Begg (1) Farndon Park.^[1]
• Miss Goddard & A.E. Wood (1) Fylde.^[1]
• Miss Stewart & Richard Millar Watson (1) Harwick.^[1]
• Miss Palmer & R.H. Pickering (1) Langley Marish.^[1]
• Mrs Clarke & John Charles Kay (1) Leamington.^[1]
• Miss Salaman & D. Fitzgerald (1) Les Diablerets.^[1]
• Lottie Dod & John Edmondson (1) Liverpool.^[1]
• Kitty Smith & Robert Livingston Beeckman (1) Livingston.^[1]
• Miss L. Murray & William Ferguson (1) Moffat.^[1]
• Miss Cornish-Bowden & T.P. Whateley (1) Newton Abbot.^[1]
• Miss Henstock & T.M. Draper (1) Pensarn.^[1]
• Miss Henry & A.D. Johns (1) Portrush.^[1]
• Miss Soltau-Symons & Saint John Halford Coventry (1) Plymouth.^[1]
• Miss Campbell & Anderson Steele (1) Rothesay.^[1]
• C. McClintock & Willoughby Hamilton (1) Sligo.^[1]
• Lottie Paterson & John Galbraith Horn (1) St. Andrews.^[1]
• Miss Smee & James Herbert Crispe (1) Stoke Newington.^[1]
• Annie Lamb & Charles Cropper (1) Sydney.^[1]
• Miss Marriott & William Bolding Monement (1) Tasburgh.^[1]
• Miss Henry & James Baldwin (1) Tenby.^[1]
• Miss Wood & Arthur Godfrey Pease (1) Whitby.^[1]
• Miss Brook & Richard Montague Ainslie (1) Windamere.^[1]

Statistical summary

Singles

• Total Tournaments (32)
• Most Titles: Maud Watson (5)
• Most Finals: Blanche Bingley (6)
• Most Matches Played: Maud Watson (19)
• Most Matches Won: Maud Watson (19)
• Match Winning %: Maud Watson (100%)
• Most Tournaments Played: Blanche Bingley (8)

Doubles

• Total Tournaments: (15)
• Most Titles: Ann Dod & Connie Butler (3)
• Most Finals: Connie Butler (5)

Mix Doubles

• Total Tournaments: (45)
• Most Titles: Margaret Bracewell (5)
• Most Finals: Margaret Bracewell (7)

References

1. Garcia, Gabriel. "Season - 1885". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
2. Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 266, 267. ISBN 9780047960420.
3. Meyers, A. Wallis (1903). Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons. p. 55.
4. Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 9781134445578.
5. Berry. David (2020). A people's history of tennis. (2) Feminists. Pluto Books London ISBN 978-0745339658. p.33.
6. "Lawn Tennis". Illustrated Sydney News. Vol. XXII, no. 6. New South Wales, Australia. 6 June 1885. pp. 11–15 – via National Library of Australia.
7. Irish TV Documentary (4 Jul 2016). The True Tale Of The Irish Tennis Murderer. Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE). Dublin. Ireland.
8. "The Championships 1885 - Ladies' Singles" (PDF). Wimbledon. AELTC. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
9. "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 March 1922. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
10. Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 198. ISBN 9781598843002.
11. Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis:Cultural History. London: A&C Black. p. 199. ISBN 9780718501952.
12. Mazak, Karoly (2017). The Concise History of Tennis. Independently published. pp. 5–36. ISBN 9781549746475.
13. Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain: Volume 5 of Routledge Research in Sports History. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 9781134445578.
14. "Lawn Tennis Tournaments of 1885". Routledges Sporting Annual. London: George Routledge and Son. 1886. pp. 124–130.
15. Illustrated Sydney News
16. "The History of KZN Tennis". KZN Tennis Association. p. 1. Retrieved 5 August 2023.