Major Josiah George Ritchie (18 October 1870 – 28 February 1955) was a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from Great Britain. Major was his first name, not a military title. He was born in Westminster, educated at Brighton College and died in Ashford.

Career

Ritchie was a three-time medalist at the 1908 London Olympics, winning a Gold (Men's Singles), Silver (Men's Doubles) and Bronze (Men's Indoor Singles) medal. He was the last British player to win an Olympic medal in singles until Andy Murray won Gold in the 2012 games, also in London. In 1908 and 1910 he and

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

won the doubles in Wimbledon. In 1902 Ritchie reached the all comers final at Wimbledon, beating

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801) ...

before losing to

Laurence Doherty Hugh Laurence "Laurie" Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the 1900 Sum ...

. In 1903 and 1904 Ritchie lost in the all comers final to

Frank Riseley Frank Lorymer Riseley (6 July 1877 – 6 February 1959) was a British tennis player. He was a three time Wimbledon singles finalist (1903, 1904, 1906), two time Wimbledon doubles champion (1902, 1906) and won ten career singles titles. Career R ...

. In

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

he reached the Wimbledon Challenge Round, beating Harry Parker, Stanley Doust, Charles P. Dixon and

Herbert Roper Barrett Herbert Roper Barrett, KC (24 November 1873 – 27 July 1943) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Biography Barrett was born on 24 November 1873 in Upton, Essex. At the London Olympics in 1908 Barrett won a gold medal in the men's indo ...

before losing in five sets to Arthur Gore. In March 1907 Ritchie caused an upset by defeating

in the

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

singles final. In June 1907 he won the

Irish Championships Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour **Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annual ...

. Ritchie was a five times winner of the Championships of Germany, played in Hamburg, from 1903 to 1906 and in 1908 (in 1904 and 1906 he also won the doubles title). He was also a five-time winner of the singles title at the Austrian Championship (from 1900 to 1903 and 1905). In 1908 he was member of the British Davis Cup team. He won three consecutive titles at the Surrey Championships from 1908 to 1910. Other career highlights include winning the Riviera Championships at Menton, France four times (1904–1905, 1907–1908), the French Covered Court Championships four times (1899, 1902, 1905, 1908) . In 1911 Ritchie won the Queen's Club Covered Courts Championship, defeating Wilding in five sets. In 1919 he won the

Ilkley Open Lawn Tennis Tournament The Ilkley Open was a grass court tennis event founded in May 1885 as the Ilkley Tournament. It was held at the Ilkley Lawn Tennis Club (f.1880), Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England through until 1981, when the it failed to find any new sponsors the to ...

. In 1920, at age 50, he reached the semifinal of the

World Covered Court Championships The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three major world championships sanctioned from 1913 to 1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue change ...

at the Queen's Club in London. Ritchie was also active in other sports. In 1903 he competed in a regatta in Laleham and won the single sculls and coxless pairs events. In addition, he competed in table tennis and was the secretary of the Table Tennis Association, founded in 1902. That year he co-wrote a book on table tennis titled ''Table tennis and how to play it, with rules''. In 1909 he authored ''The Text Book of Lawn Tennis''.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

Doubles (2 titles)

Performance timeline

Events with a challenge round: (W_C) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (F_A) all comers' finalist

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Josiah 1870 births 1955 deaths English male tennis players English Olympic medallists Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Westminster Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tennis people from Greater London British male tennis players