Blanche Bingley Hillyard (née Bingley; 3 November 1863 – 6 August 1946) was an English

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player. She won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times, having also competed in the first ever Wimbledon championships for women in 1884. She also won the Irish Championships three times (1888, 1894, 1897); the German International Championships twice (1897, 1900); and the South of England Championships at Eastbourne, 11 times between 1885 and 1905.

Early life

Bingley was born in Greenford,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, the daughter of a wealthy tailoring business proprietor. She was a member of the

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

Lawn Tennis & Archery Club.

Biography

Wimbledon

Her career at Wimbledon spanned almost 30 years, longer than any other woman to date. In 1884, she competed in the first ever Wimbledon championships for women, and two years later, she captured the first of her six singles titles. Also a seven-time losing finalist, Bingley's 13 finals remain a Wimbledon record, as is the 14-year time span between her first and last titles. Bingley's Wimbledon record suggests that she was the second strongest female player of her day, only behind Lottie Dod, who defeated her in five finals. After marriage to Commander George Whiteside Hillyard, she was usually listed in various records as Blanche Bingley Hillyard. At age 36, she again won the Wimbledon final and continued to compete until age 49, playing her last Wimbledon in 1913.

Other championships

Bingley's first success came at the Middlesex Championships, held in Chiswick Park (west London) in 1884. She won the Irish Championships on three occasions (1888, 1894, 1897) and the German International Championships, played in Hamburg twice; in 1897, defeating Charlotte Cooper Sterry in the final in three sets, and in 1900 against Muriel Robb, also in three sets. Additionally, she won the South of England Championships at Eastbourne, then a major event, eleven times between 1885 and 1905. She also won the Sussex Championships at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

five times (1893–1896, 1900). She won the London Championships at Stamford Bridge three times (1886–1888), the Derbyshire Championships at Buxton six times (1888, 1893–1894, 1896, 1901, 1906), the Exmouth LTC Tournament two times (1887–1888) at

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

, the British Covered Court Championships (1901), the Bournemouth Open Tournament at Bournemouth (1901),

Private life

She married Commander George Whiteside Hillyard in Greenford on 13 July 1887) one week after the Wimbledon final. Her husband was one of the foremost men's players on the international tennis circuit between 1886 and 1914. He also played first class cricket for Middlesex and Leicestershire. From 1907 to 1925, he was secretary of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and director of The Championships at Wimbledon between 1907 and 1925. He died in Bramfold, Pulborough, on 24 March 1943.

Death and legacy

Blanche Bingley Hillyard died at her home in Pulborough, West Sussex, in 1946. She was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

in 2013.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner-ups)

¹This was the all-comers final as Lottie Dod did not defend her 1888 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1889 by walkover.
²This was the all-comers final as Lottie Dod did not defend her 1893 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1894 by walkover. ³This was the all-comers final as Helena Rice did not defend her 1890 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1891 by walkover.

Grand Slam performance timeline

References

External links

*Obituary in the New York Times: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/08/08/93144141.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=true&pageNumber=18 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bingley, Blanche 1863 births 1946 deaths 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century English sportswomen English female tennis players British female tennis players People from Ealing Tennis players from the London Borough of Ealing Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics 20th-century English sportswomen