Constance Bryan was a British

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 during the late 19th century. She was a singles semi finalist at the Irish Championships in 1888 and the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...

in 1894. She was active from 1885 to 1894 and won 3 singles titles.

Career

A versatile all surface player who won titles on both grass and clay courts Constance played her first known singles event in 1885 at the

where she reached the quarter finals before losing to E.F. Hudson. The same year she reached finals of the Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament played on outdoor asphalt courts at the Hove Rink in Brighton, and won the mixed pairs event with Charles Ross. In 1887 she won the Bournemouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament (later known as the Hampshire Championships) against Irish player Beatrice Langrishe. The same year she took part in the Cannes Beau Site Hotel Tournament mixed doubles event partnered with

Ernest Renshaw Ernest James Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 2 September 1899) was a British tennis player who was active in the late 19th century. Together with his twin brother William Renshaw, Ernest won the men's doubles at Wimbledon five times. He also won t ...

where they won that title against Edith Gurney and

Harry Grove Harry Grove (7 May 1862 – 7 February 1896) was a British tennis player in the early years of tennis. Career Grove first entered the Wimbledon men's singles in 1881, when he lost in round one. Grove reached the semis in 1887, beating Herbert ...

. In 1888 she took part in the

Irish Lawn Tennis Championships The Irish Open was a hard court tennis tournament founded in 1879 as the Irish Championships, a major tennis tournament of the late 19th to early 20th centuries. It was played at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin, Ireland. Also known as the ...

in Dublin where she made it to the semi finals before losing to

May Langrishe Mary Isabella "May" Langrishe (31 December 1864 – 24 January 1939) was an Irish tennis player. In the most important tennis tournaments of the late 19th century she won the singles title at the presitigous Irish Championships held at the Fitz ...

. In 1889 she traveled to France to take part in a number of tournaments including the Cannes Beau Site Hotel Tournament in Cannes and played on clay where she won the title against

Elsie Lane Elsie Lane was an English tennis player active during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. She was the daughter of Wilmot Lane, a barrister-at-law who had been a civil servant in India. She played freque ...

, the same year she reached the semi finals of the

Dieppe Open International The Dieppe International Championship also known Championnat international de Dieppe also known as the Dieppe International Tennis Championship Cup was a men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1888 as the Dieppe LTC Tournament . ...

where she lost to

Edith Austin Edith Lucy Austin Greville (15 December 1867 – 27 July 1953) was a Welsh tennis player who was active from the late 1880s until 1919. She was married to fellow player George Greville. Career Austin was born in Hawarden, Flintshire, North W ...

. In 1890 she won the Cheltenham Championships on grass at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

against

Beatrice Wood Beatrice Wood (March 3, 1893 – March 12, 1998) was an American artist and studio potter involved in the Dada movement in the United States; she founded and edited '' The Blind Man'' and '' Rongwrong'' magazines in New York City with French ...

, and the same year she was a finalist in the women's doubles at the

West of England Championships West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

in Bath, partnering Nora Pope where they lost to the Irish pair of

Louisa Martin Mary Louisa "Mollie" Martin (3 September 1865 – 24 October 1941) was a tennis player from Ireland. She was considered the leading Irish female player of her time. She was active from 1884 to 1908 and contested 35 career singles finals, and won ...

and Florence Stanuell. In 1892 she reached the semi finals of the

South of England Championships The South of England Championships, also known as the South of England Open Championships, was an outdoor tennis event held on grass courts at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom from 1881 until 1973. History The ...

losing to eventual winner

Bertha Steedman Bertha Steedman (20 July 1866 – 11 January 1945) was a British tennis player who was a four time semi finalist at the Wimbledon Championships. She also won nine All England Championships double titles, a precursor to the Wimbledon Championships ...

. In addition she was a three time losing finalist at the

Exmouth Open The Exmouth Open, originally called the Exmouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament or simply Exmouth Tournament, was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1880. From 1890 the event was known as the Exmouth Open Tennis Tournament. I ...

in 1888 to

Blanche Hillyard Blanche Bingley Hillyard (née Bingley; 3 November 1863 – 6 August 1946) was an English tennis player. She won six singles Wimbledon championships (1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900) and was runner up seven times, having also competed in the ...

and in 1892 and 1893 to Lilian Pine-Coffin. In 1894 she entered the

draw again nine years after she last competed there, and reached the semi finals before losing to Blanche Hillyard,AELTC this would her final tournament.

References

External links

Wimbledon Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Constance 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century British sportswomen English female tennis players British female tennis players