Reginald "Reggie" or "R. F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British

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 c ...

player and the older brother of tennis player

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 Summ ...

. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie". "Famous Tennis Player Dead: R.F. Doherty, Once American Champion, Passes Away in London"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 30 December 1910 He was a four-time Wimbledon singles champion and a triple Olympic Gold medalist in doubles and mixed doubles.

Early life

Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife Catherine Ann Davis. Doherty began tennis early in life and as a boy at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It derives from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the 1066 Norman Conquest, as d ...

showed great promise. At age 14, he won the boys' singles title at an open championship in Llandudno. Doherty was educated at the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall), where he played for the

Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1881, seven years before the Lawn Tennis Association of Great Britain was founded. Although it is called a 'club', it is actually the lawn tennis association of the whole of the University of Cam ...

. In 1895 and 1895, he was part of the Cambridge team that beat Oxford and won the Scottish and Essex championships.

Career

Grand Slam tournaments Doherty played in his first Wimbledon Championships in 1894 and lost in the first round to

Clement Cazalet Clement Haughton Langston Cazalet (16 July 1869 – 23 March 1950) was a British tennis player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was the son among 10 children of businessman William Clement Cazalet (brother of Edward Cazalet) a ...

in four sets. In 1897 Doherty won his first singles Wimbledon title after beating reigning champion

Harold Mahony Harold Segerson Mahony (13 February 1867 – 27 June 1905) was a Scottish-born Irish tennis player who is best known for winning the singles title at the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. His career lasted from 1888 until his death in 1905. Maho ...

in three straight sets (6–4, 6–4, 6–3). He successfully defended his title for the next three years (1898, 1899, 1900). In 1898 he did so by beating his brother in the Challenge Round in five sets (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1). In 1901 he finally lost his Wimbledon crown when he was defeated in the Challenge Round by Arthur Gore in four sets (6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6). He was also a runner-up at the US Championships in 1902 where he was beaten by the defending American champion

William Larned William Augustus Larned (December 30, 1872 – December 16, 1926) was an American tennis player who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. He won seven singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Biography Larned was born ...

in four sets (6–4, 2–6, 4–6, 6–8). Together with his brother Laurie he won eight Wimbledon Championships doubles titles and two US Championship doubles titles. Davis Cup Doherty represented the British Isles in the prestigious

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the orga ...

contest from 1902 to 1906. In 1902 he won the doubles match with his brother but lost the final and decisive singles match against American

Malcolm Whitman Malcolm "Mal" Douglass Whitman (March 15, 1877 – December 28, 1932) was an American tennis player who won three singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Biography He graduated from The Roxbury Latin School, where he is celebrated ...

in straight sets (1–6, 5–7, 4–6). In 1903 he contributed significantly to his team's first Davis Cup title against the United States by winning the doubles match and the decisive singles match against

Robert Wrenn Robert Duffield Wrenn (September 20, 1873 – November 12, 1925) was an American left-handed tennis player, four-time U.S. singles championship winner, and one of the first inductees in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Biography Wrenn ...

. Doherty won the Davis Cup trophy a further three times (1904, 1905, 1906) although in these years he only competed, and won, in the doubles matches. Olympics Doherty won the doubles title (

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

were not given at the 1900 Games) at the

1900 Olympic Games The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

in Paris with his brother. He also competed in the singles tournament and reached the semifinal, where he was scheduled to play against his brother. Reggie withdrew, since the brothers refused to play each other before the final. He also won the mixed doubles title with five-time Wimbledon champion Charlotte Cooper. Doherty did not compete in the

1904 Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

in St. Louis. In the

1908 Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were or ...

in London, Reggie again won the doubles title, this time with compatriot

George Hillyard George Whiteside Hillyard (6 February 1864 – 24 March 1943) was a male tennis player from the United Kingdom. Under his supervision as secretary of the All England Club from 1907 to 1925, the Wimbledon Championships moved to its current site ...

. R.F. Doherty 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, grass tennis courts, an ind ...

in 1980 together with his brother.

Death

Doherty died of heart failure and neurasthenia on 29 December 1910 at age 38 at his home in Kensington, a day after returning from a convalescence stay in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland. According to his obituary in ''The New York Times'', Doherty had "been in ill health for some time". The article further stated he "held at various times every important championship the world of tennis has for a man to win. He was not beaten until he began to fail in health". Both brothers apparently suffered from respiratory problems throughout their lives.Hugh Laurence Doherty (UK)
R.F. and his brother had been urged to take up lawn tennis by their father, reportedly for health reasons.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Doubles: 13 (10 titles, 3 runners-up)

Career tournaments

Singles titles

Singles finals

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Reggie 1872 births 1910 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century male tennis players Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English people of Irish descent English male tennis players English Olympic medallists Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain Tennis people from Greater London International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1900 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics British male tennis players