Ruth Durlacher (née Dyas; 22 July 1876 – 21 September 1946) was an Irish tennis player. She played in 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 ...

between 1897 and 1907.

Early life

Durlacher was born Ruth Dyas in Malahide on 22 July 1876. Durlacher was daughter to Jacob Dyas and Sophia Dyas. Durlacher was baptised Protestant (Church of Ireland) on the 16 November 1900 in St. James Paddington. Durlacher had one brother and one older sister. The Durlachers were a wealthy family. Their original family home was Heathstown House. Durlacher grew up in England. She entered her first competition at 18. She married fellow tennis player Neville John Durlacher in Rathdown on 17 December 1898 at the age of 23. They had two children:

Patrick Durlacher Patrick Neville Durlacher (17 March 1903 – 26 February 1971) was an English cricketer. Durlacher was a right-handed batsman. He was born in Paddington, London, the son of Neville Durlacher and his Irish-born wife Ruth Dyas. He was educat ...

who was a successful cricket player and Nora Durlacher who was a successful tennis player.

Role in tennis

The

Irish 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 ...

were first established in 1879 and took place in Pembroke Place, and it moved on to Wilton Place from 1880 till 1902. Following Wilton Place, the tournament took place in Fitzwilliam Square, where it remained until its final location in 1972 at the

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is a tennis and squash (sport), squash club in Dublin, Ireland, with a gymnasium, padel courts, clubhouse facilities (including dining) and an indoor swimming pool. Established in 1877, Fitzwilliam is one of the olde ...

in Appian Way, Dublin. It was in this year that the tournament changed its name to the Irish Open due to sponsorship reasons. As her success grew, she further took part at the

between 1897 and 1919. Come 1899, Durlacher triumphantly reached the ‘all-comers’ final’ but lost to her opponent Blanche Bingley, who managed to beat her two years prior in the Irish Championships and who later won six Wimbledon championships.

Durlacher was a finalist four times in the women singles in the Irish Championships , taking place is Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. In 1897,

Blanche Bingley 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 ...

successfully beat Durlacher, 7–5, 2–6, 6–3. Following two years’ time, Louisa Martin won the singles tournament, 6-1, 6-2, against her opponent Durlacher. in 1899, Muriel Robb beat Durlacher in the final, 9-7, 6-1. Louisa Martin beat Ruth Durlacher in the final in 1902, 6-8, 6-4, 7-5. Durlacher played in the doubles category of the

, and her partners were Alice Pickering in 1896; Mollie Martin in 1898, 1899 and 1901; and Ms.Hazlett in 1902. Durlacher took part in the mixed doubles under the Irish Open. Kn 1898, Durlacher won the mixed doubles with partner Harold Nisbet. In 1901 and 1902, she won the same title with partner Laurence Doherty.

Tennis career

Durlacher played at the

from 1897 to 1907. In 1899, she won the doubles tournament.Dorothea Chambers (1910): ''Lawn Tennis for Ladies.'' Methuen & Co. Ltd., London.
online
In singles, Durlacher reached the finals of the all-comers competition, losing to

. She won the

mixed doubles title along with

Harold Nisbet Harold Adair Nisbet (22 June 1873 – 12 March 1937) was a British lawn tennis player who was active at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. During his career he reached four doubles finals at the Wimbledon Championship ...

in 1898, and with

Laurence Doherty Hugh Laurence 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 Tennis at the 1900 ...

1901 and 1902.

Later life and legacy

She died in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire in 1946. She also played for the Irish golf team in the

Women's Home Internationals The Women's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for women contested between the four Home Nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland on an All-Ireland basi ...

, being part of the winning team in 1907. Durlacher played in the Irish Championships in 1895 for the first time when she was 18 years old. Durlacher also played golf for the Irish ladies golf team and played in the Irish Ladies Championships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durlacher, Ruth 1876 births 1946 deaths 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century Irish sportswomen People from Malahide Sportspeople from Fingal British female tennis players Irish female tennis players