Eileen Bennett Whittingstall
 | |
| Full name | Eileen Viviyen Bennett Fearnley-Whittingstall |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United Kingdom |
| Born | 16 July 1907 Paddington, London |
| Died | 18 August 1979 (aged 72) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No.3 (1931) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | F (1928) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1928, 1932) |
| US Open | F (1931) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1928, 1931) |
| Wimbledon | F (1928) |
| US Open | W (1931) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1928, 1929) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1930, 1932) |
| US Open | W (1927) |
Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (16 July 1907 – ca. 18 August 1979[1]) was a female tennis player from the United Kingdom who won six Grand Slam doubles titles from 1927 to 1931.
Career
Although most of her success was in women's doubles or mixed doubles, Whittingstall reached the singles final of the 1928 French Championships and the 1931 US Championships. She lost both of those finals in straight sets to Helen Wills Moody.[2] She twice won the women's doubles title at the French Championships, in 1928 with Phoebe Holcroft Watson and in 1931 with Betty Nuthall Shoemaker. Whittingstall and Shoemaker lost the 1932 final to the team of Moody and Elizabeth Ryan.
Whittingstall teamed with Ermyntrude Harvey to reach the 1928 women's doubles final at Wimbledon, losing to the team of Watson and Peggy Saunders 2–6, 3–6. She also teamed with Shoemaker to win the 1931 women's doubles title at the U.S. Championships, defeating Helen Jacobs and Dorothy Round Little in the final in two sets.[2] Whittingstall twice partnered with Henri Cochet to win the mixed doubles title at the French Championships. In both 1928 and 1929, they defeated the team of Moody and Frank Hunter in the final. Whittingstall and Cochet lost the 1930 French final to the team of Bill Tilden and Cilly Aussem.
Whittingstall and Cochet won the mixed doubles title at the 1927 US Championships, defeating Hazel Wightman and René Lacoste in the final.
According to A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Whittingstall was ranked in the world top ten in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1932, reaching a career high of World No. 3 in those rankings in 1931.[3]
She was married on 19 November 1929 to Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall,[4] a painter, and divorced in 1936.[1] She married Marcus Marsh, a racehorse trainer, on 28 September 1936 and gave birth to a daughter on 7 March 1937.[5][6][7] Bennett is credited with first wearing an above-the-knee form of divided skirt for competitive tennis.[8][9][10]
Grand Slam finals
Singles (2 runners-up)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1928 | French Championships | Clay |  Helen Wills |
1–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 1931 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Helen Wills |
4–6, 1–6 |
Doubles (3 titles, 2 runners-up)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1928 | French Championships | Clay | Phoebe Holcroft |
 Suzanne Deve Sylvie Jung |
6–0, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1928 | Wimbledon | Grass | Ermyntrude Harvey |
Peggy Saunders Phoebe Holcroft |
2–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 1931 | French Championships | Clay | Betty Nuthall |
 Cilly Aussem Elizabeth Ryan |
9–7, 6–2 |
| Winner | 1931 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Betty Nuthall |
Helen Jacobs Dorothy Round |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1932 | French Championships | Clay | Betty Nuthall |
Elizabeth Ryan Helen Wills |
1–6, 3–6 |
Mixed doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1927 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Henri Cochet |
Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman René Lacoste |
6–2, 6–0, 6–3 |
| Winner | 1928 | French Championships | Clay | Henri Cochet |
Helen Wills Frank Hunter |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 1929 | French Championships | Clay | Henri Cochet |
Helen Wills Frank Hunter |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1930 | French Championships | Clay | Henri Cochet |
Cilly Aussem Bill Tilden |
4–6, 4–6 |
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 |
| French Championships | A | A | SF | F | SF | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | A | A | 0 / 7 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 2R | 3R | QF | 4R | 2R | 4R | QF | 4R | 2R | 4R | 0 / 11 |
| US Championships | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 20 |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Decree Nisi Against Mrs. Eileen Fearnley Whittingstall: Whittingstall v. Whittingstall And Marsh". The Times. 17 March 1936. p. 4.
- ^ a b "Wonderful Tennis 1931". British Pathé. 3 September 1931.
- ^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York, N.Y: New Chapter Press. pp. 695, 701–2. ISBN 0-942257-41-3.
- ^ "At Forest Hills". Time. 31 August 1931.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ "Tennis Star To Marry Again". Dundee Evening Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 24 September 1936. p. 4.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ "Noted Tennis Player Wed". Aberdeen Journal. British Newspaper Archive. 29 September 1936. p. 6.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ "Untitled". The Glasgow Herald. 9 March 1937. p. 7.
- ^ Sarah Kirkham (30 October 2014). "Throwback Thursday: Daring fashionistas of 1930s Wimbledon". AELTC.
- ^ Christopher Breward, Becky Conekin, Caroline Cox, ed. (2002). The Englishness of English Dress. Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85973-528-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ "What Do You Think?". British Pathé. 20 July 1933.
External links
- "Eileen Vivian Bennett (later Mrs Fearnley-Whittingstall) (1907–1979), Tennis player; former wife of Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall". National Portrait Gallery. Set of eight portraits by Bassano's studio