Lottie Dod – the Youngest Winner of the Ladies’ Singles at Wimbledon

Merseyside-born, Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Dod, is the youngest ever winner of the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship, achieving her triumph in 1887 at the tender age of 15 years and 285 days.

She won the singles title five times in total, between the years 1887 and 1893.

As she also played golf, hockey, curling and a number of other sports, her sporting life can be traced in the Archive.

The newspaper story featured below reports on the match when she won the championship for the first time, defeating Blanche Bingley Hillyard in the final 6-2, 6-0. It’s interesting that Lottie’s age is not mentioned in the report – perhaps, then as now, it was not unusual for 15-year-olds to play in the tournament, so did not merit any comment.

Lottie led a fascinating life and, with Wimbledon taking place at the moment, we felt it was the perfect time to highlight her terrific achievements at Wimbledon. To learn more about this amazing woman, just do a ‘Phrase Search’ on the ‘Advanced Search’ page for ‘Lottie Dod’.

Sheffield Independent – Thursday 14 July 1887

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http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000181/18870714/046/0007