Charlotte Dod

Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Dod was an exceptional sportswoman who is most known for her accomplishments in Tennis. She was born on September 24, 1871 in England. Dod was the daughter of a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in the Cotton Industry. Their family’s fortune meant that Dod and her siblings did not need to find a job and fend for themselves. They instead had the opportunity to dabble in other interests – foremost was sports. When she was nine years old, two tennis courts were built near their house. As it was fashionable at that time for the British upper crust to participate in sports such as tennis, Charlotte and the other Dod children constantly played the game.

In 1883, when Dod was 11, she, together with her sister Annie, joined the Northern Championships held in Manchester. They won the consolation tournament and it was during the games that a sports reporter noticed Dod’s potential, citing her as someone to watch out for. She was not mistaken. In 1885, Dod became an established player when she won the 1887 Wimbledon Championships at only 15. This allowed her to go down in history as the youngest ladies player to ever win a major singles championship.

Aside from Tennis, Dod also excelled in archery, field hockey and golf. She won a silver medal for archery during the 1908 Summer Olympics. For golf, she won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship. For her versatility in playing different sports, the Guinness Book of Records names her as the most versatile player of all time.

Dod was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983. During her life, she worked as a nurse taking care of wounded soldiers during the war. She requested to be transferred into the French war zones, but she never served as a nurse outside England. She died in 1960 - she was 88. She was listening to a radio broadcast of Wimbledon at the time of her death.