Constance Bryan 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 ...

player during the late 19th century. She was a singles semi finalist at the

Irish Championships Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour **Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annual ...

in 1888 and the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

in 1894. She was active from 1885 to 1894 and won 2 career singles titles.

Career

A versatile all surface player who won titles on both grass and clay courts Constance played her first known singles event in 1885 at the

where she reached the quarter finals before losing to E.F. Hudson. The same year she reached finals of the

Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament The Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament was an early men's tennis tournament held from 1880 to 1885. It consisted of a spring tournament usually held in April and another held in autumn usually September. It was a forerunner event for the later ...

played on outdoor asphalt courts at the Hove Rink in Brighton, and won the mixed pairs event with Charles Ross. In 1887 she won the

Bournemouth Lawn Tennis Club Tournament Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

(later known as the

Hampshire Championships Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

) against Irish player Beatrice Langrishe. The same year she took part in the Cannes Beau Site Hotel Tournament mixed doubles event partnered with

Ernest Renshaw Ernest James Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 2 September 1899) was a British tennis player who was active in the late 19th century. Together with his twin brother William Renshaw, Ernest won the men's doubles at Wimbledon five times. He also won th ...

where they won that title against Edith Gurney and

Harry Grove Harry Grove (7 May 1862 – 7 February 1896) was a British tennis player in the early years of tennis. Career Grove first entered the Wimbledon men's singles in 1881, when he lost in round one. Grove reached the semis in 1887, beating Herbert ...

. In 1888 she took part in the

Irish Lawn Tennis Championships The Irish Open and originally known as the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships and for sponsorship reasons also known as Carroll's Irish Open was a men's and women's tennis tournament held at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland. Bef ...

in Dublin where she made it to the semi finals before losing to

May Langrishe Mary Isabella "May" Langrishe (1864–1939) was an Irish tennis player. In the most important tennis tournaments of the late 19th century she won the singles title at the presitigous Irish Championships held at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club th ...

. In 1889 she traveled to France to take part in a number of tournaments including the Cannes Beau Site Hotel Tournament in Cannes and played on clay where she won the title against

Elsie Lane Elsie Lane was an English tennis player active during the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. She was the daughter of Wilmot Lane, a barrister-at-law who had been a civil servant in India. She played freque ...

, the same year she reached the semi finals of the Dieppe Open International where she lost to

Edith Austin Edith Lucy Austin Greville (15 December 1867 – 27 July 1953) was a Welsh tennis player who was active from the 1890s until around 1920. She was married to fellow player George Greville. Career Austin was born in Hawarden, Flintshire, North ...

. In 1890 she won the

East Gloucestershire Championships The East Gloucestershire Championships also called the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament held from 1879 through 1969. History The East Gloucestershire Championships was played at the Cheltenha ...

on grass at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

against Beatrice Wood, and the same year she was a finalist in the women's doubles at the

West of England Championships West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

in Bath, partnering Nora Pope where they lost to the Irish pair of

Louisa Martin Mary Louisa "Mollie" Martin (3 September 1865 – 24 October 1941) was a tennis player from Ireland. She was considered the leading Irish female player of her time. Martin started playing tennis in 1885 and early on was successful at the tourna ...

and Florence Stanuell. In 1892 she reached the semi finals of the

South of England Championships The South of England Championships, also known as the South of England Open Championships, was an outdoor tennis event held on grass courts at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom from 1881 until 1972. History The ...

losing to eventual winner

Bertha Steedman Bertha Steedman (20 July 1866 – 11 January 1945) was a British tennis player who won nine double titles at the All England Championships, a precursor to the Wimbledon Championships, between 1889 and 1899. Steedman won the All England Champions ...

. In addition she was a three time losing finalist at the Exmouth Tournament in 1888 to Blanche Hillyard and in 1892 and 1893 to Lilian Pine-Coffin. In 1894 she entered the

draw again nine years after she last competed there, and reached the semi finals before losing to Blanche Hillyard,AELTC this would her final tournament.

References

External links

Wimbledon Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Constance 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century British sportswomen British female tennis players English female tennis players