Constance Laura Mary Smith (1860 – 27 October 1934), also known as Constance Langley Smith, was an English tennis player active in the very early years of women's tennis in the 19th century. She was a finalist at the prestigious

Northern Championships Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

where she lost to Ireland's

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 ...

. She was active from 1881 to 1891 and won 2 career singles titles.

Career

She was born Constance Langley in London, England in 1860. She played her first tournament in September 1881 at the St Leonards-on-Sea Tournament where she reached the final before losing to her sister Marion Langley in three sets. In June 1882 she took part in the first

event for women, the tournament then was considered by players and historians as the four most important tennis tournaments to win. where she reached the singles final where she lost to Ireland's

in straight sets. In August 1882 she took part in the

Darlington Open The Darlington Open. also known as the Darlington Association Tournament was a late Victorian era men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1881. It was organised by the Darlington Outdoor's Sports Association and held at the Fe ...

event and went to win her first title against Anthea Turner. In September she traveled to

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

to take part in the

Midland Counties Championships The Midland Counties Championships also known as the Midland International was a grass court tennis tournament held at Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston, Great Britain from 1881 to 1977. History The first unofficial championshi ...

then one of the big regional tournaments in the English

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

, where she progressed to the final and won the championship against Eva Adshead to claim her second title. Later that month she also took part in another big event for women 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 ...

where she reached the final before losing to

Maud Watson Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British tennis player and the first female Wimbledon champion. Biography Born in Harrow, Middlesex, the daughter of a local vicar Henry William and Emily Frances Watson. Sh ...

in three sets. She then decided to settle down and have a family and did not play any tournaments for the next five years. In 1887 she returned to the court and to take part in 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 ...

probably the most important tournament in England at that time, after the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, where she reached the final before going down in straight sets to

Blanche Bingley Hillyard 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 ...

. Smith played predominantly on grass however in 1891 she travelled to France to take part in what would be her final tournament at the

Boulogne International Championship The Boulogne International Championship or Championnat international de Boulogne or simply called the Boulogne International was a combined men's and women's open clay court tennis tournament established in 1887 and was first played at the Tennis ...

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, it was played on clay courts where she advanced to the final before she was beaten by May Arbuthnot in four sets.

Family

Constance had four sisters they were Augusta (b 1858),Florence (Flora, b. 1860) Grace, and Marion (b 1866) who also played lawn tennis. She married Charles John Chichester Smith in 1880. In later years Chalrles and Constance had three children, two boys and a girl, also called Constance.

Career finals

Singles (7), titles (2), runners up (5)

(*) Denotes All-Comers final (w.o.) denotes walkover.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Constance 1880 births 1934 deaths 19th-century female tennis players 19th-century British sportswomen English female tennis players British female tennis players