Penelope Dora Harvey Boothby (2 August 1881 – 22 February 1970) was an English

female tennis player This is a list of female tennis players who meet one or more of the following criteria: * Singles: **Officially ranked among the top 25 by the Women's Tennis Association (since 1975) **Ranked among the top 10 by an expert (e.g. A. Wallis Myers) ...

. She was born in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. She is best remembered for her ladies' singles title at the 1909

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 ...

Biography

Boothby was born in Finchley, and with her older sister Gertrude, lived there with her step-parents Harry and Gertrude Penn. Harry was a civil engineer, and by 1901, they had moved to

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

, where she played at Beulah Hill Club, and during the winter months, she played badminton. In 1908, she won a silver medal in the women's singles event at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. In 1909, when she won the Ladies' Singles at

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 * ...

, the runner-up of the Men's Singles,

Josiah Ritchie Major Josiah George Ritchie (18 October 1870 – 28 February 1955) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Major was his first name, not a military title. He was born in Westminster, educated at Brighton College and died in Ashford. Career Ritc ...

, was also living in Norwood. Also in 1909, she won the singles title of the

British Covered Court Championships The British Covered Court Championships (BCCC) was an indoor tennis event held from 1885 through 1971 and played in London, England. The dates of the tournament fluctuated between October and March. History For its first five years the tournament ...

, played on wood courts at the

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship reas ...

in London, after defeating Madeline O’Neill in the final in straight sets. In 1911, she became the first female player to lose a Wimbledon final without winning a game, losing to

Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers Dorothea Lambert Chambers (née Dorothea Katherine Douglass, 3 September 1878 – 7 January 1960) was a British tennis player. She won seven Wimbledon women's singles titles and a gold medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Tennis In 1900, Douglass ...

6–0, 6–0. In 1914, she married Arthur C.Geen. She died in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London in 1970.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 titles, 2 runners-up)

¹This was actually the all-comers final as

Charlotte Cooper Sterry Charlotte "Chattie" Cooper Sterry (née Charlotte Reinagle Cooper; 22 September 1870 – 10 October 1966) was an English female tennis player who won five singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships and in 1900 became Olympic champion. In winn ...

did not defend her 1908 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and thus Wimbledon in 1909 by walkover.

Doubles (1 title)

References

External links

* John Arlott (Hrsg.): ''The Oxford companion to sports & games.'' Oxford University Press, London 1975 *
All England champions 1899–2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boothby, Dora 1881 births 1970 deaths English female tennis players English female badminton players Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Finchley Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tennis people from Greater London British female tennis players