Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (née Bennett; 16 July 1907 – c. 18 August 1979, full name Eileen Viviyen Bennett Fearnley-Whittingstall) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom who won six

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

doubles titles from 1927 to 1931.

Career

Although most of her success was in women's doubles or mixed doubles, Whittingstall reached the singles final of the 1928

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

and the 1931 US Championships. She lost both of these finals in straight sets to

Helen Wills Moody Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) d ...

. She twice won the women's doubles title at the French Championships: in 1928 with

Phoebe Holcroft Watson Phoebe Catherine Holcroft Watson ( Holcroft; 7 October 1898 – 20 October 1980) was a tennis player from the United Kingdom whose best result in singles was reaching the final of the U.S. Championships in 1929, losing to Helen Wills in straigh ...

and in 1931 with Betty Nuthall. Whittingstall and Nuthall lost the 1932 final to the team of Moody and

Elizabeth Ryan Elizabeth Montague Ryan (February 5, 1892 – July 6, 1979) was an American tennis player who was born in Anaheim, California, but lived most of her adult life in the United Kingdom. Ryan won 26 Grand Slam titles, 19 in women's doubles and mix ...

. Whittingstall teamed with

Ermyntrude Harvey Ermyntrude Hilda Harvey (9 June 1895 – 4 October 1973) was a British female tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s. Between 1923 and 1938 she won 37 career singles titles on grass, clay and indoor wood courts. Career Between 1920 and 1948 she pa ...

to reach the 1928 women's doubles final 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 * ...

, losing to the team of Watson and Peggy Saunders 2–6, 3–6. She also teamed with Shoemaker to win the 1931 women's doubles title at the U.S. Championships, defeating Helen Jacobs and

Dorothy Round Little Dorothy Edith Round (13 July 1909 – 12 November 1982), was a British tennis player who was active from the late 1920s until 1950. She achieved her major successes in the 1930s. She won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937, and the ...

in the final in two sets. Whittingstall twice partnered with

Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet (; 14 December 1901 – 1 April 1987) was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Born in ...

to win the mixed doubles title at the French Championships. In both 1928 and 1929, they defeated the team of Moody and Frank Hunter in the final. Whittingstall and Cochet lost the 1930 French final to the team of

Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional b ...

and

Cilly Aussem Cilly Aussem (; 4 January 1909 – 22 March 1963) was a German tennis player. She was the first German, male or female, to win the singles title at Wimbledon, which she did in 1931. She also won the women's single titles at the French Champion ...

. Whittingstall and Cochet won the mixed doubles title at the 1927 US Championships, defeating

Hazel Wightman Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman, CBE (née Hotchkiss; December 20, 1886 – December 5, 1974) was an American tennis player and founder of the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women. She dominated American wome ...

and

René Lacoste Jean René Lacoste was a French people, French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste polo shirt, tennis shirt, which h ...

in the final. According to A. Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Whittingstall was ranked in the world top 10 in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1932, reaching a career high of World No. 3 in those rankings in 1931. Bennett is credited with first wearing an above-the-knee form of

divided skirt Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body. The term can refer to either split skirts, historical men's breeches, or women's under-pants; this is an example of fashion-industry words taken from designs across history, l ...

for competitive tennis.

Personal life

She was married on 19 November 1929 to

Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall Edmund Owen Fearnley-Whittingstall (1907-1971) was an English portrait painter. His works include portraits of John William Charles Wand, Bishop of Bath and Wells (hanging in the Bishop's Palace); Alice Mildred Cable, missionary, (in Cambridg ...

, a painter, and divorced in 1936. She married

Marcus Marsh Marcus Maskell Marsh (1904–1983) was an English racehorse trainer. He was the son of the trainer Richard Marsh. His British Classic wins included The Derby and St. Leger with Tulyar (1952) and Windsor Lad (1934) as well as the 2,000 Gui ...

, a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

trainer, on 28 September 1936 and gave birth to a daughter on 7 March 1937. She was divorced from Mr Marsh in early 1947 and married Mr Geoffrey Ackroyd in June 1947.England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 She married for a fourth and final time in June 1957 to Mr Carl Vyvyan Forslind who outlived her.

Grand Slam finals

Phoebe Holcroft Watson and Eileen Bennett 1928

Singles (2 runners-up)

Doubles (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Mixed doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

References

External links

* ''Set of eight portraits by Bassano's studio'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittingstall, Eileen Bennett British female tennis players French Championships (tennis) champions United States National champions (tennis) 1907 births 1979 deaths Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles English female tennis players Tennis people from Greater London