Lilian Mary Watson (17 September 1857 – 27 May 1918) was an English female tennis player.

Biography

Lilian Watson was born on 17 September 1857 in

Harrow, Middlesex Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popul ...

, the daughter of a local

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Henry William and Emily Frances Watson. In 1884, she and her younger sister Maud played in the first women's competition at 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 ...

. Both met in the final which Maud won 6–8, 6–3, 6–3 to become Wimbledon's first female champion. Lilian played at Wimbledon in the following two years. In 1885, she was defeated in the first round by J. Meikle. In the same year, she won the doubles title 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 ...

alongside her sister Maud. In her final Wimbledon appearance in 1886 she reached the semifinals in which she was defeated by eventual champion

Blanche Bingley 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 ...

. She died on 27 May 1918, aged 60, at

Berkswell Berkswell ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England. Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.25 km) ...

References

External links

* 1857 births 1918 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century female tennis players English female tennis players Tennis people from Greater London {{England-tennis-bio-stub