Nathaniel C. Emerson (25 October, 1874 – 25 October, 1958) was a top-ranked American amateur

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 in the early 20th century.

Personal life

Born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

on October 25, 1874 to Henry Emerson, Jr. & Eleanor Caldwell, he moved to

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

by 1911, where he owned an apple orchard. Later he moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he died on October 25, 1958, his 84th birthday.

Tennis career

He was ranked in the ranked in U.S. tennis top ten (No. 7) in 1908 and in the top 20 in 1909 (No. 17) and 1907 (No. 19). In the national doubles rankings, he was ranked No. 6 in 1908 and No. 9 in 1907. He was a singles semifinalist at the 1908 U.S. National Championship (now known as the U.S. Open), and a doubles finalist at the U.S. National Championship in 1906 & 1908 (both times with L. Harry Waidner). They lost to future International Tennis Hall of Famers Fred Alexander and Harold Hackett in 1906, and Raymond D. Little and Beals Wright in 1908. At the tournament now known as the

Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Masters or Cincinnati Open (branded as the Western & Southern Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis event held in Mason, Ohio near Cincinnati. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the olde ...

he: *Was the first men's singles winner (1899) *Was a singles finalist in 1908 *Defeated Fred Alexander in 1900 semifinals *Won five doubles titles – 1899 (with Burton Hollister), 1902 & 1903 (with Ernie Diehl), 1907 (with Raymond D. Little), and 1908 (with William P. Hunt). *Reached the doubles final in 1900 (with Diehl) and 1905 (with Robert Mitchell) *Still holds the record for most round of 16 appearances all-time at the

with 12 (tied with his brother, H. Truxtun Emerson, and

Michael Chang Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He is the youngest man in history to win a singles major, winning the 1989 French Open at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang won a total o ...

) Also, he was: *Singles champion at the 1899 & 1900 Ohio State singles tournament *Singles champion at the Western Tennis Championship in 1907 & 1908 *Singles champion at the Oregon State Tennis Championship in 1910 *Singles finalist at the Western Tennis Championship in 1905, 1906 and 1907 *Doubles winner of the Western Tennis Championship in 1906 & 1908 *Singles winner of the 1908 Northwestern Championships *Singles winner and doubles finalist at the 1915 Tennessee State championships *Doubles finalist at the Oregon State Tennis Championship in 1910 He was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sources

*''From Club Court to Center Court'' by Phillip S. Smith (2008 Edition; ) *Wright & Ditson's Tennis Annual (1901 & 1909 Editions) {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Nat 1874 births 1958 deaths 19th-century American people 19th-century male tennis players American male tennis players People from Memphis, Tennessee Sportspeople from Yakima, Washington Tennis players from Cincinnati