Otway Woodhouse (1855–1887) was a British

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 years of Wimbledon. Woodhouse worked for the Great Eastern Railway and later the London & South Western Railway. In 1881 Woodhouse and F. L. Rawson founded Woodhouse & Rawson (a well known company who specialised in engineering and electric lighting). Woodhouse first entered the Wimbledon singles in 1879 and lost in the first round. In 1880 he reached the all comer's final (beating

William Renshaw William Charles Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 12 August 1904) was a British tennis player active during the late 19th century, who was ranked world No. 1. He won twelve Major titles during his career. A right-hander, he was known for his pow ...

and

Ernest Renshaw Ernest James Renshaw (3 January 1861 – 2 September 1899) was a British tennis player who was active in the late 19th century. Together with his twin brother William Renshaw, Ernest won the men's doubles at Wimbledon five times. He also won th ...

before losing to

Herbert Lawford Herbert Fortescue Lawford (15 May 1851 – 20 April 1925) was a former world No. 1 tennis player from Scotland who won the Men's Singles championship at Wimbledon in 1887, and was runner-up a record 5 times (shared with Arthur Gore). Career ...

won the first of his seven titles the following year and beat Woodhouse in the quarter finals. Woodhouse reached the quarter finals again in 1882, losing to Richard Richardson. In 1883 Woodhouse lost in the first round. In 1880 he entered the first unofficial U. S. Championships men's singles event at Staten Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(played with an unconventional scoring system) and won the tournament. By 1885 his workaholic nature was putting a strain on his health, so he went on a sabbatical to Cannes. However, whilst there he caught an illness. He died aged just 31 in 1887 (overwork in the period 1881 to 1885 being a main factor in his death).

References

1855 births 1887 deaths 19th-century male tennis players English male tennis players British male tennis players Tennis people from Greater London {{UK-tennis-bio-stub