Victor Reginald Gauntlett (30 January 1884 – 12 February 1949) was a South African male

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.

Biography

He competed for the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the tennis 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 ...

where he took part in the men's singles and doubles event. In the singles competition he was beaten in the first round by

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 ...

in straight sets. In the doubles he paired up with

Harold Kitson Harry Austin Kitson (17 June 1874 – 30 November 1951) was a male tennis player from South Africa who won a gold medal at the men's doubles event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Tennis career Kitson competed in the singles and doubles ...

and reached the quarterfinals which they lost in five sets to the British team of

Clement Cazalet Clement Haughton Langston Cazalet (16 July 1869 – 23 March 1950) was a British tennis player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was the son among 10 children of businessman William Clement Cazalet (brother of Edward Cazalet) a ...

and Charles Dixon. Gauntlett reached the finals of the 1908 men's singles event at the South African Championships but was defeated by

in five sets. He was runner-up at the 1908

All England Plate The All England Plate, also referred to as the Wimbledon Plate, was a tennis competition held at the Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is ...

tournament, a tennis competition held 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 ...

which consisted of players who were defeated in the first or second rounds of the singles competition. His best performance at a

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 ...

tournament was reaching the third round of the

1913 Wimbledon Championships The 1913 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 23 June until 4 July.2010 Wimbledon Compendium, by Alan Little ( ...

in which Kenneth Powell proved too strong. Gauntlett was a member of the 1913 South African

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team which competed for the first time.

was eliminated in the first round, played on the

grass court A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. Although grass c ...

s of 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, against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(1–4). Gauntlett won the only point for South Africa in his first singles match. He and R.F. le Sueur lost the doubles match and he conceded his second singles match.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gauntlett, Victor 1884 births 1949 deaths 19th-century male tennis players South African male tennis players Olympic tennis players of South Africa Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics English emigrants to South Africa Tennis people from Greater London People from Dulwich Sportspeople from the London Borough of Southwark