Ethel Larcombe (née Ethel Warneford Thomson, 8 June 1879 – 11 August 1965) was a British female tennis player and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

player. She won the ladies' singles tennis title at the

1912 Wimbledon Championships The 1912 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 24 June until 8 July.2010 Wimbledon Compendium, by Alan Little ( ...

as well as 11 badminton titles at the All England Badminton Championships.

Career

Ethel was born 8 June 1879 as the second child of Herbert Warneford Thomson, surgeon, and his wife, Sophia Charlotte Bond. Her older brother Hugh was born in 1878. She first competed at Wimbledon in 1902 when she lost in the first round to

Agnes Morton Agnes Morton (6 March 1872 – 5 April 1952) was a British female tennis player. She twice reached the Ladies Singles finals at the 1908 and 1909 Wimbledon Championships and claimed victory in 1914 in Ladies Doubles with partner Elizabeth Rya ...

. The following year, 1903, she reached the final of the All-Comers tournament in which she was defeated by Dorothea Douglass in three sets. Larcombe did not play competitive tennis for four years from 1907 until her return in 1911. In 1912 she became Wimbledon champion by first defeating Charlotte Cooper Sterry in the All-Comers' final and subsequently receiving a walkover in the Challenge Round. The following year she was unable to defend her singles title when she was injured in the final of the mixed doubles. Her partner

James Cecil Parke James Cecil Parke (26 July 1881 – 27 February 1946) was an Irish rugby union player, tennis player, golfer, solicitor and World War I veteran. He became an Olympic silver medallist, Davis Cup champion, Wimbledon Mixed Doubles winner and A ...

misjudged a smash in the second set which hit her full on the side of the face and the resulting eye injury forced her to retire from the mixed doubles final and to default from her challenge round match against

Dorothea Lambert Chambers Dorothea Lambert Chambers (née Dorothea Katherine Douglass, 3 September 1878 – 7 January 1960) was a British tennis player. She won seven The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon women's singles titles and a gold medal at the Tennis at the 190 ...

scheduled for the following day. In total she participated in 11 editions of the Wimbledon Championships between 1902 and 1921. She won the Scottish Championships singles title three times (1910–12) and she won the singles title at the Irish Championships in 1912 defeating Mrs. Norton-Barry in the final in two sets.

Playing style

In contrast to most of her contemporaries Larcombe played her service underhand. In 1903 A. Wallis Myers wrote that her favorite shot was the backhand down the line and that she possessed an effective smash. According to Dorothea Lambert-Chambers she was one of the best female volleyers of her time but did not have a very good condition, causing her to fade in matches. After her return to tennis in 1911 several aspects of her game had improved including her forehand shot as well as her stamina.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Doubles (3 runner-ups)

Mixed doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

¹ This was the all-comers final as Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers did not defend her 1911 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1912 by walkover.
² This was the all-comers final as Muriel Robb did not defend her 1902 Wimbledon title, which resulted in the winner of the all-comers final winning the challenge round and, thus, Wimbledon in 1903 by walkover.

Badminton

As a

player she won 11 titles at the All England Badminton Championships, five of them in women's singles (1900, 1901, 1903, 1904 and 1906), four in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles.

Personal life

On 15 October 1906 she married Major Dudley Larcombe, who was secretary of the

All England Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

from 1925 to 1939.Hedges, Martin (1978) ''The Concise Dictionary of Tennis''. London: Bison Books; p. 146

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larcombe, Ethel Thomson 1879 births 1965 deaths English female tennis players English female badminton players People from Islington (district) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Tennis people from Greater London British female tennis players