The women's singles tennis competition was one of five tennis events at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

. It was held from 13 to 20 July at the

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Yves-du-Manoir (officially Stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir, also known as the Stade olympique de Colombes, or simply Colombes to the locals) is a rugby, track, and association football stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France, Paris, Fra ...

. There were 31 competitors from 14 nations (after 7 withdrawals). The event was won by

Helen Wills Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, ...

of the United States, the first American victory in the women's singles.

Julie Vlasto Pénélope Julie "Diddie" Vlasto Serpieri (; 8 August 1903 – 2 March 1985) was a female tennis player from France. She won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 1924 in women's singles, losing the final to the American Helen Wills Moody. ...

of France took silver.

Kathleen McKane Godfree Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree (née McKane; 7 May 1896 – 19 June 1992) was a British tennis and badminton player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with Katherine Grainger. According to A. Wallis Myers of ''The Dai ...

of Great Britain repeated as bronze medalist.

Background

This was the fifth appearance of the women's singles tennis. A women's event was held only once during the first three Games (only men's tennis was played in 1896 and 1904), but has been held at every Olympics for which there was a tennis tournament since 1908. Tennis was not a medal sport from 1928 to 1984, though there were demonstration events in 1968 and 1984. France's

Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...

was the reigning Olympic champion and the dominant player of the time; however, she was ill (battling

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

) and could not compete in front of the home crowd. American

(who would go on to replace Lenglen as the dominant women's player and win 19 total singles Grand Slam titles) was 18 at the time and had played in three Grand Slam tournaments to date, reaching the finals in all three (and winning the 1923 U.S. championship).

was the top French player in Lenglen's absence. Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain each made their debut in the event. France and Great Britain each made their fourth appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze-medal match. All matches were best-of-three sets.

Schedule

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Bottom half

Section 3

Section 4

References

Sources

ITF, 2008 Olympic Tennis Event Media Guide
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennis at the 1924 Summer Olympics - Women's singles Women's singles 1924 in women's tennis 1924 in French women's sport

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