Women's singles tennis at the Games of the VII Olympiad | |||||||||||||
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![]() Gold medalist Suzanne Lenglen | |||||||||||||
Venue | Beerschot Tennis Club | ||||||||||||
Dates | 16–24 August 1920 | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 18 from 7 nations | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
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Women's singles | ||||||||
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Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Events | ||||||||
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The women's singles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. A total of 18 players from 7 nations competed in the event, which was held from 16 to 24 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club.[1] The event was won by Suzanne Lenglen of France, defeating Dorothy Holman of Great Britain in the final. It was the second consecutive victory for a French woman, with Marguerite Broquedis winning the pre-war 1912 tournament. Kathleen McKane Godfree of Great Britain defeated Sigrid Fick of Sweden in the bronze-medal match.
Lenglen's victory was comprehensive, as she lost only 4 games in her 5 matches (1 to Fick in the semifinals, 3 to Holman in the final).[2]
This was the fourth 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.[2]
France's Suzanne Lenglen was the "dominant women's player in the world, and considered by some as the greatest female player of all time." She highlighted a strong field, including top British players Dorothy Holman and Kathleen McKane Godfree. Absent were Molla Mallory (a bronze medalist for Norway in 1912 who had emigrated to the United States; in 1921, she would be the only woman to beat Lenglen post-war), Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers of Great Britain (the 1908 Olympic gold medalist and seven-time Wimbledon winner, who had reached the Wimbledon finals in 1919 and 1920, losing both to Lenglen), and Elizabeth Ryan of the United States (long-time doubles partner of Lenglen, who would reach the 1921 Wimbledon singles final against her).[2]
Belgium, Denmark, and Italy each made their debut in the event. France and Great Britain each made their third appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.
The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze-medal match. All matches were best-of-three sets.
Date | Time | Round |
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Monday, 16 August 1920 | Round of 32 | |
Tuesday, 17 August 1920 Wednesday, 18 August 1920 | Round of 16 | |
Thursday, 19 August 1920 Friday, 20 August 1920 Saturday, 21 August 1920 Sunday, 22 August 1920 Monday, 23 August 1920 | Quarterfinals Semifinals | |
Tuesday, 24 August 1920 | Bronze medal match Final |
Semifinals | Final (gold-medal match) | ||||||||||||
![]() | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
![]() | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||
![]() | w/o | ||||||||||||
![]() | Bronze-medal match | ||||||||||||
![]() | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 |
First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() | w/o | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 7 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 5 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 7 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | ![]() | 5 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 3 | 4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ![]() | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | w/o | ![]() | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 0 | 0 |
First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 0 | 0r | ![]() | 1 | 6 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | ![]() | 6 | 1 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 4 | 4 | ![]() | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | w/o | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() | w/o | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 6 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() | 8 | 6 |
Demonstration |
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Outdoor |
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