Ellen Hansell

Ellen Forde Hansell Allerdice (née Hansell; September 18, 1869, – May 11, 1937) was an American female tennis player. She was the first women's singles champion of the U.S. Championships in 1887. She was a losing finalist to Bertha Townsend the next year.

Ellen Hansell
Full nameEllen Forde Hansell Allerdice
Country (sports)United States USA
Born(1869-09-18)18 September 1869
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died11 May 1937(1937-05-11) (aged 67)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PlaysRight-handed
Int. Tennis HoF1965 (member page)
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
US OpenW (1887)

Early life and tennis

Hansell was born on September 18, 1869, in Philadelphia, the daughter of Samuel Rob Hansell, an upholstery manufacturer, and Jane Martin. She battled anemia as a child and started playing tennis on advice of her doctor. She joined the Belmont Club in Philadelphia when she was 16 where she played with Margarette Ballard and Bertha Townsend.[1]

U.S. Women's National Singles Championship

In 1887, Hansell took part in the inaugural U.S. Women's National Singles Championship. The event was played on the outdoor grass courts of the Philadelphia Cricket Club and started on 27 September. She was one of seven contestants who came from the greater Delaware Valley area. Hansell, playing in a full, over-draped skirt with long sleeves and her customary red hat, won her opening round against Jessie Harding while losing just one game. In the semifinals, she lost the first set against Helen Day Harris, but won the match in three sets. The final against Laura Knight was a one-sided affair, which Hansell won in straight sets to become the first U.S. women's champion[lower-alpha 1].[2][3][4] According to a report she "employed sidearm serves, sliced ground strokes and never, but never went to the net".[5]

The tournament used a challenge system whereby the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final in which she would play the winner of the all-comers tournament. This meant that Hansell did not have to play through the 1888 tournament and only had to play the challenge round. She played Bertha Townsend, who had won the all-comer's event against Marion Wright in the final, and Townsend won the match in straight sets.[2]

Hansell did not win another tournament and retired from the game in 1890. She married Taylor Allerdice, and the couple had six children.[1] Hansell was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner1887U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Laura Knight6–1, 6–0
Runner-up1888U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Bertha Townsend6–3, 6–5

Notes
  1. The 1887 and 1888 tournaments were retroactively recognized as official U.S. championships in 1889 when the United States National Ladies Tennis Association (USNLTA) was formed.[1]

References
  1. Edelson, Paula (2002). A to Z of American Women in Sports. New York: Facts on File. pp. 106, 107. ISBN 978-0816045655.
  2. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 10, 465, 586. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  3. Grasso, John (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. xvi. ISBN 978-0810872370.
  4. "Ellen Forde Hansell Allderdice". www.middlestates.usta.com. USTA.
  5. Parsons, John (2006). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Tennis : The Definitive Illustrated Guide to World Tennis (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton. p. 54. ISBN 9781844421572.
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