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Suzanne Lenglen : an uncommon woman |
If the file of Suzanne Lenglen that we have found in the French book Le siècle des femmes takes three pages, it’s not by chance. There is a reason and we are going to explain this one.
Why is she so exceptional ?
To start with, if we have chosen Suzanne Lenglen, it’s because she was certainly, and she’s still, THE best tennis woman in the world. For example, she has only lost, in all of her career, one or two matches. Moreover, a lot of her matches caused a phenomen : spectators came from all countries to see this extraordinary player. She also brought France the greatest global sports renown.
But Lenglen is also famous thanks to her incredible style. She played in important tournament with her dress cut above the calf. Once she arrived on the court with a fur coat… and drank a glass of Whisky between each sets ! The British found her shocking but she was merely ahead of time.
She also brought a technical innovation in the tennis. She used to play with grace and style, moved with jumps and run and hit the ball everywhere on the court. Her game looked like a ballet.
Her celebrity is also due to what she has left to the global tennis : a new feminine tennis, a new mentality in the tennis; the spectators had a different vision of the women through the sport. Indeed, since she has existed , the tennis isn’t merely reserved the highest social classes.
Unfortunately, a lot of today’s young people don’t really know her or what she has done. While for the majority of them, if they can play tennis now, it’s probably thanks to her, to have let the tennis beeing more accessible.
Suzanne Lenglen or the " Diva of tennis "
It was really easy to find information about Suzanne Lenglen : indeed, she is extremely famous and changed a lot of things in the tennis world.
Birth of a star
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was born in Paris on May 14th 1899. At the age of ten, her father coached her with an intensive and unusual training. Two years after she won her first tournament and the year later became the "Championne de Picardie" .At the same time, she did dancing and continued until he death. That’s why she had this beautiful tennis game.
An out-standing lady
In 1914, when she was fifteen, she became twice world champion. In 1920, Suzanne Lenglen won two Gold medals in the Olympic Games, who was no common for a woman at that time. She set a record in 1923: in fact she has played the shorter tennis match; 26 minutes. Steffi Graf ,in 1998, is the only woman to beat this record by one minute !
She played a match in 1926 against Helen Wills that created sensation : there weren’t any seats so people saw the match from their balconies. In the same year, in Wimbledon, as Queen Mary was waiting for the match, Suzanne Lenglen didn’t arrive. Indeed she didn’t know the time she had to be on the court. She was so embarrassed that she didn’t want to play the match !
Suzanne Lenglen’s homage
At the age of 39, Lenglen died of pernicious anaemia, July 4, 1938, in Paris. Nowadays a tennis court has been built in order to pay tribute to Suzanne Lenglen in Roland Garros in Paris ! Moreover the ladies who won Roland Garros receive the Suzanne Lenglen cup !
As a conclusion, Suzanne Lenglen has changed the global tennis. Indeed, she has modified the women’s way to be dressed, the men’s point-of-view towards female tennisand finally she has opened the tennis to everybody, every social class. That’s why she was called (and still is) the "Diva of tennis".
Quiz...
1) Have you ever heard of Suzanne Lenglen ?
- Yes
- No
2) Where did she come from ?
- England
- Germany
- France
3) Which sport was she famous for ?
- Basket ball
- Tennis
- Swimming
4) Do you know when she was a star ?
- 1910 - 1920
- 1870 – 1880
- 1950 - 1960
5) Do you think that she has changed something for the women (their role...) ?
- Yes
- No
6) What did she bring to this sport ?
- New rules
- A new style, a new mean of playing
- New champions
7) What did/does she represent for the women in her country ?
- An example to follow for all of them
- A bad person
- Just a detail of that sport’s story
Rosalie and Caroline, March 2001.
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