Lottie Dod, the Forgotten Pioneer: When a Champion Challenged the Best Male Players in 1888

At the end of the 19th century, a teenager shook up the certainties of a sport dominated by men. Lottie Dod, a five-time Wimbledon champion, triumphed over male champions and etched her name into history.

© commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lottie_Dod_age20.jpg

Jules Hypolite

le 22/12/2025 à 21h22

2 min to read

Extraits de Dossiers Lottie Dod

To trace the origins of the "Battle of the Sexes," we must go back to the end of the 19th century, a time when tennis was a much less publicized sport.

A major figure in these early confrontations, British player Lottie Dod dominated women's tennis, winning five titles at Wimbledon between 1887 and 1893. At just 17 years old, she agreed in 1888 to compete against male players in three unprecedented exhibition matches.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983

The first match pitted her against the reigning Wimbledon champion, Ernest Renshaw, in a game conditioned by a handicap of 30-0 in her favor at the start of each game.

Despite a convincing first set, Dod narrowly lost (2-6, 7-5, 7-5). However, she won the next two encounters, against Scottish champion Harry Grove (1-6, 6-0, 6-4) and then William Renshaw (6-2, 6-4).

Long relegated to the margins of history, these matches already signaled a challenge to the established order.

Serving underarm and wearing restrictive clothing, Dod demonstrated through her athletic qualities that a woman could compete with the best players of her time. A pioneer of women's tennis, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

The full feature available this weekend

Find the full feature "The Battle of the Sexes: From a Fight for Equality to a Media Spectacle" on TennisTemple on Saturday, December 27.