Charlotte Cooper Sterry, Tennis Champion

Sep 2, 2024

Charlotte Cooper Sterry joins the conversation, sharing her remarkable journey as a pioneering tennis champion and the first female Olympic winner in 1900. She discusses the historical significance of tennis, including the sport’s royal connections and her personal battles, including her hearing loss. The podcast highlights how she shaped women's tennis at iconic tournaments like Wimbledon and examines her legacy, which remains unparalleled even a century later. Explore her unique experiences as a deaf athlete and the evolution of the game.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

The Royal Game: Tennis Through the Ages

02:49 • 9min

The Global Rise of Lawn Tennis and Charlotte Cooper's Journey

12:18 • 3min

The Early Journey of Charlotte Cooper Sterry

15:23 • 9min

The Sound of Tennis and the Triumph of Charlotte Cooper

24:16 • 4min

Charlotte Cooper: A Tennis Pioneer

28:29 • 6min

The Legacy of a Tennis Pioneer and A Glimpse into Google Street View

34:36 • 6min

Charlotte Cooper Sterry was a tennis player who set records during her lifetime that remained unbroken for almost a century. One of them still stands.

Research:

Yang, Heewon, and Kelly Chandler. "Tennis." Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America, edited by Gary S. Cross, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, pp. 351-354. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434800256/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=64f7cfa9. Accessed 15 July 2024.
com. “The Oldest’ Ladies Champions.” 9/29/2017. https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2017-09-29/2017-09-29_2017-09-29_the_oldest_ladies_singles_champions.html
Bennett, Courtney. "Wimbledon." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture Online, Gale, 2013. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/PUXWIE130945815/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8c49dec7. Accessed 15 July 2024.
Reilley, Lucas. “Tennis: The Sport that Loves to Kill Royalty.” 10/12/2018. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/560200/tennis-related-royal-deaths
"Tennis." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2024. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2Ftennis%2F108495&ebboatid=9265899. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Fabry, Merrill. “Why Is Tennis Scored So Weirdly?” Time. 7/14/2023. https://time.com/5040182/tennis-scoring-system-history/
“Wingfield and the birth of lawn tennis.” 5/15/2024. https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2024-05-15/wingfield_and_the_birth_of_lawn_tennis.html
Smyth, J. G. "Sterry [née Cooper], Charlotte Reinagle (1870–1966), tennis player." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 04, 2012. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 Jul. 2024, https://www-oxforddnb-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-36284
Chambers, Mrs. Lambert. “Lawn Tennis for Ladies.” New York. Outing Publishing Company. 1910. https://archive.org/details/lawntennisforla00chamgoog/
Team GB. “Charlotte Cooper: The original trailblazer of women’s tennis.” 3/7/2021. https://www.teamgb.com/article/charlotte-cooper-the-original-trailblazer-of-womens-tennis/PFWDdf3Zq306yiPqsw6VA1
Little, Alan. “Wimbledon Ladies : a centenary record 1884-1984 : the Single champions.” London : Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. 1984. https://archive.org/details/wimbledonladiesc0000litt/
Myers, Arthur Wallis. “Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad.” Scribner’s. 1903. https://archive.org/details/lawntennisathom00myergoog/
Hillyard, George Whiteside. “Forty Years of First-class Lawn Tennis.” Williams & Norgate. 1924. https://books.google.com/books?id=lHtYAAAAYAAJ
Weaver, Harry. “’Chattie’ the Champion.” The London Observer. 6/27/1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/258000462/
Robyns, Gwen. “Wimbledon; the hidden drama.” Newton Abbot, David & Charles. 1973.
Troy Lennon History Editor. "First woman Olympic tennis champ was deaf". The Daily Telegraph (Australia), September 22, 2020 Tuesday. advance-lexis-com.proxy.bostonathenaeum.org/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:60WR-RPC1-F0JP-W1PJ-00000-00&context=1519360. Accessed July 16, 2024.
Robertson, Max. “Wimbledon 1877-1977.” London : Barker. 1977.

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