Suzanne Lenglen - Early Life

Early Life

A daughter of Charles and Anaïs Lenglen, Suzanne Lenglen was born in Compiègne, department of the Oise, north of Paris. During her youth, she suffered from numerous health problems including chronic asthma, which also plagued her at a later age. Because his daughter was so frail and sickly, Charles Lenglen, the owner of a carriage company, decided that it would be good for her to compete in tennis and gain strength. Her first try at the game was in 1910, when she played on the tennis court at the family property in Marest-sur-Matz. The young girl enjoyed the game, and her father decided to train her further in the sport. His training methods included an exercise where, the story goes, he would lay down a handkerchief at various places on the court, to which his daughter had to direct the ball.

Only four years after her first tennis strokes, Lenglen played in the final of the 1914 French Championships, aged only 14 (the tournament was only open to members of French clubs until 1925). She lost to reigning champion Marguerite Broquedis in the final 5–7, 6–4, 6–3. That same year, she won the World Hard Court Championships held at Saint-Cloud, turning 15 during the tournament. The outbreak of World War I at the end of the year stopped most national and international tennis competitions, and Lenglen's burgeoning career was put on hold for the next 5 years, until Wimbledon in 1919.