Throwback Thursday: A Jubilee at Wimbledon in 1926
This week's Throwback Thursday from the Wimbledon Museum remembers the 1926 Jubilee Championships, a special competitor and the end of an era for one of tennis' greats...
The 1926 Jubilee Championships was set to be the most memorable Championships to date with Royalty in attendance, a medal ceremony to open the event and a special competitor set to compete in the Gentlemen’s Doubles. What could be more exciting?
The Championships kick-started with a ceremony on Centre Court where 34 surviving former Singles and Doubles Champions were presented to King George V and Queen Mary - each receiving a silver commemorative medal to mark the occasion. The presentation was proceeding as planned until one boisterous French player made an amusing late entrance. Jean Borotra usually liked to arrive at ceremonies and events in the final minutes – perhaps to create a dramatic effect. On this occasion his plane was delayed by fog over the channel resulting in him arriving late at Croydon Airport. At this point he had to jump straight into a waiting car, change into his tennis whites en-route and then disembark at Wimbledon whilst the car was still moving. He arrived at the ceremony carrying two tennis rackets exclaiming ‘Am I too late?’, just as Maud Watson was about to walk over to take her courtesy. Watson quietly stepped back into the waiting line whilst Borotra was pushed forwards towards the Royal couple to collect his medal.
The ceremony was immediately followed by a Ladies’ Doubles exhibition match between Suzanne Lenglen/Elizabeth Ryan and Kathleen ‘Kitty’ Godfree/Kea Bouman.
A unique addition to the 1926 Championships was the scheduled play of a member of the Royal Family in the Men’s Doubles event – something that Wimbledon has not seen since. On the first Friday, bustling crowds gathered at No.2 Court to watch the Duke of York (the future King George VI) compete in a doubles match with Wing Commander Louis Greig against the immensely talented Roper Barrett and former Wimbledon Champion Arthur Gore. The Duke was not extremely skilled; however he did do his best to keep up with the standard of volleying served out by his opponents. They fought a quick three set match resulting with the Duke and his partner losing 6-1 6-3 6-2. A spectator at the event later remarked:
“One could see that he is immensely keen, and he plays the orthodox doubles game in an honest, straightforward way. But he cannot lay claim to much experience, and it was a little unfortunate for him that he was up against a player, Roper Barrett, whose like he had probably never encountered before”.
In addition to the upsides of this Championship, it also witnessed the sudden retirement of one of the greatest, most influential female players of the golden age of tennis – Suzanne Lenglen. A series of small events at the beginning of The Championships sadly ensured that shr rever returned to Wimbledon. The most unfortunate event was a misunderstanding about the start time of one of her matches. Lenglen was heavily criticised for not turning up for the match – which was seen as a snub to Queen Mary, who was in attendance.
Lenglen’s unexpected departure did, however, pave the way for the mighty Kitty Godfree to win her second Wimbledon Singles title. Overall, the Jubilee Championships were certainly a memorable celebration of tennis at Wimbledon.
