The early years
United States · born Princeton, New Jersey · US singles and doubles champion in the same week of 1893
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2
US titles in one week, June 1893: singles and doubles
6-1, 6-3
Her All Comers' final win over Augusta Schultz, 1893
5
Sets in the 1894 Challenge Round she lost to Helen Hellwig
1893 to 1894
Her only two years at the US Championships
Aline M. Terry came from Princeton, New Jersey, and played at the end of the 19th century. Almost nothing is recorded of her life away from the court; Bud Collins wrote that little more is known of her than that she did not play the championships again after 1894.
The US women's championships of 1893 were played on the grass of the Philadelphia Cricket Club from 20 to 23 June. The holder, Mabel Cahill, did not defend, so the winner of the All Comers' event took the title. Terry beat Hattie Beaumont, then Elisabeth Moore 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals and Augusta Schultz 6-1, 6-3 in the final. The same week she won the doubles with Harriet Butler, beating Schultz and Miss Stone 6-4, 6-3.
Under the challenge rule she went straight into the 1894 final as holder. Helen Hellwig, who had come through the All Comers' event, beat her 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Terry did not play the championships again.
| 1893 All Comers' | First round: beat Hattie Beaumont 6-2, 6-0. Semi-final: beat Elisabeth Moore 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Final: beat Augusta Schultz 6-1, 6-3. No Challenge Round was played, because Mabel Cahill did not defend |
|---|---|
| 1893 doubles | With Harriet Butler, beat Augusta Schultz and Miss Stone 6-4, 6-3 in the final |
| 1894 Challenge Round | Lost to Helen Hellwig 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Hellwig had beaten Bertha Toulmin in the All Comers' final |
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1893 | Women's doubles | with Harriet Butler |
| 1893 | Women's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
The person behind the player.
Philadelphia, June 1893
The holder, Mabel Cahill, stayed away in 1893, so Terry's All Comers' win made her champion without a Challenge Round. Reports differed on why: The New York Times said Cahill was unhappy with how she had been treated the year before, while The Roanoke Times said she was ill.
Source: Wikipedia, citing The New York Times and The Roanoke Times, June 1893Staten Island
The New York Times reported that she practised hard at the Staten Island club, and she won the Staten Island tournament in 1893.
Source: db4tennisAs others saw her
Juliette Atkinson, who won the singles three times from 1895, described Terry as "soft as a cat on a banana" and said she "ran after the balls like a tiger".
Source: Wikipedia, citing The Bud Collins History of TennisPhiladelphia, 1894
As holder she sat out the 1894 tournament, played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club from 12 to 16 June, until the Challenge Round. Against Helen Hellwig she came to the net often and made errors on the volley, and lost in five sets. It was her last appearance at the championships.
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