Philadelphia, 1880s
Tennis on prescription
She had anaemia as a child and began playing tennis on the advice of her doctor. Within a few years she was national champion.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameThe early years
Ellen Hansell
United States · born Philadelphia, 1869 · died 1937 · right-handed · the first US women's champion, 1887
Hall of Fame 1965
All playersBack to the rankings
1st
US women's singles champion, 1887
6-1, 6-0
Her winning score over Laura Knight in the first final
7
Players in the first women's championship draw
3-1
Her match record at the US Championships
Playing career
Ellen Forde Hansell was born in Philadelphia on 18 September 1869, the daughter of Samuel Rob Hansell, an upholstery manufacturer. She took up tennis on her doctor's advice after anaemia as a child, and at 16 joined the Belmont Club in Philadelphia, where she played with Margarette Ballard and Bertha Townsend.
In late September 1887 the Philadelphia Cricket Club staged the first US women's championship on its grass courts, with seven players, all from the Delaware Valley. Hansell beat Jessie Harding 6-1, 6-0, came from a set down against Helen Day Harris and beat Laura Knight 6-1, 6-0 in the final. Under the challenge system she waited for the 1888 Challenge Round, where Townsend beat her 6-3, 6-5. The 1887 and 1888 events were recognised as national championships only in 1889, when a ladies' championship was formally authorised.
She did not win another tournament and retired in 1890. She married Taylor Allerdice and had six children. She died in Pittsburgh on 11 May 1937 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965.
On grass
| Philadelphia 1887 | First round: beat Jessie Harding 6-1, 6-0. Semi-final: beat Helen Day Harris 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Final: beat Laura Knight 6-1, 6-0. The event ran from 27 September |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia 1888 | As holder she played only the Challenge Round, and lost to Bertha Townsend 6-3, 6-5. Townsend had beaten Marion Wright in the All-Comers final |
| Style | The Hall of Fame describes wristy right-handed groundstrokes and a sidearm serve, typical of players of the time who swiped at the ball |
Every grass title: 1
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1887 | 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
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Philadelphia, 1887
The red hat
She played the first championship in a full, over-draped skirt with long sleeves and her customary red hat. One report said she "employed sidearm serves, sliced ground strokes and never, but never went to the net".
Source: Wikipedia, citing J. Parsons, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Tennis (2006)1890
Left out of the first history
Richard Sears's chapter on American lawn tennis in the Badminton Library volume of 1890 does not name her. He mentions only a tournament held in Philadelphia "purporting to be for the ladies' championship", won by Miss Townsend, and dates the real title from 1889, when the national association authorised it.
Source: R. D. Sears, Badminton Library (1890)The Wissahickon Inn Prize
The first name on the cup
The women's challenge trophy from 1887 to 1898, the Wissahickon Inn Prize made by Bailey Banks & Biddle, was first presented to Hansell. It passed to Townsend, Ellen Roosevelt, Mabel Cahill, Aline Terry, Helen Hellwig and Elisabeth Moore before Juliette Atkinson retired it with a third win in 1898. The West Side Tennis Club gave it to the Hall of Fame in 1992.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame1931
Remembered at the Jubilee
At the Golden Jubilee of the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1931 she was honoured as the first ladies' champion, alongside Richard Sears, the first men's champion.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameJoin Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
- Philadelphia Cricket Club, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
- Bertha Townsend
- Laura Knight
- Helen Day Harris
- Margarette Ballard
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Ellen Hansell, International Tennis Hall of Fame
- Ellen Hansell, Wikipedia
- 1887 U.S. National Championships, women's singles, Wikipedia
- Ellen Hansell, db4tennis
- R. D. Sears, "Lawn Tennis in America", in Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets, Fives (Badminton Library, 1890)
- History, Philadelphia Cricket Club
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
