The early years
Great Britain · born Hammersmith, 1860 · died 1917 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1892, six match points from the 1889 singles
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6
Match points held against William Renshaw in the 1889 All-Comers final
2
Wimbledon All-Comers singles finals, 1889 and 1890
1892
Wimbledon doubles title with Ernest Lewis
4
Wimbledon doubles finals in a row, 1891 to 1894, counting All-Comers finals
Harry Sibthorpe Barlow was born in Hammersmith in April 1860. He made his name at Wimbledon in 1889, when he beat the Irish player Willoughby Hamilton in the semi-finals and then held six match points against William Renshaw in the All-Comers final before losing 3-6, 5-7, 8-6, 10-8, 8-6. In 1890 he reached the All-Comers final again and lost in five sets to Hamilton, who went on to take the title.
In doubles he won Wimbledon in 1892 with Ernest Lewis, beating the Baddeley twins, and reached the doubles final in each of the years 1891 to 1894. Away from Wimbledon he was one of the most successful tournament players of his time, with titles at Beckenham, Eastbourne, Queen's Club, Bath and in Wales and Surrey. A strong, fit volleyer who rushed the net behind his serve, he was known for playing his best only once he had fallen behind. He died in Kennington, London, in July 1917.
| 1889 All-Comers final | Lost to William Renshaw 3-6, 5-7, 8-6, 10-8, 8-6 after holding six match points in the fourth set, two at 5-2, two at 5-3 and two at 7-6. Renshaw then won the Challenge Round |
|---|---|
| 1890 All-Comers final | Lost to Willoughby Hamilton 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1891 All-Comers final with Ernest Renshaw, lost to Herbert and Wilfred Baddeley 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 0-6, 6-2. 1892 champion with Ernest Lewis, beating the Baddeleys 4-6, 6-2, 8-6, 6-4. 1893 Challenge Round with Lewis, lost to Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0. 1894 All-Comers final with Charles Martin, lost to the Baddeleys 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 8-6 |
| Other early titles | The Badminton Library lists him as West of England singles champion at Bath in 1888, Championships of London singles champion in 1889, and doubles champion at Bath and Eastbourne in 1889 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Men's doubles | with Ernest Lewis |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1889 | Men's singles | |
| 1892 | Men's singles | |
| 1893 | Men's singles | |
| 1895 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1889 | Men's singles†| |
| 1890 | Men's singles | |
| 1891 | Men's singles | |
| 1895 | Men's singles | |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1891 | Men's singles South of England Championships | |
| 1892 | Men's singles South of England Championships | |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1891 | Men's singles | |
| 1892 | Men's singles | |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1892 | Men'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
"his overhead volleying was absolutely deadly, and he was most difficult to pass at the net"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, 1889
In the fourth set of the 1889 All-Comers final, with Barlow a stroke from victory, Renshaw slipped and dropped his racquet a yard or two away. A. Wallis Myers wrote that Barlow "had the plum in his mouth" but sent a slow toss towards the baseline; Renshaw recovered his footing and his racquet, won the point and in the end the match.
Source: A. Wallis Myers, The Complete Lawn Tennis Player (1908)Wimbledon, 1889
The Badminton Library volume of 1890 described how Barlow won two sets, led 5-2 in the fourth and was four times within a stroke of victory, and how Renshaw, having saved the fourth set, fell behind again in the fifth before "playing grandly" to win it. It concluded that Barlow had "at a bound made good his claim to a position in the first class of players".
Source: C. G. Heathcote, Lawn Tennis, Badminton Library (1890)Beckenham
Myers recalled that at the Kent Championships at Beckenham Barlow asked a lady to lower a red parasol that was in his line of vision. When she ignored him, he hit a ball, "by accident", into the offending parasol.
Source: A. Wallis Myers, Twenty Years of Lawn Tennis (1921)Habits
Mahony wrote that at minor meetings Barlow freely indulged "his love for losing the first two sets", and let matches slip that he could easily have won. Wimbledon, he said, was the only meeting for which Barlow ever trained. Myers made the same point: Barlow rarely played his best until his opponent had a long lead.
Source: H. S. Mahony in Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad (1903); Myers (1908)Style
Mahony thought Barlow never acquired the correct grip, which made his crosscourt forehand slow and uncertain, though his backhand was strong both ways. His wonderful activity, strength and sagacity, Mahony wrote, won him matches all the same.
Source: H. S. Mahony in Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad (1903)Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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