The early years
United States · born Rahway, New Jersey, 1873 · died 1944 · three times US champion
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13
US Championships titles in all events
3
US singles titles, 1895, 1897, 1898
7
US doubles titles with five partners
51
Games in the 1898 final
5 ft
Her height
Born in Rahway, New Jersey, in 1873 and raised in Brooklyn, the daughter of a physician, Atkinson learned the game with her sister Kathleen in Fort Greene Park and took it up seriously at the Kings County Tennis Club. In 1894 she won the first of three straight US mixed titles with Edwin Fischer, and the first of seven US women's doubles titles. She won the US singles in 1895, lost the 1896 final to Elisabeth Moore, then won again in 1897 and 1898. She also won the Canadian Championships three years running, from 1896 to 1898, and the doubles at Cincinnati in 1899 and 1901. Her last US title came in the 1902 doubles with Marion Jones. She married George Buxton in 1918 and died in 1944.
| Major singles titles | 3: US (1895, 1897, 1898) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 1: US 1896 |
| Major doubles titles | 7 doubles (US 7), 3 mixed (US 3) |
| Titles kept in a challenge round | 1: US (1898). Scored as a final won, not a full draw (-4 points). |
| US doubles partners | 1894 and 1895 with Helen Hellwig; 1896 with Elisabeth Moore; 1897 and 1898 with her sister Kathleen; 1901 with Myrtle McAteer; 1902 with Marion Jones |
| US mixed | 1894, 1895 and 1896 with Edwin Fischer |
| Finals to remember | 1897: beat Elisabeth Moore 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3. 1898: beat Marion Jones 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 on the grass of the Philadelphia Cricket Club |
| Sisters' semi-finals | Beat Kathleen Atkinson in the US semi-finals of 1895 and 1897, both in straight sets: the first sisters to meet at the championships |
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1894 | Women's doubles | with Helena R. Hellwig Pouch |
| 1894 | Mixed doubles | with Edwin P. Fischer |
| 1895 | Women's doubles | with Helena R. Hellwig Pouch |
| 1895 | Mixed doubles | with Edwin P. Fischer |
| 1895 | Women's singles | |
| 1896 | Women's doubles | with Elisabeth Moore |
| 1896 | Mixed doubles | with Edwin P. Fischer |
| 1897 | Women's doubles | with Kathleen Atkinson |
| 1897 | Women's singles | |
| 1898 | Women's doubles | with Kathleen Atkinson |
| 1898 | Women's singles | |
| 1901 | Women's doubles | with Myrtle McAteer |
| 1902 | Women's doubles | with Marion Jones Farquhar |
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
"Miss Atkinson was much the stronger at the end of the three hours of fast playing."
The person behind the player.
Brooklyn
Before the championships, there was a public park. As girls she and Kathleen played lawn tennis in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, and they swam and figure skated too. They became serious about the game only as teenagers, when they joined the Kings County Tennis Club. Her early mentor, and a friend for life, was Jahial Parmly Paret.
Source: New Jersey Sports HeroesPhiladelphia 1894 to 1896
In 1894 she won the US mixed doubles with Edwin Fischer and the women's doubles with Helen Hellwig, a fellow member of the Kings County club. She kept the mixed with Fischer for the next two years, and in 1895 she beat Hellwig, the defending champion, for the singles title. From 1895 to 1898 she was the best player in the country.
Source: New Jersey Sports HeroesPhiladelphia 1895 and 1897
The Atkinsons were the first sisters to meet at the US Championships, in the singles semi-finals of 1895 and 1897. Juliette won both in straight sets. Between those meetings the two won the doubles together in 1897 and 1898, one of the few sister pairs to take a US title.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FamePhiladelphia 1898
The final against Marion Jones ran to five sets and 51 games: 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. The New York Times reported that she was "much the stronger at the end of the three hours of fast playing." The win was her third, and with it she retired the Wissahickon Cup.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameForest Hills 1942
Long after her playing days, and by then Mrs George Buxton, she went to the US Championships at Forest Hills in 1942 and gave the cup she had won as three-time singles champion to the West Side Tennis Club, the host of the championships. She died two years later.
Source: New Jersey Sports HeroesFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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