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Constance Smith

Full name	Constance Laura Mary Smith
Country (sports)	GBR
Born	1860 London, England
Died	27 October 1934 (age 74) London, England
Turned pro	1881 (amateur tour)
Retired	1891
Singles
Career titles	2
Doubles
Career record	6–2
Career titles	2

Constance Laura Mary Smith (1860 – 27 October 1934), also known as Constance Langley Smith, was an English tennis player active in the very early years of women's tennis in the 19th century. She was a finalist at the prestigious Northern Championships where she lost to Ireland's May Langrishe. She was active from 1881 to 1891 and won 2 career singles titles.

Career

She was born Constance Langley in London, England in 1860. She played her first tournament in September 1881 at the St Leonards-on-Sea Tournament where she reached the final before losing to her sister Marion Langley in three sets. In June 1882 she took part in the first Northern Championships event for women, the tournament then was considered by players and historians as the four most important tennis tournaments to win. where she reached the singles final where she lost to Ireland's May Langrishe in straight sets.

In August 1882 she took part in the Darlington Open event and went to win her first title against Anthea Turner. In September she traveled to Edgbaston to take part in the Midland Counties Championships then one of the big regional tournaments in the English Midlands, where she progressed to the final and won the championship against Eva Adshead to claim her second title. Later that month she also took part in another big event for women the East Gloucestershire Championships where she reached the final before losing to Maud Watson in three sets.

She then decided to settle down and have a family and did not play any tournaments for the next five years. In 1887 she returned to the court and to take part in the South of England Championships probably the most important tournament in England at that time, after the Wimbledon, where she reached the final before going down in straight sets to Blanche Bingley Hillyard. Smith played predominantly on grass however in 1891 she travelled to France to take part in what would be her final tournament at the Boulogne International Championship in Boulogne-sur-Mer, it was played on clay courts where she advanced to the final before she was beaten by May Arbuthnot in four sets.

Family

Constance had four sisters they were Augusta (b 1858),Florence (Flora, b. 1860) Grace, and Marion (b 1866) who also played lawn tennis. She married Charles John Chichester Smith in 1880. In later years Chalrles and Constance had three children, two boys and a girl, also called Constance.

Career finals

Singles (7), titles (2), runners up (5)

(*) Denotes All-Comers final (w.o.) denotes walkover.

No	Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	Loss	17‑Sep‑1881	St Leonards-on-Sea Tournament	Grass	Marion Langley	6–4, 2–6, 3–6
2.	Loss	17‑June‑1882	Northern Championships	Grass	May Langrishe	3–6, 6–8
1.	Win	7-Aug-1882	Darlington Open	Grass	Anthea Turner	6–3, 6–0
2.	Win	9-Sep-1882	Midland Counties Championships	Grass	Eva Adshead	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
3.	Loss	23-Sep-1882	East Gloucestershire Championships	Grass	Maud Watson	2–6, 6–3, 5–7
4.	Loss	6-Sep-1887	South of England Championships *	Grass	Blanche Bingley Hillyard	2–6, 1–6
5.	Loss	19-Sep-1891	Boulogne International Championship	Clay	May Arbuthnot	4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 1–6

References

1. Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 266, 267. ISBN 9780047960420.
2. Meyers, A. Wallis (1903). Lawn Tennis at Home and Abroad. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons. p. 55.
3. Lake, Robert J. (2014). A Social History of Tennis in Britain. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 9781134445578.
4. Cole, Matt. "The History of Edgbaston Priory Club" (PDF). edgbastonpriory.com. Edgbaston, England: Edgbaston Priory. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
5. Lowerson, John (1995). Sport and the English middle classes, 1870-1914 (Pbk. ed.). Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780719046513. Retrieved 29 July 2023.

• 1880 births
• 1934 deaths
• 19th-century female tennis players
• 19th-century English sportswomen
• English female tennis players
• British female tennis players
• Tennis players from London