Helen Aitchison
Encyclopedia
Frances Helen Aitchison (6 December 1881 – 26 May 1947) was a Sunderland
-born tennis player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
.
In 1912 she won the silver medal with her partner Herbert Barrett
in the indoor mixed doubles competition.
She also participated in the indoor singles event
but was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Aitchison entered the Wimbledon Championships for the first time in 1909, at the age of 27, winning the Ladies Doubles title with partner Agnes Tuckey. She also competed in 1910, 1911, 1913 and 1914, reaching three semi-finals and two quarter-finals in the Ladies Singles. She also won the World Covered Court Championship
in 1913. Her success at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 made her the first person from Sunderland to become an Olympic medalist.
At Epsom in 1914 she married John Leisk.
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
-born tennis player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
.
In 1912 she won the silver medal with her partner Herbert Barrett
Herbert Barrett
----Herbert Roper Barrett, KC was a tennis player from Great Britain.-Biography:Barrett was born on 24 November 1873 in Upton, Essex....
in the indoor mixed doubles competition.
She also participated in the indoor singles event
Tennis at the 1912 Summer Olympics - Indoor Women's Singles
-References:...
but was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Background
Aitchison was born in Sunderland in 1881, the eldest daughter of shipbuilder James Aitchison and his wife Mary, of Grange Terrace, later The Cedars. She competed in the County Championships of 1907 with three of her sisters, Alice, Kathleen and Sibyl, helping Durham to defeat Middlesex 5-4.Aitchison entered the Wimbledon Championships for the first time in 1909, at the age of 27, winning the Ladies Doubles title with partner Agnes Tuckey. She also competed in 1910, 1911, 1913 and 1914, reaching three semi-finals and two quarter-finals in the Ladies Singles. She also won the World Covered Court Championship
World Covered Court Championships
The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three world championships sanctioned from 1913–1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation . The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue changed from year to year among several countries...
in 1913. Her success at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 made her the first person from Sunderland to become an Olympic medalist.
At Epsom in 1914 she married John Leisk.