Queens of the Court: Suzanne Lenglen, An Original Diva 14
She was called ‘La Divine.’ Some say in the 1920s Suzanne Lenglen was a bigger name in sports than that of Babe Ruth.
Between 1919 and 1926, at a time when three and not four tennis majors were played, she won twelve Grand Slam titles, on three different surfaces, and an Olympic Gold medal (Antwerp). Notably in seven of 81 singles titles she did not lose a game!
She was dominant in a way that only a handful of male stars have been since the open era of tennis. More than that, she imposed her personality on the sport, and the entertainment world of the day. We recognize such a personality in contemporary terms, in modern English, we might call her a diva. Read the rest of this entry →