Suzanne Langlen – the pride of France

Susanne Lenglen (05/24/1899 – 07/04/1938) – an outstanding French tennis player, who left a bright mark in the history of sea tennis. She was a two-time Olympic champion in 1920, became the 35 times winner of the Grand Slam tournaments, 12 of them in singles.

The first acquaintance with tennis occurred at 10-year-old Suzanne in Nice, where her family moved to their own villa for the summer. Her father, a wealthy industrialist, being an entrepreneurial man, decided to make a champion of his daughter. Looking ahead, it should be said that he succeeded. He was a good coach, but a year later he gave Suzanne to train at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice, where he was secretary. He was very demanding of his daughter in everything related to tennis. For ten years, Monsieur Lenglen made her train hard and play for hours against the wall. Of course, many hours of working with the ball to death bothered Suzanne, but if Charles Langlen had not been so adamant, she would never have achieved such stability in the game, such confidence in the execution of shots. Continue reading →