# 1880 women's tennis season

1880 Women's Tennis season was mainly composed of national, regional, county, local regular amateur tournaments. This year, 13 tennis events for women were staged, one in India, three of them in Ireland and nine events in England between May and October 1880.

## Season summary

The women's amateur tennis seasons covers a period of thirty five years from 1876 to 1912. During this period there was no single international organization responsible for overseeing tennis. At the very start in tennis history lawn tennis clubs themselves organized events and some like the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in England (f.1877) and the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Ireland (f.1879) generally oversaw tennis in their respective countries.
This would later change when tennis players started (those that could) traveled the world to compete in events organized by individual national lawn tennis associations (NLTA)'s the oldest of which then was the United States Lawn Tennis Association (f. 1881). In certain countries that did not establish a national association until later, had provincial, regional or state lawn tennis associations overseeing tournaments in a province, region or state within a country, such as the Northern Lawn Tennis Association in Manchester, England (f.1880), had responsibility for coordinating tournaments staged by clubs in the North of England region. In Australia the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association (f.1904) organised tournaments in the state of Victoria, Australia.
In 1880 twelve tournaments for women were staged four of them in Ireland, and nine of them in England. In the spring in May the second Irish Championships are held this was the first major national championships in the world to feature not only a women's singles event won by a D. Meldon, but also a ladies doubles event, and a mixed doubles event. In August the Armagh Tennis Tournament is staged at the Archery Lawn Tennis Club, Armagh that features a mixed doubles event. In India at the close of May the Calcutta Cricket Club (f.1792), inaugurated an open lawn tennis tournament that featured 21 entries.
In June two tournaments are held featuring women's events. At the Devon and Cornwall Archery Society Tournament held at Manadon , Plymouth, Devon, England a mixed doubles event is won by Miss Keate and Mr. A. Radcliffe. From June 14 to 22 the Kemptown Tournament was staged at Kemptown, Brighton, East Sussex, England that featured a ladies doubles event, that was won by two sister Miss Adshead and Miss. Eva Adshead, this event was notable in that this match was played over five sets. On 16 August the fourth annual Waterford Lawn Tennis Tournament was begun. On July 1 the Mersey Bowmen Archery Club Tournament began at Sefton Park, Aigburth in Liverpool, England, however it was not concluded until August 19. On August 16 the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club began the Devonshire Park Championships at Eastbourne, England. Between 16 and 17 August the Mount's Bay Archery and Lawn tennis Clubs staged a two-day Mount's Bay Lawn Tennis Tournament at Mount's Bay. Penzance, Cornwall, England, the ladies singles being won by Miss. Jackson and the gentleman's singles by Mr. H. H. Ley of Truro.
In September 1880 the fifth edition of South of Ireland Championships in Limerick the singles event was won by Annie Rice. The same month the Ealing Cricket Club staged its first Ealing Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament, that was to feature a mixed pairs event won by Blanche Bingley. On 16 September the second Saint Leonards-on-Sea Tournament began at the Archery Gardens, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, England that ended on 18 September. On 24 September the Truro LTC Tournament commenced at Truro, in Cornawall, England. On 1 October 1880 the Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament that began on 26 September concluded. At this time 'open' tournaments usually meant men's and women's players can compete.
At the 1880 Wimbledon Championships the world's first major tennis tournament, it still remained an all men's event, no women's events were staged. By 1881 for women there was a tennis circuit of sorts starting to form.
In 1913 the International Lawn Tennis Federation was created, that consisted of national member associations. The ILTF through its associated members then became responsible for supervising women's tour events.

## Results

Notes 1: Challenge Round: the final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921), in some tournaments not all.
Notes 2:Tournaments in italics were events that were staged only once that season
Key
* Main events
* National events
* Provincial/Regional/State
* County events
* Regular events

### January to April

No events

### May

| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist |
| 28 May | Irish Championships Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland Outdoor Grass/Asphalt Singles | D. Meldon 6-1, 6-1 | Connie Butler | May Langrishe Miss Lynch |
| 28 May | Irish Championships Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland Outdoor Grass/Asphalt Singles | Connie Butler * May Langrishe default | Miss Anderson Miss Costello | May Langrishe Miss Lynch |
| 28 May | Irish Championships Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland Outdoor Grass/Asphalt Singles | Miss Costello ** Spencer D. Maul 6-4, 7-5 | D. Meldon Robert Hassard | May Langrishe Miss Lynch |
| 31 May | Calcutta Cricket Club Open Calcutta Cricket Club Calcutta, West Bengal, India, England Grass Singles - Doubles | ? ? | | |

### June

| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarter finalist |
| 5 June | Devon and Cornwall Archery Society Lawn Tennis Tournament Devon and Cornwall Archery Society Club Manadon, Plymouth, Devon, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Miss Keate ** A. Radcliffe 2 sets to 1 | Miss F. Fitzroy Algernon Aylmer | | |
| 22 June | Kemptown Tournament Kemptown, Brighton, East Sussex, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Miss Adshead Eva Adshead 6-1, 4–6, 3–6, 6–2, 6-3 | | | |

### July

No events

### August

| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist |
| 16 August | Mount's Bay Lawn Tennis Tournament Mount's Bay Archery & Lawn Tennis Club Cricket Ground Mount's Bay, Penzance, Cornwall, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Miss. Jackson def | Miss Chard |
| 19 August | Waterford Tournament Waterford Cricket Club Waterford, Munster, Ireland Grass Singles - Doubles | May Langrishe 6–5, 6-0 | D. Meldon |
| 21 August | South of Ireland Championships Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland Outdoor Grass Singles | Miss Smith > | ? |
| 19 August | Mersey Bowmen Archery Club Tournament Mersey Bowmen Archery Club Sefton Park, Aigburth, Liverpool, Lancashire, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Miss. Scott ** Mr. H.F. Rooke def | Miss Maitland Mr. H. Duranty |
| 24 August | Devonshire Park Championships Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club Eastbourne, East Sussex, England Grass Singles - Doubles | Miss. Spreckley ** Dale Womersley 2 sets to 0 | Miss Alexander Mr. Taylor |

### September

| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist |
| 4 September | Ealing Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament Ealing, Middlesex, England Outdoor Grass Singles | Blanche Bingley ** F.W. Rawson 2 sets to 0 | Miss Baker M. Sharpe |
| 18 September | Saint Leonards-on-Sea Tournament Archery Gardens St Leonards-on-Sea Hastings, East Sussex, England Outdoor Grass Singles | Miss Augusta Langley 6-4, 6-4 | Miss Flora Langley |
| 25 September | Truro LTC Open Tournament St Leonards-on-Sea Hastings, East Sussex, England Outdoor Grass Singles | Mrs Casey ** Mr. Casey def | Miss Paul Dr. F. Collins |

### October

Note: The Sussex County tournament was the autumn edition of the event that featured a women's competition.
| Ended | Tournament | Winner | Finalist | Semi Finalist | Quarter Finalist |
| 1 October | Sussex County Lawn Tennis Tournament (Autumn) Hove Rink Tennis Courts Brighton, East Sussex, England Outdoor Grass Singles | Ellen Maltby 6–3, 6-3 | Mary Ann Maltby | | |

### November to December

No events

## Tournament winners
### Singles

    This is list of winners sorted by number of singles titles (# and main titles in bold)
* D. Meldon (1) Dublin
* May Langrishe (1) Waterford
* Miss Adshead (1) Kemptown
* Miss Ellen Maltby (1) Brighton
* Miss Smith (1) Limerick
* Miss Jackson (1) Penzance
* Miss Augusta Langley (1) St Leonards-on-Sea

### Doubles

    This is list of winners sorted by number of doubles titles (# and main titles in bold)
* Connie Butler & May Langrishe (1) Dublin
* Miss Adshead & Miss. Eva Adshead (1) Kemptown

### Mix doubles

    This is list of winners sorted by number of mixed doubles titles (# and main titles in bold)
* Miss Costello & Spencer D. Maul (1) Dublin
* Miss. Spreckley & Dale Womersley (1) Eastbourne
* Blanche Bingley & F.W. Rawson (1) Ealing
* Miss. Scott & Mr. H.F. Rooke (1) Liverpool
* Miss Keate & A. Radcliffe (1) Plymouth
* Mrs. Casey & Mr. Casey (1) Truro