Elisabeth 'Bessie' Holmes Moore (March 5, 1876 – January 22, 1959) was an American tennis champion who was active at the beginning of the 20th century.[1] Moore won the singles title at the U.S. Championships on four occasions. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.[2]

Elisabeth Moore
Moore circa 1912
Full nameElisabeth Holmes Moore
Country (sports) United States
Born(1876-03-05)March 5, 1876
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedJanuary 22, 1959(1959-01-22) (aged 82)
Starke, Florida, United States
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF1971 (member page)
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
US OpenW (1896, 1901, 1903, 1905)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
US OpenW (1896, 1903)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenW (1902, 1904)
Elisabeth Holmes Moore, from a 1902 publication.

Biography

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Elisabeth Moore was born on March 5, 1876, in Brooklyn, the daughter of George Edward Moore (1840–1911), an affluent cotton broker, and Sarah Z. Orr (1857–1942). She was raised and schooled in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She learned to play tennis at age 12. Moore reached her first U.S. National Championships singles final in 1892 at the age of 16 years and three months, losing to Mabel Cahill from Ireland in the first five-set match contested between two women.[3] In the final years of the 19th century, she had a rivalry with Juliette Atkinson.[4]

She won the inaugural U.S. Indoor Women's Singles Championship in 1907, defeating Marie Wagner in the final in three sets. In 1908, she also won the inaugural indoor doubles title with partner Helen Pouch.[3]

Elisabeth Moore died on January 22, 1959, in Starke, Florida, from congestive heart failure.[2][3]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (4 titles, 5 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1892 U.S. National Championships Grass   Mabel Cahill 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win 1896 U.S. National Championships Grass   Juliette Atkinson 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 1897 U.S. National Championships Grass   Juliette Atkinson 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 3–6
Win 1901 U.S. National Championships Grass   Myrtle McAteer 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2
Loss 1902 U.S. National Championships Grass   Marion Jones 1–6, 0–1 retired
Win 1903 U.S. National Championships Grass   Marion Jones 7–5, 8–6
Loss 1904 U.S. National Championships Grass   May Sutton 1–6, 2–6
Win 1905 U.S. National Championships Grass   May Sutton default
Loss 1906 U.S. National Championships Grass   Helen Homans default

Doubles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1895 U.S. National Championships Grass   Amy Williams   Juliette Atkinson
  Helen Hellwig
2–6, 2–6, 10–12
Win 1896 U.S. National Championships Grass   Juliette Atkinson   Annabella C. Wistar
  Amy Williams
6–4, 7–5
Loss 1901 U.S. National Championships Grass   Marion Jones   Juliette Atkinson
  Myrtle McAteer
default
Win 1903 U.S. National Championships Grass   Carrie Neely   Miriam Hall
  Marion Jones
6–4, 6–1, 6–1
Loss 1904 U.S. National Championships Grass   Carrie Neely   May Sutton Bundy
  Miriam Hall
6–3, 3–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles (2 titles)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1902 U.S. National Championships Grass   Wylie Grant   Elizabeth Rastall
  Albert L. Hoskins
6–2, 6–1
Win 1904 U.S. National Championships Grass   Wylie Grant   May Sutton
  F. B. Dallas
6–2, 6–1

References

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  1. ^ "On The Tennis Courts" (PDF). The New York Times. August 31, 1910. Retrieved November 18, 2010. In the lower half Miss Elizabeth H. Moore, the former champion defeated her rival Miss Edna Wildey. 6–4. 7–3. ...
  2. ^ a b "Elisabeth Moore". International Tennis Hall of Fame. A precocious competitor, Moore made it to the final of the 1892 U.S. Championships at the age of 16, losing to Mabel Cahill in the first fiveset match contested between two women. In 1896, she collected the first of her four titles in that tournament. ...
  3. ^ a b c Joan N. Burstyn, ed. (1997). Past and Promise : Lives of New Jersey Women (1st Syracuse University Press ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0815604181.
  4. ^ "Two lawn tennis stars". Stevens Point Daily Journal. June 14, 1897. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. For several years Miss Moore and Miss Atkinson have been the bright particular stars of the meeting, and a very large share of the interest is always centered in their match, for they invariably come together sooner or later. In fact, these two girls are so decidedly the most skilled women players of the country that for two or three years the result of almost every tournament for which they have entered has hung on their meeting; it has narrowed down to a duel between them.
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