Reginald Doherty

Reginald "Reggie" or "R. F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British tennis player and the older brother of tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie".¹ He was a four-time Wimbledon singles champion and a triple Olympic Gold medalist in doubles and mixed doubles.²

Early life

Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife Catherine Ann Davis.³ Doherty began tennis early in life and as a boy at Westminster School showed great promise. At age 14, he won the boys' singles title at an open championship in Llandudno. Doherty was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he played for the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.⁴ In 1895 and 1896, he was part of the Cambridge team that beat Oxford and won the Scottish and Essex championships.

Career

Grand Slam tournaments

Doherty played in his first Wimbledon Championships in 1894 and lost in the first round to Clement Cazalet in four sets. In 1897 Doherty won his first singles Wimbledon title after beating reigning champion Harold Mahony in three straight sets (6–4, 6–4, 6–3). He successfully defended his title for the next three years (1898, 1899, 1900). In 1898 he did so by beating his brother in the Challenge Round in five sets. In 1901 he finally lost his Wimbledon crown when he was defeated in the Challenge Round by Arthur Gore in four sets). He was also a runner-up at the US Championships in 1902 where he was beaten by the defending American champion William Larned in four sets. Together with his brother Laurie he won eight Wimbledon Championships doubles titles and two US Championship doubles titles.