Alice Greene

Short Biography

Alice Norah Gertrude Greene (15 October 1879 – 26 October 1956) was a female English tennis player from the United Kingdom. She won a silver medal playing tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Sometimes referred to as Angela Greene in some references.Early lifeGreene was born at Upton, Northamptonshire on 15 October 1879, the daughter of Richard and Emma Greene. Her father Richard was a medical doctor and superintendent of the Northampton County Lunatic Asylum in Upton.TennisAt the October 1907 London Covered Courts Championships at the Queen's Club, Greene won the Ladies Single's title. Greene played at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and won a silver medal in the women's indoor singles event. Greene also placed fifth in the outdoor singles event. Greene was also an international field hockey player.Later lifeGreene moved to the island of Jersey where she died on 26 October 1956.In 2010 her Olympic medals were auctioned.Alice Greene was the daughter of an America-born doctor. She was born and raised in Northampton where her father was the superintendent of the Northampton county lunatic asylum, They later moved to Lewes in Sussex before the family moved to the island of Jersey. As a tennis player, Alice first attracted attention at Wimbledon in 1903 when she reached the singles semi-final before losing to Ethel Thomson. Greene reached the semi-final again the following year but lost to [Charlotte Sterry]. In1907 she won the prestigious London covered court championship at Queen’s Club beating [Gladys Eastlake-Smith] 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. At the Olympic Games a year later Greene lost her opening match in the outdoor singles to [Agatha Morton] in straight sets. However, in the covered court event, she won the silver medal after losing in three sets in the final to Eastlake-Smith who she had beaten at Queen’s Club nine months earlier. Alice won the Monte Carlo tournament in 1909 by beating Countess Schulenburg in three sets. Greene also reached the mixed doubles final with [Josiah Ritchie]. She made her eighth and final Wimbledon appearance in 1909, losing to [Dora Boothby] in the second round. Alice continued playing competitively into her 40s when she also proved to be a good golfer. A one-time associate member of the Lewes Golf Club, she was later a member of the La Moye Golf Club in Jersey after the family moved to the island in 1911. She represented La Moye in the 1924 English Ladies’ Championship at Cooden Beach, Sussex, Alice died in the house that her father had built at St Brélade. In 2011 the All-England club bought her Olympic silver medal at auction for a reported £4, 320.