Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 14 October 1899, page 55


Lady Champion of England,

Mrs. Hillyard, who recently won the Ladies' Tennis Championship of All England, has a re-cord with this competition which is positively unique. Mrs. Hillyard won her first champion-ship as Miss Blanche Bingley, no less than thir-teen years ago, hut looks and (says "M.A.P.") in-deed is as young and as active to-day as she was in 1886. Since 1885, when she was beaten by Miss Maude Watson, the first lady champion "that ever was," she has won the championship in all five times (in 1886, 1889, 1S94, 1897, and 1899), and on nearly every other occasion (barring the three or four on which she did not compete at all) she has been second only to the winner. Other championships besides the All England have fal-len to Mrs. Hillyard's share in goodly numbers : in single-handed contests she has won over 60 first prizes. Mrs. Hillyard's play cannot be call-ed graceful, even by her most devoted admirers, but this defect is more than atoned for by her wonderful ; pluck and determination. If Mrs. Hillyard had been a man she would have made a good general, for she never knows when she is beaten, and is never more dangerous than when apparently "done for." These, qualities enable her to hold her own with players who possess a far greater variety of strokes. Her peculiarities

are that she never hits a ball on the volley if she can possibly avoid it, and that she invariably wears chamois gloves, or, rather, gauntlets, while playing.