Charlotte Reinagle Cooper (1870 – 1966) was an English tennis player of the late 19th th century and the beginning of the XX th . She is the first woman to win a gold medal.
A first title at Wimbledon
Daughter of Teresa Georgiana and Henry Cooper, Charlotte was born September 22, 1870 in Ealing (Middlesex); she is the youngest of six children. She started tennis at a very young age at the Ealing club, the Ealing Lawn Tennis and Archery Club . Unable to play in winter, she takes advantage of these periods to play hockey, run or hike.
Charlotte won her first title at 23, in 1893 at Ilkley. In 1895, she won the first of her five singles titles at Wimbledon, beating Blanche Bingley.
The gold medal at the Olympic Games
In 1900, women were allowed for the first time to participate in the Olympic Games in two categories:tennis and golf. Charlotte Cooper becomes the first woman to win a gold medal, which she will also win in mixed doubles with Reginald Doherty.
On January 12, 1901, Charlotte married Alfred Sterry with whom she had two children, Rex and Gwynneth. She put her career on hold for a few years then resumed tennis and triumphed again at Wimbledon in 1908, at almost 38 years old. She continued her sports career until the 1950s.
Charlotte Cooper died in 1966, at the age of 96.