THE GODDESS OF TENNIS. ( 2º December- reading)

Read the article about SuzanneLenglen, a famous French tennis player.
Then, click here to answer the questions about her life.


THE GODDESS OF TENNIS

Suzanne Lenglen was born in France, in 1899. She was often ill as a child, so her father told her to do lots of sport to become strong. In 1910, he gave her a tennis racket and then Suzanne played tennis all the time. Her father trained her.
When she was 15, she won her first big competition. Five years later, she won her first Wimbledon Championship. She played against Dorotea Chambers, the 40-year-old champion. Dorotea wore a long dress and a hat. Suzanne wore a short dress like a 1920 ballet dancer. People were very shocked because they could see her legs and arms, but Suzanne changed tennis fashion for ever.

Suzanne won Wimbledon every year form 1919 to 1925, but she didn´t win it in 1924 because she was ill. She won two gold medals and a bronze at the 1920 Olympics. She also won the French Championships six times from 1920 to 1926. Then she decided to become a professional player, but she had to stop playing because she was often ill. Later, she opened a tennis school in Paris.
In 1938, shebecame very ill and died- she was just 39 years old. Suzanne wasthe first famous woman tennis player. People called her “The goddess of tennis”. They loved watching her play. She was like a ballerina on the tennis court.

Thanks to Macmillan for helping us make visible the life of some remarkable women in history.