Mabel Esmonde Cahill was an Irish female tennis player, active in the late 19th century, and was the first foreign woman to win a major tennis tournament when she won the 1891 US National Championships.
12 Facts About Mabel Cahill
2.
Mabel Cahill was born on 2 April 1863 in the family home of Ballyragget House, Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, the twelfth child of thirteen.
3.
Three years after moving to Dublin, Mabel Cahill decided to emigrate to America.
4.
Mabel Cahill boarded the SS Arizona in Liverpool, and she took up residency in New York City at the age of 29.
5.
Mabel Cahill won the Orange Club ladies championship in 1890 and 1891.
6.
Mabel Cahill became the first foreign woman to win a major tournament when she defeated Ellen Roosevelt in the 1891 US Championships women's final at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
7.
Mabel Cahill successfully defended her women's singles title in 1892 and won the women's doubles title with Adeline McKinlay and the mixed doubles title with Clarence Hobart.
8.
Mabel Cahill won multiple titles at other tournaments including the Middle States Championships ladies singles title four times consecutivley, the New Jersey State Championships held at South Orange, NJ, the Kilkenny County and City Tournament held at Kilkenny, Ireland.
9.
Mabel Cahill attempted to start a career as a writer during her time in America.
10.
Mabel Cahill wrote a romantic novel called Her Playthings: Men which was published in 1891 but it was not successful.
11.
Mabel Cahill performed as a chorus girl in music halls.
12.
In 1976, Mabel Cahill was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, where she is the only Irish representative.