Winifred Margaret MCNAIR

At the 1920 Olympics, Winifred McNair, who had recently celebrated her 43rd birthday, partnered with Kathleen “Kitty” McKane in the doubles and as they were expecting a hard match in their semi-final against the French pair, Suzanne Lenglen and Élisabeth d’Ayen, McKane sportingly withdrew from the semi-finals of the singles in order to giver her partner maximum support in the doubles. After losing the first set, McNair and McKane won their semi-final and then took the final against the British pair, Geraldine Beamish and Dorothy Holman. Although Winifred McNair’s playing record could not match that of her distinguished partner she was not without successes of her own. She reached the finals of the All-Comers singles at Wimbledon in 1913 and won the doubles that year when partnered by Dora Boothby after their opponents, Dorothy Lambert Chambers and Charlotte Cooper, were forced to retire through injury when leading 6-4, 4-2.

Like her Olympic partner, Winifred McNair also had a second string to her sporting bow. Winifred was also an excellent golfer and when her tennis career was coming to an end she embarked on her next sporting career. She regularly played for Middlesex and represented England in the 1921 International Tournament at Turnberry, helping them to victory over Wales, Scotland and Ireland. She also competed in the England Ladies’ Championship several times in the 1920s and in 1925 reached the semi-final before losing to Doris Fowler. In 1908 she married Roderick McNair who later became the first President of the International Lawn Tennis Federation.