On February 16 , 1926 1926: The long awaited match between France’s Suzanne Lenglen, the queen of the tennis world, and her most serious challenger, Californian Helen Wills, finally takes place in Cannes. The New York Times, the New York Tribune and the Chicago Tribune put the story on the front page of the paper. In the final of the Carlton tournament, Lenglen registers a 6-3, 8-6 victory in a match the Chicago Tribune calls “the most dramatic, most grueling athletic contest ever played by two women.” The New York Times calls it “a game which made continents stand still and was the most important sporting event of modern times exclusively in the hands of the fair sex.” While Lenglen is the overwhelming favorite, Wills takes leads in both sets — 2-1 in the first and 5-4 in the second. Each time, though, Lenglen comes back.
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