29-435: Claire Fahey née Vigrass (born 19 June 1991) is a British real tennis and rackets player and current real tennis Ladies World Champion . She holds over 40 Open singles titles and has completed a calendar year Grand Slam on six occasions. She is the first female player to play in the main draw of three of the four Men's Opens, and the first to female player to reach a semi final stage. She has also challenged for
58-712: A lupus diagnosis. Her and her husband Robert Fahey moved to take up positions revitalising the club at The Oratory School in Woodcote , Berkshire - Rob taking up the Head Professional position at the club while Claire began working as Head of Racquets teaching at the school. She returned to play at the 2021 Men's British Open, but did not progress past the first round. In 2022, she successfully defended her World Championship title at Fontainebleau against new challenger and rackets World Champion Lea van der Zwalmen . Her sixth World Championship victory equalled
87-680: A half decades. By the time she graduated out of the junior ranks, she began competing at minor Men's Open and Amateur tournaments including the MCC Silver Racquet , the Seacourt Silver Racquet and the Category B Championships at Cambridge . Notably, she won the 2010 British U21's Open at Middlesex University and the 2010 Prested Cup U20's against male competition. Also in 2010, she completed her first Grand Slam by winning all four Ladies Open championships becoming
116-701: A professional at the Prested Tennis Club before moving to the Holyport Real Tennis Club in 2014. In 2011, she would win the Ladies World Championship for the first time in Melbourne . She continued her unbeaten run through 2012, earning her second career Grand Slam , going on to her defend her second Ladies World Championship at Paris in 2013 against her sister Sarah Vigrass . In 2014, Fahey became
145-523: Is also the national headquarters of real tennis , hosting the British Open every year excepting 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic . The Queen's Club also has rackets and squash courts; it became the headquarters for both sports after the closure of the Prince's Club in 1940. Founded as The Queen's Club Limited on 19 August 1886 by Evan Charteris , George Francis and Algernon Grosvener,
174-508: Is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in
203-461: Is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote a man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over
232-418: The 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne , playing with her husband Robert Fahey she became the first female to win through to a semi final at a Men's Open (having only previously done so due to withdrawals in earlier rounds). She also attended all four Opens for the first time since 2019, completing a sixth calendar year grand slam. Fahey competed in the inaugural British Ladies Open Rackets event in 2011 at
261-498: The Queen's Club , winning against Barbara Vintcent 3-0. She competed in the burgeoning women's rackets scene for four years, and was undefeated in the sport going into the first Ladies Rackets World Championship in 2015. However, in the final she lost to Lea van der Zwalmen and subsequently retired from competitive rackets, owing to the difficulty of accessing courts and her newborn children. In 2023, Fahey returned to rackets, winning
290-632: The Rackets World Championships on two occasions and has won five British Open Rackets titles. Claire Fahey began playing real tennis at Prested Hall in Feering , Essex alongside her elder sister Sarah Vigrass . In her junior career, she won the British Open Junior Under 16 girl's competition at age 11 and again at age 14. Even on the junior circuit, she played in the boys competitions including reaching
319-456: The e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
SECTION 10
#1732780681484348-536: The 2007 Ladies World Championship in Manchester , this time reaching the second round and falling to professional Kate Leeming . Fahey won her first Open title at the 2008 US Ladies Open in Aiken , where she defeated Sue Haswell in the final in three sets. Her loss to Karen Hird in the 2009 French Ladies Open final would be the last time she lost a set or a match in a competitive women's fixture in over one and
377-399: The 2023 Ladies British Open in the absence of van der Zwalmen, who had since moved to Bordeaux . With Tara Lumley , she unsuccessfully challenged van der Zwalmen and Cesca Sweet for the 2023 Doubles World Championship. 2024 saw her first loss in an Open Competition, losing to Georgie Willis in the 2024 Ladies British Open. Also in 2024, she earned the right to challenge van der Zwalmen for
406-746: The Queen's Club was the world's second multipurpose sports complex, after the Prince's Club , and became the world's only multipurpose sports complex when the Prince's Club relocated to Knightsbridge and lost its outdoor sports facilities. The club is named after Queen Victoria , its first patron. The first lawn tennis courts were opened on 19 May 1887, and the first sporting event was held on 1 and 2 July 1887 when Oxford played Cambridge. The club buildings were opened in January 1888, having taken about 18 months to construct. William Marshall , finalist of
435-563: The World Championship title, having defeated Tara Lumley and Georgie Willis in the Eliminators. Despite earning an early 2-0 lead, Fahey was unsuccessful in her challenge, ultimately losing the match 2-3. Fahey has a twin sister Jenny and is married to fellow real tennis player Robert Fahey and they have two children. Current through the 2024 US Ladies Open Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name
464-543: The event that planning permission could be obtained, and the LTA wished to preserve the club's role in British tennis). On 8 March 2006, the LTA announced that it would sell to club members for £ 45 million, ending seven months of uncertainty about the club's future. However some members disputed the LTA's right to sell the club, which they contested it merely held in trust on their behalf, and began to raise funds to dispute
493-459: The final of the British Open Junior Under 16 competition against future professional Conor Medlow . Her first international competition was the 2005 Ladies World Championship in Paris , where she lost in the first round to eventual winner Charlotte Cornwallis . A year later, Fahey made her Ladies Open debut at the 2006 French Open, aged 15 losing in the first round to Frederika Adam . She played in
522-557: The first female player to enter and play in a Men's Open Championships, competing at the 2014 British Open at Queen's Club . She quickly became the first female to win a match at a Men's Open Championship, defeating amateur Mark Mathias in the first round, before losing to Ben Taylor-Matthews in the second round. The following year, she competed for the first time in the Men's US Open Championships at Boston , again defeating her first round opponent Leon Smart before losing to Chris Chapman in
551-417: The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championships was the architect. Among the initial sports offered at the club were real tennis , Eton Fives , rackets , lawn tennis (grass courts and covered courts), football , rugby and athletics . Cricket was also played, but not as an organised sport. The University Sports meeting between Cambridge and Oxford was held at the Queen's Club from 1888 to 1928. Queen's Club
580-405: The normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né
609-414: The record previously held by Penny Lumley . However, at the 2022 French Open , Fahey lost a competitive women's doubles match for the first time in 13 years, losing the final to Lea van der Zwalmen and Saskia Bollerman in straight sets. The following year, another world championship was held, this time at Fahey's home court at The Oratory School , which she again defended against van der Zwalmen. At
SECTION 20
#1732780681484638-477: The result being a 1–1 draw. On 13 September 2005, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body of British lawn tennis, which had owned Queen's since 1953, put the club up for sale. The terms required that the rackets club and the Queen's Club Championships remain unaffected (the site's value for residential or commercial redevelopment might greatly exceed its value as a sports club, in
667-588: The sale in court. In December 2006, the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement in which the sale price was reduced to £35 million. In February 2007, the LTA relocated its headquarters from Queen's Club to the new National Tennis Centre in Roehampton . The Cinch Championships remains one of the six most popular grass competitions on the men's ATP tour, along with the Halle Open in Germany,
696-600: The same calendar year ( Camden Riviere also achieved this feat in 2017 whilst holding the singles title he won in 2016 ). Fahey would repeat the same feat in 2019, while Riviere lost his singles title in 2018 . Fahey defended her 2017 Ladies World Championship in Tuxedo and her 2019 title in Ballarat . Fahey did not play any competitive real tennis in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic whilst also dealing with
725-519: The second female to do so after Charlotte Cornwallis in 2006. She competed in her first IRTPA sanctioned Men's event at the 2010 IRTPA Championships becoming the first female player to do so (Cornwallis had previously entered but failed to progress past qualifying). She lost in the first round against Steve Virgona . Fahey turned professional in 2011 after competing in the British Amateur and MCC Silver Racquet Men's events. She worked as
754-671: The second round. Due to a walkovers in the quarter final, she became the first female player to play in a Men's Open Semi Final in the doubles competition with her partner Matthew Ronaldson . In late 2015, she made the finals of two separate Men's competitions: the US Professional Singles Satellite in Newport and the IRTPA Satellite in Holyport . She also defended her Ladies World Championship for
783-614: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Queen%27s Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in Barons Court , West Kensington , London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship reasons). It has 28 outdoor courts and ten indoor. With two courts, it
812-438: The third time at Leamington , again against her sister Sarah Vigrass . Fahey took a break from the game at the end of 2015 through the start of 2016 due to her pregnancy, moving back to Prested Tennis Club with her husband Robert Fahey . In 2017, Claire Fahey became the first player, male or female, to win all four singles Opens, all four Doubles Opens, the singles Ladies World Championship and doubles World Championship in
841-493: Was the venue of the covered courts (indoor) tennis , jeu de paume ( real tennis ) and rackets events of the 1908 Summer Olympics . On 7 March 1914 George V attended the Navy v Army rugby match. The army won by four goals and two tries to the navy's three tries. Until 1922, the club was the main ground for the football games of Corinthian F.C. One international was held, between England and Wales on 18 March 1895,
#483516