Perhaps best known for her tennis, Lottie Dod also competed at national and international level in golf, hockey and archery.

However, five Wimbledon singles titles in the late 19th century suggested that tennis was the game in which she enjoyed the most success, although the Guinness Book of World Records has named her the most versatile female athlete of all time.

Coming from a wealthy family whose fortune came from the cotton trade, Lottie Dod and her siblings did not have to work for a living. This gave them all the chance to focus on sport and for Dod it signalled the beginning of a career that would be one of the most successful in her era.

Lottie Dod rose to prominence in 1885, when she came close to defeating reigning Wimbledon champion Maud Watson in the Northern Championships in Manchester.

Two years later Lottie Dod debuted at Wimbledon and advanced to the final, where she defeated Blanch Bingley Hillyard in straight sets.

The two met again in 1888 with the same result – but, to the disappointment of her fans, she did not enter the following year, denying her the opportunity to win three Wimbledon titles in a row.

She did complete a hat-trick between 1891 and 1893, though, defeating Bingley Hillyard in all three finals, the first two in straight sets, but the third by the much closer margin of 6-8, 6-1, 6-4.