Nat Emerson

Nathaniel C. Emerson was a top-ranked American amateur tennis player in the early 20th Century. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in October, 1874 to Henry & Edith Emerson, he moved to Yakima, Washington by 1911, where he owned an apple orchard. Later he lived in Memphis, Tennessee.

He was ranked in the ranked in U.S. tennis top ten (No. 7) in 1908 and in the top 20 in 1909 (No. 17) and 1907 (No. 19). In the national doubles rankings, he was ranked No. 6 in 1908 and No. 9 in 1907.

He was a singles semifinalist at the 1908 U.S. National Championship (now known as the U.S. Open), and a doubles finalist at the U.S. National Championship in 1906 & 1908 (both times with L. Harry Waidner). They lost to future International Tennis Hall of Famers Fred Alexander and Harold Hackett in 1906, and Raymond D. Little and Beals Wright in 1908.

At the tournament now known as the Cincinnati Masters he:

• Was the first men’s singles winner (1899)
• Was a singles finalist in 1908
• Defeated Fred Alexander in 1900 semifinals
• Won five doubles titles – 1899 (with Burton Hollister), 1902 & 1903 (with Ernie Diehl), 1907 (with Raymond D. Little), and 1908 (with William P. Hunt).
• Reached the doubles final in 1900 (with Diehl) and 1905 (with Robert Mitchell)
• Still holds the record for most round of 16 appearances all-time at the Cincinnati Masters with 12 (tied with his brother, H. Truxtun Emerson, and Michael Chang)

Also, he was:

• Singles champion at the 1899 & 1900 Ohio State singles tournament
• Singles champion at the Western Tennis Championship in 1907 & 1908
• Singles champion at the Oregon State Tennis Championship in 1910
• Singles finalist at the Western Tennis Championship in 1905, 1906 and 1907
• Doubles winner of the Western Tennis Championship in 1906 & 1908
• Singles winner of the 1908 Northwestern Championships
• Singles winner and doubles finalist at the 1915 Tennessee State championships
• Doubles finalist at the Oregon State Tennis Championship in 1910

He was inducted into the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sources

• From Club Court to Center Court by Phillip S. Smith (2008 Edition; ISBN# 978-0-9712445-7-3)
• Wright & Ditson's Tennis Annual (1901 & 1909 Editions)

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Name	Emerson, Nat
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Date of birth	1874
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