The Wimbledon final where William beat his twin

On the final day of the 1883 Wimbledon Championships, the gentlemen's singles final had a family resemblance problem: defending champion William Renshaw faced his twin brother Ernest. The tournament ran from July 7 to July 16, and the official draw labels William the holder and Ernest the challenger. 1 2

Ernest had earned his place the hard way. In the tournament's old challenge-round system, he won the All Comers' Final against Donald Stewart, then had to beat the defending champion to take the title. The challenger was not a ceremonial relative; he was the man who had fought through the draw to get one match away from the trophy. 2

William won, but the match was no polite family hit. Ernest took the first set 6-2. William answered with two 6-3 sets, Ernest took the fourth 6-4, and William closed the five-set fight 6-3: 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. 1

The Renshaws were not a novelty act who happened to reach one strange final. William and Ernest were twin brothers who dominated Wimbledon tennis in the 1880s. William won the men's singles championship seven times, in 1881-86 and 1889, and defeated Ernest in three finals. Ernest got his own singles title in 1888. 3

They were also partners. Together, they won the British men's doubles championship seven times, including five Wimbledon doubles titles. The same two men who had just spent five sets trying to beat each other were among the era's most successful doubles teams. 3

A sibling final is unusual. A twin-brother final is stranger still, especially when the defending champion wins only after dropping two sets to the challenger. But the Renshaws made the setup feel almost normal: one brother was the reigning singles king, the other was good enough to come through the field and force the issue.

The July 16 score therefore records two versions of the same rivalry. William was better alone that afternoon. Together, William and Ernest were better than almost everybody else.