{{Short description|British tennis player}} {{EngvarB|date=October 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox tennis biography |name = Frances Aitchison |image = Helen aitchison.jpg |caption = |fullname = Frances Helen Aitchison |country = United Kingdom |residence = |birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1881|12|06}} |birth_place = Sunderland |death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1947|05|26|1881|12|06}} |death_place = Aylesbury |height = <!-- {{convert|HEIGHT IN METRES|m|abbr=on}} or {{convert|FEET|ft|INCHES|in|abbr=on}} --> |college = |turnedpro = |retired = |plays = |careerprizemoney = |tennishofyear = |tennishofid = |website = <!-- official web site address like this: [http://www.site.com www.site.com] --> |singlesrecord = |singlestitles = |highestsinglesranking = |currentsinglesranking = |AustralianOpenresult = |AustralianOpenjuniorresult = |AustralianOpenseniorresult = |FrenchOpenresult = |FrenchOpenjuniorresult = |FrenchOpenseniorresult = |Wimbledonresult = SF (1911, 1913, 1914) |Wimbledonjuniorresult = |Wimbledonseniorresult = |USOpenresult = |USOpenjuniorresult = |USOpenseniorresult = |Othertournaments = yes |WHCCresult = |WCCCresult = '''W''' (1913) |MastersCupresult = |WTAChampionshipsresult = |Olympicsresult = QF (1912) |doublesrecord = |doublestitles = |highestdoublesranking = |currentdoublesranking = |grandslamsdoublesresults = |AustralianOpenDoublesresult = |AustralianOpenDoublesjuniorresult = |AustralianOpenDoublesseniorresult = |FrenchOpenDoublesresult = |FrenchOpenDoublesjuniorresult = |FrenchOpenDoublesseniorresult = |WimbledonDoublesresult = '''W''' |WimbledonDoublesjuniorresult = |WimbledonDoublesseniorresult = |USOpenDoublesresult = |USOpenDoublesjuniorresult = |USOpenDoublesseniorresult = |OthertournamentsDoubles = |MastersCupDoublesresult = |WTAChampionshipsDoublesresult = |OlympicsDoublesresult = |Mixed = <!-- adds mixed information--> |mixedrecord = |mixedtitles = |AustralianOpenMixedresult = |FrenchOpenMixedresult = |WimbledonMixedresult = |USOpenMixedresult = |OthertournamentsMixedDoubles = yes |OlympicMixedDoublesresult = 20px '''Silver Medal''' (1912) |updated = <!-- adds date this template was last updated at an individual article --> }} {{MedalTop}} {{MedalSport | Tennis}} {{MedalSilver | 1912 Stockholm | Indoor mixed doubles}} {{MedalBottom}}
'''Frances Helen Aitchison''' (6 December 1881 – 26 May 1947) was a Sunderland-born tennis player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.<ref name="sports-reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ai/helen-aitchison-1.html |title=Helen Aitchison Olympic Results |accessdate=15 May 2013 |publisher=sports-reference.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203191232/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ai/helen-aitchison-1.html |archivedate=3 February 2013 }}</ref>
In 1912, she won the silver medal with her partner Herbert Barrett in the indoor mixed doubles competition. She also participated in the indoor singles event but was eliminated in the quarter-finals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/38 |title=Helen Aitchison |work=Olympedia |access-date=9 June 2021}}</ref>
==Background== Aitchison was born in Sunderland in 1881, the eldest daughter of shipbuilder James Aitchison and his wife Mary of Grange Terrace, later The Cedars. She competed in the County Championships of 1907 with three of her sisters, Alice, Kathleen, and Sibyl, helping Durham to defeat Middlesex 5–4.
Aitchison entered the Wimbledon Championships for the first time in 1909, at the age of 27, winning the unofficial Ladies Doubles title with partner Agnes Tuckey. She also competed in 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1914, reaching three semi-finals and two quarter-finals in the Ladies Singles. In 1913, she won the singles title at World Covered Court Championship in Stockholm, defeating Kate Gillou in the final in straight sets. Her success at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 made her the first person from Sunderland to become an Olympic medalist.<ref>Book: Once Upon A Time in Sunderland, by Philip Curtis and Alan Brett. Published by Black Cat Publications, 2009. Page 20.</ref>
At Epsom in 1914, she married John Leisk.<ref>General Register Office index of marriages in July, August, September 1914 Names: Frances H. Aitchison = John L. Leisk District: Epsom Volume: 2A Page: 66.</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{ITF}} *{{olympics.com profile}} *{{databaseolympics}}
{{World Covered Court Championships women's singles champions}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aitchison, Helen}} Category:1881 births Category:1947 deaths Category:English female tennis players Category:British female tennis players Category:English Olympic competitors Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Category:Olympic tennis players for Great Britain Category:Sportspeople from Sunderland Category:Tennis players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic medalists in tennis Category:Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players from Tyne and Wear Category:20th-century English sportswomen