Antoinette Gilou

Antoinette Gilou played mixed doubles at the 1900 Paris Olympics. She came from a tennis playing family as her sister, Katie Gilou-Fenwick, and her brother, Pierre Gilou, all played. Katie was the top player in the family, winning the French singles title in 1904-06 and 1908, the French doubles title in 1908, and the mixed doubles in 1904 and 1908. Antoinette married Paul Gentien in May 1904. No other tennis results are known for Antoinette. In the book Truly Wilde, Antoinette was called a socialite and it was suggested that she was the lover of Dolly Wilde, Oscar Wilde’s niece.

Her brother, Pierre, later became President of the Racing Club de France, a captain of the French Davis Cup team in the era of the “Four Musketeers”, and was responsible for the suggestion, in 1927, to build Stade Roland Garros, as a new stadium to host the 1928 Davis Cup. He was President of the International Tennis Federation in 1938-39 and 1947-48. Her son, Antoine “Coco” Gentien, had a long tennis career, lasting from 1921 to 1951. He made the quarter-finals of the French Championships in singles in 1927. The surname is sometimes found referred to as “Gillou”.