U.S. Women's National Singles Championship
In 1887, Hansell took part in the inaugural U.S. Women's
National Singles Championship. The event was played on the outdoor
grass courts of the
Philadelphia Cricket Club and started on 27 September. She was one of seven contestants who came from the greater Delaware Valley area. Hansell, playing in a full, over-draped skirt with long sleeves and her customary red hat, won her opening round against Jessie Harding while losing just one game. In the semifinals, she lost the first set against Helen Day Harris, but won the match in three sets. The final against Laura Knight was a one-sided affair, which Hansell won in straight sets to become the first U.S. women's champion. According to a report she "employed sidearm serves, sliced ground strokes and never, but never went to the net". The tournament used a challenge system whereby the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final in which she would play the winner of the all-comers tournament. This meant that Hansell did not have to play through the
1888 tournament and only had to play the challenge round. She played
Bertha Townsend, who had won the all-comer's event against Marion Wright in the final, and Townsend won the match in straight sets. Hansell did not win another tournament and retired from the game in 1890. She married Taylor Allerdice, and the couple had six children. Hansell was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965. She died in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in 1937 ==Grand Slam finals==