Nelly Neppach
Neppach in 1925
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|
| Country (sports) |
 Germany
|
|---|---|
| Born | 16 September 1898 Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| Died | 7 May 1933 (aged 34) Berlin, Germany |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | 3R (1927) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | 2R (1927) |
Nelly Neppach (née Bamberger; German pronunciation: [ˈnɛli] ˈnɛpaːχ]; 16 September 1898 – 7 May 1933) was a German female tennis player. Neppach was the first German female to establish an international reputation, but was forced out of the sport due to rising anti-Semitism in the 1930s. She committed suicide at age 34.
Neppach was born at Frankfurt am Main in 1898. She began playing tennis in her early youth and won her first title in 1910, aged 12.
After World War I, Neppach married film architect and producer Robert Neppach and moved to Berlin where she joined the sports club Tennis Borussia Berlin.
In 1925, Neppach reached her greatest success by beating Ilse Friedleben in the final of the German championships at Hamburg. In 1926, she was invited by Suzanne Lenglen to play international tournaments at the French Riviera, at a time German players were still banned from international tournaments as a consequence of World War I. Neppach travelled to France and played matches against Lenglen as well as U.S. legend Helen Wills. However, the German tennis federation became angry about her unauthorized trip and eventually forced her to abort it and return to Germany.
At her only appearance on a major tournament at the 1927 French Championships, she reached the third round where she lost to Eileen Bennett in three sets. During the following years, Neppach's and Ilse Friedleben's place at the top of German women's tennis was taken over by younger and more successful players like Cilly Aussem and Hilde Krahwinkel. Still Neppach was ranked ninth nationwide in 1932.
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