A daughter of Charles and Anais Lenglen, Suzanne Lenglen was born in Paris. During her youth, she suffered from numerous health problems including chronic asthma, which also plagued her at a later age. Because his daughter was so frail and sickly, Charles Lenglen, the owner of a carriage company, decided that it would be good for her to compete in tennis and gain strength. Her first try at the game was in 1910, when she played on the tennis court at the family property in Marest-sur-Matz.

Prior to Lenglen, female tennis matches drew little fan interest, which quickly changed as she became her sport's greatest drawing card. Tennis devotees and new fans to the game began lining up in droves to buy tickets to her matches. Temperamental, flamboyant, she was a passionate player whose intensity on court could lead to an unabashed display of tears. But for all her flamboyance, she was a gifted and brilliant player who used extremely agile footwork, speed and a deadly accurate shot to dominate female tennis for seven straight years. Her excellent play and introduction of glamour to the tennis court increased the interest in women's tennis, and women's sports in general.  In 1997 the second court at the Roland Garros Stadium, site of the French Open, was renamed Court Suzanne Lenglen in her honour. In addition, the trophy awarded to the winner of the Women's Singles competition at the French Open is the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. In 2001 the French Tennis Federation organised the first Suzanne Lenglen Cup for women in the over-35 age class. First played in France, the annual event is now held in a different country each year.  Lenglen, who was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978, continues to be held by many as one of the best players in tennis history. For example, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, organiser of the Wimbledon Championships, ranks her among the five greatest Wimbledon champions.  On 24 May 2016, Google had a doodle in celebration for Suzanne's 117th birthday. In 2017, a Google Doodle honored her on International Women's Day.

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was anything else named after her?