Background
Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, Surrey, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife, Catherine Ann Davis.
Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, Surrey, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife, Catherine Ann Davis.
Doherty was educated at the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall), where he played for the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.
Doherty was a World Number. 1 ranked player, and the older brother of British tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "" rather than "Reggie".
Doherty began tennis early in life and as a boy at Westminster School showed great promise.
Grand Slams Doherty played in his first Wimbledon Championships in 1894 and lost in the first round to Clement Cazalet in four sets. In 1901 he finally lost his Wimbledon crown when he was defeated in the Challenge Round by Arthur Gore in four sets (6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6).
Davis Cup In 1903 he contributed significantly to his team"s first Davis Cup title against the United States by winning the doubles match and the decisive singles match against Robert Wrenn. Olympics Reggie withdrew, since the brothers refused to play each other before the final.
Doherty did not compete in the 1904 Olympics in Saint Louis.
Doherty died of heart failure and neurasthenia on 29 December 1910 at the age of only 38 at his home in Kensington a day after returning from a convalescence stay in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland. According to his obituary in The New York Times, Doherty had "been ill health for some time". He was not beaten until he began to fail in health".
Both brothers apparently suffered from respiratory problems throughout their lives.
Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up) Doubles: 13 (10 titles, 3 runners-up).
He successfully defended his title for the next three years (1898, 1899, 1900).