Tennis Origins and Tennis History
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around 1100-1300 AD -- A French handball game called jeu de paume (“game of the palm”) was developed into a complex indoor racket-and-ball game called real tennis. It is possible that the name "tennis" is derived from the French word tenez, which means "to take." Real tennis is usually called court tennis in the US and royal tennis in Australia. It is played on a roofed and walled court 110 feet long and 38 feet wide. The net is 5 feet high at the posts. The roof slopes inwards along both back walls and one side wall, and the serve is hit so that it rolled along the sloped side wall roof before falling on the other side of the net. The scoring is similar to modern tennis scoring. |
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1480
-- King Louis XI of France decreed a standard for real tennis balls. The balls were to be of good leather, usually sheepskin, stuffed with good hair or wool. Real tennis balls were also made of tightly compressed rags with a woolen cover. These balls used for real tennis would not bounce on grass.
1500s
-- In the 1500s, real tennis was very popular among the wealthy in France; records indicate that there were as many as 1800 real tennis courts in Paris alone. Wooden frame rackets laced with gut strings made from sheep's intestines were in use. Rackets were called battoirs. One source says cork balls weighing around three ounces were in use.
-- In 1555 Italian author Antonio Scanio wrote the earliest known book about real tennis, titled Trattato del Ginoco della Palla. Scanio's book shows that by that time scoring was already by intervals of 15: 15, 30, 45, game (45 was later abbreviated to 40). Sets at that time were of 4 games.
-- In 1579 Jean Gosselin wrote a treatise speculating on the already forgotten origin of the tennis scoring system.
early 1700s
-- The 6-game set replaced the 4-game set as a basic unit of real tennis.
1767
-- In Britain, a group of men played field tennis twice a week. They would eat a large dinner before moving to the field, which covered 16 acres, where they would play until dusk. They claimed their game would displace cricket as a popular sport.
1800s
-- Tennis development was influenced by the game of racquets, which only dates to the 19th century. This game was similar to squash, but was played in a much larger court (60x30 feet, as opposed to 32x21 feet).
1837
-- Open tennis, also known as long tennis, was played on an outdoor court (thus "open") 160 yards long, with anywhere from 1 to 6 players on a side.
1839
-- In the US, Charles Goodyear invented a process for rubber called vulcanization, which made the material more bouncy and durable. Vulcanization made rubber tennis balls possible.
1850s
-- Badminton, a game that originated in India and was named after the Gloucestershire home of the Duke of Beaufort, became popular with the "in" crowd.
1858
-- Major T. Harry Gem and J.B. Perera marked out a tennis court on a lawn in Edgbaston, England, where they played a game they called lawn tennis or pelota. The court was 90 feet by 36 feet, and the net was supported by five posts.
1860s
-- Croquet became by far the most popular game for English ladies and gentlemen, resulting in a large number of flat-rolled lawn areas measuring 20x30 yards or larger. These would soon make ideal tennis courts.
1867
-- Players of real tennis adopted the modern system of interlacing their rackets' strings. Previously, only the long strings had held tension, while the cross strings were knotted around the long strings to create a rough surface that made it easier to apply spin to the ball. Modern stringing, with tension on both long and cross strings, makes it easier to drive the ball hard.
1868
-- On July 24th, a meeting was held at 346, The Strand, London, W.C.2, in the office of John W. Walsh, editor [one source says "publisher"] of The Field, a leading sports magazine. At the meeting were Walsh, Henry Jones, who wrote popular articles for The Field under the pen name "Cavendish," his cousin Whitmore Jones, and 2 others. They decided to found the All-England Croquet Club, and began searching for a location.
1869
-- A suitable venue for the All-England Croquet Club was found in Wimbledon, off Worple Road. The rent for the 4 acre site was initially £50 a year. The 5 founders contributed £600, of which £425 was used to build facilities, which were finished by the end of the year.
-- John W. Walsh donated the "pony roller" to the All-England Croquet Club, under the condition that his daughter be made an honorary member for life.
1872
-- The first lawn tennis club was established in Leamington, England, by Major T. Harry Gem and several associates. Gem specified that only rubber tennis balls were to be used at the club.
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1873-1874 -- In Britain, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield was the first to publish lawn tennis rules, in a booklet entitled Sphairistiké, or Lawn Tennis, also known as the Book of the Game. Wingfield filed a patent for "A Portable Court for Playing Tennis" on Monday, February 23, 1874 (the patent was issued on July 24). Wingfield liked using the Greek word Sphairistiké for lawn tennis, but few other people did, and they shortened it to "sticky," and later abandoned that and called the game "lawn tennis" or simply "tennis". Wingfield's 8-page rules booklet, first published on Wednesday, February 25, 1874, specified a court that was hourglass-shaped, possibly adopted from badminton. He might have done this for patent reasons, since it distinguished the court from ordinary rectangular courts. The original rules called for court 60 feet long and 30 feet wide at the baselines (the same size as a racquets court), and a net that was 7 feet high at the posts and 5 feet at the center (one source says 4 feet 8 inches). Wingfield made several changes in his rules after first publishing them. At the end of 1874, his 6 original rules had been expanded to 12, and specifed a net 4 feet, 4 inches high at the center. The court was now 21 feet wide at the net, and 39 feet wide at the baselines. Gentlemen would serve from the baselines, 42 feet from the net; ladies would serve from a line 24 feet closer, 18 feet from the net. |
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Wingfield's agents, French & Co. of London, sold his patented game as a kit for five (some sources say six) guineas (a guinea was slightly more than a pound). Sales literature read: "the game is in a painted box, 36 x 12 x 6 inches and contains poles, pegs, and netting for forming the court, 4 tennis bats, a bag of balls, mallet, and brush and the Book of the Game." Extra balls were sold for five shillings a dozen, extra rackets cost one pound for men, but only 15 shillings for ladies. The Book of the Game was sold separately for 6 pence.
The balls originally used were uncovered grey indiarubber balls imported from Germany, 2½" in diameter, weighing, according to Wingfield, 1 1/3 ounces, while a letter from French & Co. to The Field listed the weight as 1 2/3 ounces. The bats (and Wingfield did call them bats) were 27" long, weighing 12 ounces, made by Jeffries and Mallings in England.
The French & Co. sales book indicates that sets were purchased in May, 1874 "for Canada," and that early sets were also bought for India, China, and Russia. Members of the royalty and the aristocracy bought many of the early sets.
1874
-- Mary Ewing Outerbridge of New York is most frequently credited with introducing tennis to America. She was visiting Bermuda, and the game was being played at the British garrison there. Some of the officers gave her a set of rackets and balls which she brought home to her brother, A. Emilius Outerbridge, a director of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, purportedly in the spring of 1874. It is said she had difficulty getting the gear through customs, because the officials had no idea how to classify it. However, in 1932 authors Robert W. Henderson and Malcom D. Whitman (who was also a US national champion) found in passenger records that Mary Outerbridge arrived in New York on February 2, 1874 from Hamilton, Bermuda on the S.S. Canima. Later, author George E. Alexander found that the first edition of Book of the Game was published on February 25, 1874, 2 days after Wingfield's patent had been filed. It was therefore not possible for Miss Outerbridge to have brought the game back with her on that voyage-- but she might have made more than one trip to Bermuda that year.
William Appleton of Nahant, Massachusetts, may have owned the first lawn tennis set in the US. Dr. James Dwight and his cousin Fred R. Sears, Jr., friends of Appleton, popularized the game in the US. Dwight, the "father of American tennis", later became the 2nd president of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association, and held that postion for 21 of the USNLTA's 1st 31 years.
In 1890, Fred Sears' younger brother, Richard D. Sears, the 1st US National champion, stated in a published article that the Nahant court was laid out in August 1874, and was the earliest in the US. However, the USLTA later found that another national champ, Malcom D. Whitman, had proven by construction contract dates that Sears had erred, and the Nahant court was built one year later, in 1875.
-- The earliest actual recorded date of tennis being played in the US was October 8, 1874 at Camp Apache, Arizona Territory, north of Tucson. This event was described in the 1908 book Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes.
1875
-- Real tennis player J.M. Heathcote developed a better tennis ball the "Melton," made of rubber covered with white flannel. The cover made it easier to apply spin to the ball, increasing control, as well as making the ball easier to see.
After this, at Heathcote's suggestion, the Tennis and Racquets subcommittee of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), governing body of real tennis, established a new, standardized set of rules for lawn tennis. Before the M.C.C. rules were published on May 2, 1875, Wingfield wrote a letter to M.C.C. secretary Fitzgerald agreeing to acceptance of the M.C.C. rules and "canceling en masse" his own.
The new M.C.C. rules specified a less severe hourglass-shape for the court, 24 feet wide at the net and 30 feet wide at the baselines. Nets were to be 5 feet high at the posts and 4 feet high at the center. The serve now had to land in the forecourt--between the net and the service line, not the service line and the baseline. The serve could no longer be taken on the volley. A "let" serve was considered good. Only one service fault was allowed, and the first foot fault rule was instituted: one foot had to be behind the baseline.
-- The All-England Croquet Club set aside one of its lawns for tennis. This move was instigated by one of the AECC's founders, Henry Jones of The Field magazine, aka "Cavendish" (one source says it was John Walsh's proposal). £25 was allocated to purchase the necessary equipment.
-- Up to this time The Field had also been publishing articles describing 2 similar competing games. One was Pelota, created by J.B. Perera, which was the game played at Major T. Harry Gem's club in Leamington, England. The other was Germains Lawn Tennis, by J.H. Hale. But these games had no advantages over Wingfield's version (as modified by the M.C.C.), and faded into oblivion.
1876
May 26, 1876: The New York Times reported: "The Boston Transcript says that the old English game of tennis is to be revived in that city..." by H. Bunnewell, G.R. Shaw, and others, who were having a "club-house or tennis-court erected near the corner of Buckingham and Dartmouth streets..."
-- August: The earliest tournament held in the US was played on the court owned by William Appleton at Nahant, Mass. Because James Dwight and Fred R. Sears played at a much higher level than the other players, handicaps were used, but Dwight met Sears in the final anyway. Racquets scoring was used in this tourney, and in the final Dwight defeated Sears 12-15, 15-7, 15-13.
1877
-- February 23: Wingfield allowed his tennis patent to expire by not paying the £50 fee for a seven-year extension.
May 20, 1877: The New York Times reported:
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The fashionable lawn party given yesterday under the auspices of the Westchester Polo Club at the Jerome Park polo grounds, marked the auspicious opening of the season of fashionable Summer recreation... Nearly 300 invitations had been sent out... Among those present were... Mr. and Mrs. John K. Rensselaer... Mrs. William Astor and the Misses Astor... Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt... Lawn tennis superceded croquet in the estimation of the ladies present, for they almost deserted the latter game for the more recently invented pasttime... |
-- Spring: The All-England Croquet Club changed its name to the All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club.
-- At the suggestion of John Walsh, The All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club held the first tennis championship at Wimbledon. Walsh convinced the proprietors of The Field to contribute a silver challenge cup worth 25 guineas (a guinea was slightly more than a pound). The tourney was announced in the June 9, 1877 issue of The Field:
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The All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, proposes to hold a lawn tennis meeting, open to all amateurs, on Monday July 9 and following days. Entrance fee, one pound, one shilling. Two prizes will be given--one gold champion prize to the winner, one silver to the second player. |
New rules were drawn up by a championship subcommittee of three: Henry Jones, Julian Marshall, and C.G. Heathcote. They decided to use a rectangular court 78 feet (23.8 metres) long by 27 feet (8.2 metres) wide. They adapted the real tennis method of scoring: 15, 30, 40, game. Consistent with the Marlybone rules, servers would be allowed only one fault on each point. These major decisions remain part of the modern rules.
The committee also established positions for the net and service line that were subsequently modified. The net was 3 feet wider than the court on each side, 5 feet high at the net posts and 3.5 feet high in the center. Service lines were placed 26 feet from the net. Henry Jones, as referee in the early years of The Championships, kept track of points won and lost on service, and altered these placements until the current system was arrived at in 1882: nets 3.5 feet high at the posts and 3 feet high at the center, and the service lines 21 feet from the net. There was not a "let" rule until 1880; what would today be lets were still considered good serves. Also, the server was allowed to stand astride the baseline.
Players changed sides only at the end of sets. The first player to win 6 games won the set; thus set scores of 6-5 were possible. The balls used at the first Championships were about the same size a modern balls, but lighter, between 1¼ and 1½ ounces.
The tourney began on Monday, July 9th, and was planned to end on Thursday, July 12th. Gentlemen's singles was the only event played. Twenty-two players entered the tourney, most of whom were already successful real tennis or racquets players. With 22 players, 5 rounds would have to be played in the 4 days.
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No one had yet thought of 1st round byes. There were no seeds. A modern draw with all byes in the 1st round would not be instituted until 1884. 11 players won 1st round matches. Spencer W. Gore, who had won his 1st round match over H.T. Gillson 6-2, 6-0, 6-3, had no 2nd round opponent. In the 3rd (quarterfinal) round there were 3 matches, in one of which Gore defeated Montague Hankey. Gore, age 27, was an Old Harrovian rackets player who approached the net and volleyed after the first couple of shots on each point, a style until then unknown. With the net 5 feet high at the posts (3.5 feet at the center), fast passing shots down the lines were nearly impossible. Gore volleyed from so close to the net that he frequently hit the ball on his opponents side of it. The first time this happened there was a long stoppage of play while the legality of it was argued; hitting the ball on your opponent's side was judged fair. The rule was changed in 1880. Only 3 players reached the semifinals. Thus real tennis player William C. Marshall had no semifinal opponent, and advanced to the final. The semifinal that was played pitted Spencer Gore against C.G. Heathcote. Gore won the semi 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Rain had postponed play, and the final could not be played on the weekend due to the Eton and Harrow cricket match at Lord's. The final was rescheduled for Monday the 16th, but continued rain delayed it further. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to see the final on Thursday, July 19th. The match began at 4:30 pm. The first winner of the Wimbledon Championships was Spencer Gore, who defeated W.C. Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Gore was awarded the "Gold Champion" prize worth 12 guineas. W.C. Marshall received a 2nd place prize of silver worth 7 guineas, and C.G. Heathcote a 3rd place prize worth 3 guineas. Shamateurism was thus born with the very first Championships. |
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1878 -- Spencer Gore, who much preferred cricket, rackets, and even real tennis over lawn tennis anyway, lost at Wimbledon in the challenge round (the only match the previous year's winner played, against the challenger who made his way through the draw) to P. Frank Hadow (another Old Harrovian), who dealt with Gore's volleying by lobbing over him. Hadow, the first player to lob at Wimbledon, won 7-5, 6-1, 9-7. He then returned to the coffee plantations of Ceylon, from which he had come on leave when he entered the tourney, and never played lawn tennis again. |
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-- The first Scottish Championships were held.
-- October 6, 1878: The New York Times reprinted an article on tennis history from the The Saturday Review which began: "The origin of tennis is shrouded in mystery..." and went on to briefly explain the early development of real tennis.
1879
-- The first doubles championships were held at Oxford; matches were played to the best of 7 sets. In 1884 the event was moved to Wimbledon, with Oxford donating their doubles trophy to the All-England Club.
-- The first Irish Championships were held in Dublin, and included the first women's singles and mixed doubles events. The 1st women's champion was 14-year-old May Langrishe.
1880
-- Tennis had taken firm root in Australia.
-- The All-England Club, which had become the dominant authority in tennis, and the MCC published revised rules that approximate very closely those still in use. The net was lowered, and the service line, then 26 feet from the net, was moved up to its present distance of 21 feet.
-- The first tourney labeled as the U.S. Championship was held at the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club. The tourney was open to any player in the United States.
At that time in the US, both equipment and rules used varied widely from one club to another. Many types of rackets were used, and some clubs were using uncovered rubber balls, while others used covered balls made by Wright & Ditson of Boston, or competing balls made by Peck & Snyder of New York, all of different sizes and weights.
Because of these differences, the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club tourney committee notified all entrants that the tourney would be played under Wimbledon rules. The USLTA Encyclopedia of Tennis also reports that that the standard British ball of the time, made by F.H. Ayers, was to be used at the Staten Island tourney. But events appear to indicate that this was not the case.
August 15, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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Lawn-tennis has been steadily growing in popularity in this country... and the Staten Island cricket and lawn-tennis players have now perfected arrangements for the holding of a grand national championship tournament... It has been decided to begin the games on the afternoon of Sept. 1 at 4 o'clock, in the tennis courts at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island. The entries will close on Aug. 25, and all names of intended competitors should be forwarded to E.H. Outerbridge, Secretary, No. 23 South-street, on or before that date. The entries will be free to all male players from any part of the country. The games will be continued every afternoon until the tournament closes... The play will be conducted under the rules adopted by the Marylebone and All England Tennis Clubs, with the amendments which have been recently introduced in England. Several important changes are made by these amendments. In the first place, the height of the net at the posts is reduced to 4 feet, and the "service" line is located within 21 feet of the net. The balls must not vary from 2½ to 2 9-16 inches in diameter, and from 1 7-8 to 2 ounces in weight. Again, the "server" must stand with one foot beyond the "base-line," and with the other foot within or on the "base-line"... if the ball served touches the net the "service," provided it is otherwise good, counts for nothing. To touch the net or any of its supports while the ball is "in play" is forbidden, and to "volley" the ball before it has passed the net is to lose the stroke. ...Handsome prizes are to be offered to the players exhibiting the most skill. The best "single" game player will receive a prize valued at $100, and there will be two prizes for the best team of players... |
August 28, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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The lawn tennis tournament, under the auspices of the Staten Island Cricket Club, will begin at 3:30 o'clock on Wednesday next on the club grounds at Camp Washington, Staten Island. It will open with the single-handed games. The double-handed games will begin on the following Monday. Both series of games will continue on following days until the tournament is decided... A very interesting contest is expected, as some of the best players in the country have entered. A silver cup, valued at $50, will be given to the winner in the single-handed game, and a handsome inlaid racquet, costing an equal sum, to the winning side in the double-handed games... |
40 players entered the singles and were scheduled to play, but only 23 showed up and did not withdraw, according to the Times.
Despite the "Wimbledon rules," racquets scoring was used (games ended when the first player scored 15 points, but the match was won by the player who scored the most total points). The victor was an Englishman, O.E. Woodhouse, who had been runner-up in the 1880 English doubles championships (then held at Oxford). Woodhouse outscored J.F. Helmuth of Toronto, Canada by a total of 54 to 50 points in the 4 games of the final. Woodhouse used the overhead service, which his American opponents had not yet learned.
September 2, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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The greensward of the Staten Island Cricket Club, on old Camp Washington, was covered with diagrams yesterday for the games of lawn-tennis. Long nets, looking like seines, were stretched between posts at different points in the field. The boundary fences had received fresh coats of whitewash, and camp-stools for spectators were placed in rows on either side of the several tennis courts. It was the opening day of the first lawn-tennis tournament, which is open to all comers. The players began to arrive as early as 2 o'clock, although the games did not begin until 4. Most of the spectators were ladies, many of whom wore field costumes of gorgeous colors. Drags, phaetons, dog-carts, and a four-in-hand drew up at the fence near entrance to the inclosure, and there were several parties of ladies and gentlemen on horseback... The sun shone brightly, and there was just womd enough stirring to temper its rays. The games played were all single games, with 23 players entered. They will last three days. Among those who took part were H. Y. Gamble, of Toronto, B. J. Grey, of Bermuda, J. F. Helmuth, of London, Canada, and O. E. Woodhouse, who entered from Philadelphia, but is really one of the best in England. Their playing was watched with particular interest. The prize in the single games is a handsome silver cup valued at $100, presented for competition by the Staten Island Club. On one side of the trophy is the inscription--"The Champion Lawn-tennis Player of America." The double games will not begin until next Monday. The most interesting of the games played yesterday were between W. M. Donald, of Staten Island, and J. F. Helmuth, of London, Canada, and T. Ruyther and O. E. Woodhouse. The "returning" of these players, during which the balls were continuously kept in motion in mid-air, created much enthusiasm. Four courts were simultaneously occupied by as many sets of contestants... |
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1st day results (from The New York Times): O.E. Woodhouse d T. Ruyther 28-26 J.F. Helmuth d W.M. Donald 30-11 H. Gamble d J. Duer 32-27 W.H. Davidge d R. Ware 30-15 S. Barnes d H.L. Bogert 25-15 W.P. Anderson d W.B. Lawrence 34-28 J.F. Evelury d E.W. Ruby 30-12 B.T. Grady d R.B. Metcalf 30- 7 F. Eldridge d S. Nicoll 28- 7 W.M. Wood d A.B. Davidson 30-10 R. Travers d A.F.H. Manning 34-30 |
2nd day results (from The New York Times): O.E. Woodhouse d F. Eldridge 30-20 J.F. Hellmuth d W.M. Wood 27-24 Edward Gray d W.C. Larned 30-16 H. Gamble d W.B. Lawrence 32-24 W.H. Davidge d F.L. Henry 30-17 E.W. Barnes d T.S. Draper 30-5 C.M. Harvey d E.W. Barnes 30-10 Edward Gray d Norman Henderson 30-5 O.E. Woodhouse d W.H. Davidge 30-11 J.F. Hellmuth d H. Gamble 30-15 |
September 3, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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The second day of the lawn-tennis tournament, at Camp Washington, Staten Island, opened pleasantly yesterday afternoon. There was a larger number of spectators present, and more interest was taken by outsiders than the day before, probably for the reason that they understood the game better after the previous day's experience... The spectators formed groups around the Canadian player ["J. F. Hellmuth, London, Canada"] and Woodhouse, whose residence is in Philadelphia, but who was formerly a resident of England, and one of its best players. Hellmuth did not play as well as on the previous day, while Woodhouse played better. The latter is a tall man, who uses his long arms to advantage. In this manner he caught a ball on the return with his left as well as his right hand, and frequently used both hands with effect when a ball went too near his face. Hellmuth is a very rapid player. He is short in stature, lithe in figure, and catches a ball on the return as well with his left as with his right hand... While the regular games were in progress, there were some interesting practice-matches among the ladies... ...It is expected that the final match will be between Hellmuth and Woodhouse. |
Errata: The 1st day article said that N. Henderson was to play L.E. Embury on the 2nd day, but no result was reported for that match. It is possible that the 1st day's "J.F. Evelury," whose name was listed shortly after J.F. Helmuth, is the same as "L.E. Embury." At any rate, it appears that on the 2nd day Embury lost a match to Henderson, who advanced, and the score went unreported.
The 1st day article also said that H.C. Larned was to play W.J. Snyder, but no result was reported. The 2nd day article reported that "W.C. Larned" lost to Edward Gray, and the 2 Larneds are likely the same person.
The 1st day's "S. Barnes" is likely the same person as the 2nd day's "E.W. Barnes."
The Times reported after the 1st day that W.P. Anderson had defeated W.B. Lawrence 34-28, but after the 2nd day reported that Lawrence had advanced, and Anderson had not.
1st day winner R. Travers is missing from the 2nd day results.
The 1st day article also said that [C.M.] Harvey would play "Saunders" on the 2nd day, but there is no mention of either in the 1st day scores, and no mention of that match in the 2nd day scores, and no other mention of "Saunders" at all. It is possible that "Saunders" is the same person as R. Travers, if they could mess things up that much.
September 4, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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The single games in the lawn-tennis tournament at Camp Washington, Staten Island, were concluded yesterday, and the handsome silver cup presented for competition by the Staten Island Cricket Club was awarded to O. E. Woodhouse, of the West Middlesex Lawn Tennis Club, of London, England. The closing games were the finest ever witnessed in this country. The weather was of the best, although there was a general anticipation that it might rain, when the opening match began. The number of spectators was much larger than on the previous days of the tournament, every boat from this City increasing the number. The list of competitors had been reduced to four players. The game began promptly at 4 P.M. J. F. Hellmuth played against Edward Gray in one court, while the adjoining court was occupied by O. E. Woodhouse and C. M. Harvey... This brought the two foreign players together in the final struggle. According to the rules governing the tournament four games were played. Mr. R. B. Whittemore acted as umpire for Woodhouse, while Harry Gamble looked after Hellmuth's interests. Hellmuth served the first ball. During the contest, which was a short one, some beautiful "rallying" was done between the players. While the fourteenth inning was in progress, the ball served by Hellmuth passed above Woodhouse's head, and beyond his reach. He turned quickly and caught the ball with a back-handed movement, and sending it over the net, deprived Hellmuth of an ace. In the third inning of the second game there was another fine exhibition when a ball served by Woodhouse passed back and forth between the players eight times. Woodhouse remained in nearly the same position during the struggle, meeting the ball with his outstretched long arms, while Hellmuth, who is a much smaller man, was kept actively dodging from one corner of his court to the other. Finally, Hellmuth slipped and fell, while the ball bounded through the court, and Woodhouse scored an "ace." The third game was a long one. The players changed sides, and both looked hot and tired. Hellmuth opened the game by making an ace in the first inning. Woodhouse scored 4 blanks, and Hellmuth followed with 5 "misses." Woodhouse scored a similar number of "misses," while Hellmuth was making three aces. From that time Woodhouse forged ahead, and finally won the game. The last game was very exciting. Hellmuth was 9 points behind the Englishman, and made an effort to assume the calmness displayed by Woodhouse. He so far succeeded that he closed the match by winning the game. Woodhouse, however, increased his aggregate score by 10 points, and this gave him the match, with 4 points to spare... |
3rd day results (from The New York Times):
semifinals:
O.E. Woodhouse d C.M. Harvey 30-18
J.F. Helmuth d Edward Gray 30-17
final
O.E. Woodhouse d J.F. Helmuth 54-50
Bostonians James Dwight and his cousin Richard D. Sears attended the tournament, but they withdrew from the singles after it had been announced that they would play each other in the 1st round.
Dwight & Sears found the balls very different from those they had been playing with. Dwight & Sears did enter the doubles, and they lodged a protest against the balls, which they said were lighter than regulations demanded. Dwight & Sears lost in a semifinal to W.M. Wood & A.F.H. Manning of Morristown, N.J., 15-9, 15-2. Wood & Manning then lost in the final to James Rankine & W.M. Donald of Staten Island.
September 7, 1880: The New York Times reported:
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The double games in the lawn-tennis tournament at Camp Worthington, Staten Island, in spite of the intensely hot weather which prevailed yesterday, began in good earnest... Messrs. R. D. Sears and James Dwight arrived from Boston early in the day. Dwight began making complaints the moment he arrived on the grounds. The balls he said were not of the regulation weight, and he protested against their use. Mr. R. B. Whittemore assured Dwight that the balls could not be much under weight, and on four of them being weighed to test the case they were found to weigh only a fraction less than two ounces each. Woodhouse, the English champion, and the champion of America in the single games, was called on to decide the matter. He said that the balls used on Camp Washington were possibly a trifle lighter than those used by the All England and Marylebone Clubs; yet, since they had been used in the single games, he should object to any others being substituted. Dwight, therefore, made a formal protest against the balls... |
Richard Sears later described the incident (writing in 3rd person) in the 1890 Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes:
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The Staten Island Club called this a championship of America, but as there were two or three other tournaments held by different clubs the same year, and each club called their tournament the championship, it would be very hard to allow the title to anyone for that year... In the doubles, Dr. James Dwight and Mr. R. D. Sears of Boston were entered, and on their arrival at the grounds they found the balls to be used were not more than two-thirds the size of the balls which they had been playing with. The Boston men had been playing with an English ball, the same that had been used in the English championship. Dr. Dwight protested that the Staten Island ball was neither of the regulation weight nor of the regulation size; while the Staten Island Committee argued that it must be alright, as it had the word "Regulation" stamped across it in colored ink. This argument they held to be conclusive, and the Boston men were told that they might play or not, as they chose, but that no other ball could be used. They tried to play, and after defeating a Canadian pair (who were also accustomed to the English ball) they were somewhat easily defeated by a local pair. |
1881
-- Emilius H. Outerbridge, secretary of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, obtained permission from the directors of the club to form an association to regulate the game of tennis. Outerbridge, along with James Dwight of the Beacon Park Athletic Association and Clarence M. Clark of the All Philadelphia Lawn Tennis Commission, published an invitation in the May 5, 1881 issue of the American Cricketer, asking all organized tennis clubs to send representatives to a convention
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...for the purpose of adopting a code of rules and designating a standard ball, to govern and be used in all tennis matches or tournaments throughout the United States, with a view of enabling all clubs or individual players to meet under equal advantages. |
36 men representing 19 sports clubs met in Room F of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City on Saturday evening, May 21, 1881. 16 additional clubs were represented by proxy, bringing the total number of clubs to 35 (other sources say 33 and 34). At this meeting the United States National Lawn Tennis Association was founded. In 1920 the organization was renamed the United States Lawn Tennis Association and, in 1975, the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
12 of the 34 clubs were from Pennsylvania, 7 from New Jersey, 6 from the Boston area, 5 from New York State, and the rest from Connecticut and Rhode Island.
In order to avoid favoring any large club over any other, a representative from a small club was chosen as the first USNLTA president. This was General Robert S. Oliver from the Albany, New York club. The USLTA encyclopedia says that Outerbridge, Dwight, and Clark were named to an Executive Committee.
May 22, 1881: The New York Times reported:
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A convention of delegates representing 35 lawn-tennis clubs, in different parts of the country, met last evening in the Fifth-avenue Hotel and organized the United States Lawn-Tennis Club. It was the first convention of the kind ever held in this country. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, in which the annual dues were fixed at $5. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President--R. S. Oliver, of the Albany Lawn-Tennis Club; Vice-President--Samuel Campbell, of the Orange Lawn-Tennis Club; Secretary and Treasurer--Clarence M. Clark, of the Young America Cricket Club of Philadelphia; Executive Committee--Dr. James Dwight, of the Beacon Park Athletic Club, Boston; George B. Schofield, Jr., of the Staten Island Cricket and Base-ball Club, and B. Mostyn, of the St. George's Club, Philadelphia. After the election of officers there was considerable discussion as to the kind of ball that should be used in matches and tournaments, and a number of delegates favored the English regulation ball, known as the Ayre's ball. The matter was finally left to the Executive Committee for decision. The rules of the All England Cricket and Lawn-Tennis Club for 1881, which have governed clubs in this country so far during the year, were adopted. |
The New York Times article puts the number of attending clubs at 35, says that Clark was named Secretary-Treasurer (which would not preclude his being on the executive committee also), and does not mention Outerbridge in any capacity. As is often the case in tracing history, it is impossible to tell which account is accurate (even if the USTA has original minutes from the meeting, they might not be accurate or complete). The New York Times in the 1880s, amazingly, printed even more outright errors than respectable newspapers do today. But the 1971 USLTA Encyclopedia, written by "the staff of the USLTA," is a one-time compilation, never subsequently revised, which includes some obvious errors also.
Soon after that first meeting, the Executive Committee of the USNLTA officially adopted the 1881 All-England Club-MCC rules, including court tennis type scoring (15, 30, 40...). It also decided that the British ball made by F.H. Ayers would be used in all national tournaments. They also decided to hold the first official Men's National Championship from August 31 to September 3, 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island.
July 14, 1881: The New York Times reported:
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The United States National Lawn-tennis Association will hold a tournament at the Casino, in Newport, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2, and 3, for the championship of the United States. None but members of clubs belonging to the association will be allowed to enter. The games will be as follows: Singles and Doubles--Best two in three sets, no vantage games except in the last round, when best three in five sets will with vantage games will be played. Contestants will be drawn by lot, and losers retire. F.H. Ayers's regulation ball will be used. Each club will be entitled to enter four singles and two double teams. Entries must be made on or before August 17 to the Secretary, Mr. Clarence M. Cook [Clark, not Cook, is the correct name], of Germantown, Penn., and must be accompanied by an entrance fee of $5 for each club without regard to number of entries. Clubs joining the association prior to Aug. 10 will be entitled to participate. |
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-- Under USNLTA auspices, the first official US National Championship was held from August 31 to September 3, 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island. The tournament was run by a committee consisting of the USNLTA executive committee, Edward Gray, and W. Watts Sherman of the Newport Casino. 26 players entered; matches were of 3 sets until the 5-set final. As was still the case at Wimbledon, there were no seeds, and byes occurred in the later rounds. In fact, the draw for the next round was arranged only after each round was completed. The Bagnall-Wild system of placing all byes in the 1st round would be instituted in 1884, but players would not be seeded until 1922. The winner, a 19-year-old Harvard student named Richard Dudley Sears, was U.S. champion for 7 consecutive years. Dick Sears, the younger brother of Fred R. Sears and a cousin of James Dwight, played through the draw in 1881, 1882, & 1883 without losing a set. In 1884 the challenge round was instituted at the US Nationals (after which the champion played only in the final match). Coverage of the 1881 US Nationals in The New York Times was much reduced from the 1880 tourney, apparently because it was no longer a local event. |
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September 2, 1881: The New York Times reported:
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Newport, R.I. Sept.1--An unusually large number of spectators witnessed the second day's match of the National Lawn-tennis Tournament at the Casino today. Sevars, of the Beacon Park Athletic Association, beat Nightingale, of the Providence Club, in two out of three sets; Glynn, of the Staten Island Cricket Club, beat Gammel, of the Providence Club, in two out of three sets; Kessler, of the Staten Island Cricket Club, beat Shaw, of the Beacon Park Club, in two out of three sets;, Mr. Gray, of the Beacon Park Club, received a "bye," the entry against whom he was to play failing to put in an appearance. Gray then played with Sears to decide who should contest the final match, and was beaten by the latter after a brilliant contest, in which Sears introduced a style of game never seen here before. The tournament will continue to-morrow. |
The US Nationals were held at Newport Casino until 1915.
From 1881 to 1886 the US men's doubles championships were played along with the singles at Newport Casino.
1881-1889
-- Twin brothers William and Ernest Renshaw won 8 Wimbledon singles titles (William 7, Ernest 1), with William defeating Ernest in the final 3 times. As a team they won the doubles championships 7 times.
The Renshaws, renowned for powerful smashes and for hard volleys from deep in the court, raised the level of the game, bringing real athleticism to tennis for the first time.
1882
-- The All-England Club changed the rules to lower the net to its current height, 3 feet at the center and 3 feet six inches at the posts. The service lines were fixed at 21 feet from the net. Also, overarm serving was now specifically allowed, and the "let" rule was introduced.
By this time activity at the All-England Club was almost entirely lawn tennis, so the word 'croquet' was dropped from the title. In 1899 the "Croquet" was restored for sentimental reasons. Since then the official title has remained "The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club."
September 3, 1882: The New York Times reported:
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Newport, Sept. 2.--The closing day of the National Lawn-tennis Tournament at the Casino was by far the most brilliant of the four. The weather was warm almost to sultriness, and the sky was at times clouded. The exciting sport was witnessed by the largest assembly of the week, and the handsome grounds looked their best with some 1,500 ladies and gentlemen closely watching the contests for the championship. Play was opened with the final contest in the third round of the doubles. Nightingale and Smith, two very promising players from Providence, defeated Van Rensselaer and Newbold, a strong team from Philadelphia, by two straight sets, the scores being 6, 3; 6, 2. The Philadelphians were simply out-played. Next was the final round of singles for the championship between R. D. Sears, of Boston, and C. M. Clark, of Philadelphia. Sears was in splendid form and Clark did not stand a ghost of a show. He was defeated in three straight sets by scores of 6, 1; 6, 4; 6, 0. Sears thus retains the championship, which he eminently deserves, as there is no player in the country that can successfully stand up against him. Sears receives the championship silver cup offered by the association, a copper plaque given by two Philadelphia gentlemen and to become the holder's property on the third winning, also the Horsman racket, valued at $500, to become the property of the winner in 1892. After the singles was played the final round of the doubles. The contestants were Dwight and Sears, of Boston, and Smith and Nightingale, of Providence. The sets were the finest in doubles ever seen here. The Bostonians were in splendid form and were excellent at every point. There was not a weak feature in their play. They are both expert court-tennis players, and this experience serves them well on the lawn. Smith and Nightingale astonished their friends in their general play, but they were noticably weak in their service. In the first set there was much pretty play all around. The fifth game was served out by Sears with 4 straight services and a magnificent point was made by Nightingale in the next game. The set resulted in 6, 2 for the Bostonians. The second set was marked by good play by all the men, and the Providence representatives struggled nobly, but were defeated 6, 4. The third and concluding set was the most brilliant of the tournament. Ever game furnished a lively rally or a skillful play, and the applause of the interested spectators was almost continuous. The set ended with a victory for Boston by 6, 4, and Dwight and Sears were declared the champions for the year. Their play, most emphatically, entitled them to this honor. Smith and Nightingale secured second and Van Rensslaer and Newbold third place. The second place in the singles falls to C. M. Clark, of Philadelphia, and the third to Edward Gray, of Boston. The tournament was a success in every particular. The principal surprises of the week were the easy defeat of Gray in the singles and of Clark and Taylor, of Philadelphia, the champions for several years, in the doubles. |
1883
-- R.B. Bagnall-Wild proposed the system of 1st round byes so that the number of players in subsequent rounds would be a power of two. The idea was not put into use until the 1885 Championships. Also, seeding of competitors was suggested by C.L. Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland) in a pamphlet titled Lawn Tennis Tournaments, but seeding was not used at The Championships until 1922.
1884
-- A women's championship was introduced at Wimbledon. 13 players entered, and 19-year-old Maud Watson was the first Wimbledon lady champion, defeating her older sister Lilian in the final 6-8, 6-3, 6-3. The gentlemen's doubles championships were held at Wimbledon for the first time.
1885
-- The foot-fault rule was changed, now allowing the one foot that had to be behind the baseline to be off the ground. This would be the rule until 1904.
1886
-- The Chestnut Hill Tennis Club in Philadelphia held a Ladies Open.
-- The first national championships in New Zealand were held.
1886-1900
-- Blanche Bingley, later Mrs. George Hillyard, won the Wimbledon ladies singles 6 times. She last played in The Championships in 1913, at the age of 49.
1887-1888
-- In 1887 the Chestnut Hill Tennis Club leased the Philadelphia Cricket Club to hold their Ladies Open, and the Wissahickon Inn donated the Wissahickon Cup for the singles prize. Thus the event became the first United States women's national championships. There were 7 entrants. Ellen Hansell defeated Laura Knight 6-1, 6-0 to become the first US Women's Champion.
-- In 1888 the Philadelphia Cricket Club took over the sponsorship of the US Women's Nationals. Ellen Hansell was defeated by Bertha Townshend 6-3, 6-5 (women's tennis was not yet administered by the USNLTA, this might account for the non-standard 2nd-set score) The event continued at the Philadelphia Cricket Club until 1921, when it was moved to Forest Hills.
1887-1914
-- The US men's doubles championships, formerly held with the singles at Newport Casino, were held as separate East and West (and sometimes North and South) early rounds leading to a national final, separate from the singles event.
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1888 -- Wright & Ditson of Boston, Mass. advertised their tennis balls (which were still made with stitched, rather than glued, seams) as the official balls of the USNLTA and intercollegiate tennis. The price was $2.00 per half-dozen plus 15¢ postage. Also advertised was "The 'Sears Special' racket used by Mr. R. D. Sears in his Championship contest at Newport. Strung with red and white English Gut. No other racket is equal to it for tightness of stringing. Price, $7.00." The unspecial "Sears" racket sold for $5.50, strung with plain old American gut, and the book Lawn Tennis by USNLTA president James Dwight sold for 50 cents, postage included. A pamphlet of the official rules, plus a list of 1887 tourneys and some articles by tennis notables, was only 10 cents. -- The British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was formed. 1889 -- On February 9th, the USNLTA voted to extend its auspices to administer women's tennis. -- In what might be called the first pro "tour", Irish professional tennis player George Kerr traveled to the US to play Tom Petit, the teaching pro at Newport Casino, in four pro matches in Springfield, Mass., Boston, and Newport. Kerr won 3 of the 4 matches. |
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1890
-- The All-England Club adopted the current system of change of ends after each odd-numbered game of each set.
-- The Canadian national championships were inaugurated.
1891
-- The first French Championship was held at the Stade Français, but it was an interclub tournament that did not become truly international until 1925.
-- The first South African national championships were held.
1892
-- The West Side Tennis Club was founded by 13 members who rented 3 clay courts on Central Park West between 88th and 89th Streets.
1894-1895
-- Interest in tennis declined in the 1890s, as public interest in outdoor activity was captured by the new "saftey" bicycle. The Championships at Wimbledon showed a financial loss in 1894 and 1895.
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1896 1897-1906 -- Interest in tennis rebounded in Britain with the success of the Doherty brothers. Reginald F. Doherty won 4 Wimbledon singles titles (1897-1900) and his younger brother H. Laurie Doherty won 5 times (1902-1906), as well as the 1900 Olympic gold medal and the US title in 1903. Together, the Dohertys won the Wimbledon doubles 8 times. |
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1900
-- Dwight Davis of Harvard offered his Davis Cup to the USNLTA, which accepted it as the "International Lawn Tennis Challenge Trophy". In the first competition, the US team of Davis and 2 other Harvard men defeated the visiting British team at the Longwood Cricket Club 3-0 (2 singles and 1 doubles match, the 3rd singles match was unfinished and the 4th unplayed due to rain).
1902
-- The West Side Tennis Club moved to 117th Street near Columbia University.
-- In Britain, Baron Richard Wendel patented a metal tennis racquet frame.
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1903-1927 -- Between 1903 and 1914, Dorothea Katharine Douglass, later Mrs. Robert Lambert Chambers, won 7 Wimbledon singles titles. Mrs. Lambert Chambers was born on Sept. 3, 1878 in Ealing, England, and died in 1960. She was 25 when she won her 1st Wimbledon title, and 48 when she played her last match there, in 1927. She won her 7th and last Wimbledon championship in 1914 at age 36. She might have won 4 more, and totaled an all-time record of 11 Wimbledon singles titles, had World War I not intervened. The Championships were not held again until 1919, when Mrs. Lambert Chambers was 40 years old. Her opponent in the Challenge Round, Suzanne Lenglen of France, was almost exactly half her age. The 44 game match was the longest women's singles final up to that time. |
Lenglen won the 1st set 10-8, but lost the 2nd set to Mrs. Lambert Chambers 4-6. Mrs. Lambert Chambers hit the ball harder than Lenglen, yet with great accuracy, and had excellent touch on lobs and drop shots. In the 3rd set, Mrs. Lambert Chambers led 6-5, 40-15, but Lenglen prevailed to take the set and the match 10-8, 4-6, 9-7.
In 1920, Mrs. Lambert Chambers played her way through the all-comer's draw to face Lenglen in the Challenge Round again, but this time Lenglen dispatched her 6-3, 6-0. Although she did not win another Wimbledon, at 41 she was the oldest women's singles finalist of all time.
1904
-- The foot-fault rule was changed to require that both feet be behind the baseline, and between the center and side lines.
-- The Lawn Tennis Association of Australasia (later of Australia) was founded.
1904-1928
-- May Sutton Bundy (RH 1H-BH) won the US Women's Nationals singles and doubles in 1904, and became the first American ever to win the Wimbledon women's singles title in 1905, winning The Championships again in 1907.
May Sutton was born in Plymouth on September 25, 1886, but her family moved to Santa Monica, California when she was six. May's father was an English sea captain; her four sisters also all became excellent tennis players.
In June, 1904, at age 17, May defeated defending champion Bessie Moore 6-1, 6-2 to win the US singles title. In 1905 she played her way through the all-comer's draw at Wimbledon, defeating Miss A.M. Morton, her own partner in doubles, in the semifinals 6-4, 6-0. The New York Times said that "...Miss Morton was soon fatigued by the American player's persistent returns from almost impossible placing." and then played the first of three consecutive Challenge Rounds against Dorothea Douglass (later Mrs. Lambert Chambers). May won 6-3, 6-4.
Friday, July 7, 1905: The New York Times reported:
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LONDON, July 6--Miss May Sutton of Pasadena... defeated by 2-0 on sets Miss C. Wilson, who played beautiful tennis, and only succumbed after a hard fight. The spectators rose in a body and cheered the young American again and again. The match to-day proved to be the hardest Miss Sutton has yet engaged in. There were four deuce games in both sets. The American was tired at the commencement of the second set, and the Kentish champion seemed to be winning, when Miss Sutton rallied and ultimately won. She played a magnificent back-line game, and her drives kept her opponent from getting near the net. ...As the result of her resourceful play at the crisis of the match, Miss Sutton won the final, defeating Miss Wilson, the champion of Kent, 6-3, 8-6. Miss Sutton will now meet Miss Douglas for the championship... |
Sunday, July 9, 1905: The New York Times reported:
MISS SUTTON WINS ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIPThe scores were 6-3 and 6-4. In the first set there were several pronounced rallies and two deuce sets. The American girl puzzled Miss Douglass completely with a new back stroke that absolutely prevented the latter from reaching the net. On the back line the Englishwoman struggled against defeat tenaciously, but the superior class of the American told. The second set was a repetition of the first, but closer, if anything. Rally followed rally, and five deuce games were played. But with the score 5-4 against her, Miss Douglass gave way under the strain, and the last game and the championship went to the wonderful Californian... ...There was a gallery of more than 3,000 spectators watching the play, fully half of them women arrayed in the most fashionable gowns of brilliant hues... |
Although May Sutton, as defending champion, did not have to play through the all-comer's draw at Wimbledon in 1906, she was defeated 6-3, 9-7 on July 5 in the Challenge Round by Dorothea K. Douglass, who in the interim had become Mrs. Lambert Chambers.
Interestingly, the schedule had required Sutton to play three doubles matches (two women's doubles and one mixed doubles) on the day before the Challenge Round match. The New York Times said that "it was evident that the American was severely handicapped by her exertions of the previous day in which she had been engaged in three hard-fought competitions."
In 1907, May played her way through the all-comer's draw again, and defeated Mrs. Lambert Chambers in the final 6-1, 6-4.
May Sutton retired from competition in 1910, and in 1912 married Tom Bundy, 3-time winner of the US men's doubles championship with partner Maurice McLoughlin.
In 1915, May came back from retirement to play 3 matches against the US champion, Norwegian-born Molla Bjurstedt. Bjurstedt won the first match, Sutton the last two.
Although May did not reach another Grand Slam tourney singles final, she was ranked # 4 in the US in 1921, and was still ranked # 5 in 1928, at age 42.
May's daughter Dorothy Bundy Cheney won the Australian title in 1938. May Sutton Bundy died in Santa Monica, California, on October 4, 1975.
1905
-- The first Australian Championships were played.
1908
-- The West Side Tennis Club moved to 238th Street and Broadway, where they had room for 12 grass courts and 15 or more clay courts.
-- 38-year-old Maud Barger Wallach won the US National Women's Championships at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Wallach began playing tennis at age 30. She was still ranked # 5 in the US at age 45.
1909-1928
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-- Hazel Hotchkiss (later Mrs. George Wightman) won 4 US National singles titles, in 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1919. She also won 6 US doubles titles, in 1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1924, and 1928, the last two times partnered with Helen Wills, and 5 US mixed doubles titles. Sarah Palfrey credits Mrs. Wightman as the first American woman to regularly take the net and volley agressively and consistently. Mrs. Wightman remained active in seniors play, winning the last of her seniors doubles titles in 1954 at age 67. Mrs. Wightman proposed, and contributed a sterling silver vase as the trophy for, an annual international women's competition which was thus called the Wightman Cup, first played in 1923. It was subsequently decided to limit this competition to the US vs Britain. Mrs. Wightman played doubles on the US Wightman Cup team in 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, and 1931, and served as team captain for many years later, last holding that position in 1948. |
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1910 -- The first Spanish championships were played. 1911 -- In Britain, Albert Altman patented a laminated wood tennis racquet frame. |
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1912-1927
-- Mary Kendall Browne won all 3 US National titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, for three years in a row, 1912, 1913, & 1914. In 1924, after losing in 3 sets to Helen Wills in the semifinals at Forest Hills, Browne entered the US Women's Golf Championships and defeated Glenna Collett Vare to reach the final. Browne lost in the final to Dorothy Campbell Hurd. In 1926-27, at age 35, Browne played Suzanne Lenglen on the first substantial pro "tour".
1913
-- On March 1, 1913, the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) was established.
-- The West Side Tennis Club moved from 238th Street and Broadway to Forest Hills. The main courts were in front of the clubhouse, with temporary stands on each side, until the stadium was built in 1923.
1915-1926
-- Anna Margarethe "Molla" Bjurstedt Mallory (RH, western forehand grip, 1-H BH) won the US National women's singles title a record 8 times, in 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, and 1926. When she won the title in 1926, Mrs. Mallory was 42 years old, the oldest person ever to win a Grand Slam tourney singles title. Molla continued to compete in the US Nationals through 1929, when she reached the semifinals at age 45.
Molla Bjurstedt was born in Christiania, Norway on March 6, 1884, and began playing tennis in 1903, receiving early lessons from a professional instructor. Molla first drew international attention when she finished 3rd in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. She came to the US in December, 1914, after winning the Norwegian title. Just over 3 months later she won the US National Indoor singles title, defeating Marie Wagner 6-4, 6-4 on board courts at the 7th Street Armory in New York.
Molla was the 1st foreigner to win the US Indoor women's singles. She repeated the feat before about 2,000 spectators in the final of the US Women's National Championships at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in June, 1915, defeating then 3-time national champ Mrs. George Wightman (Hazel Hotchkiss) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
On February 17, 1917, The New York Times printed this description of Molla Bjurstedt's play:
MISS BJURSTEDT'S GAME BASED ON SPEEDY DRIVEThere is one outstanding feature of her play that is evident to even the untrained eye. That is her powerful forehand drive, and on this her whole game is based. It is not the usual stroke of the woman in tennis. It is the stroke rather of the man, the man from California, or the stroke that May Sutton Bundy used so effectively. Molla Bjurstedt has mastered the stroke and she has become an adept, not only in making the drive, but in making it go to just the particular point that she wishes. She can play it to within an inch of the baseline and nick the corners as well if the tennis ball followed a groove... ...After seeing her forehand drive there are those who call her backhand weak, but it is weak only by comparison. There is not the power that is developed with the forehand, but the stroke measures up to a high degree of excellence, better than that of almost any of the other players she will have to meet in any of the championship events this year. One feature of Miss Bjurstedt's play that makes her formidable is a natural agility. She can cover the court with the freedom and ease of a man. She seems to be everywhere at once and far outclasses the other women players in this particular. ...Miss Bjurstedt has wonderful endurance... No one has ever seen her thoroughly exhausted after playing a hard match... After having recounted her good points, it may well be asked what are her weak points. First among them must be considered service... She has no service worth speaking of under that name. Service to her, instead of meaning a twist or a hard fast ball, is simply a method of beginning the play. The ball is almost lobbed over the net. There is little propelling force behind the racquet. Instead of the swift stroke far above the head on the descending ball, Miss Bjurstedt almost pushes the ball away from her, rather than striking at it... In playing the drive she does it as the Californians do, taking the ball as it rises instead of as it descends after the bound. The racquet for this stroke is never more than shoulder high, and seldom that. But for the serve there must be a shoulder stroke and Miss Bjurstedt cannot swing the racquet with that motion... Miss Bjurstedt plays a deep court game, seldom making the run to the net to kill. She can't kill any more than she can serve. What she does do in the case of a short lob is to place it almost by laying her racquet against the ball, never driving down on it. And this is many times a successful mode of attack when she is at the net... |
In 1922 Mrs. Mallory reached the final at Wimbledon, where she was defeated Suzanne Lenglen, 6-2, 6-0 [this match is described below]. Molla never reached another Wimbledon final. But in addition to her 8 US singles titles, she won the US women's doubles twice, in 1916 and 1917, and the US mixed doubles title 3 times, in 1917, 1922, and 1923.
Molla Bjurstedt Mallory died on November 22, 1959.
1915
-- The US Men's National Championships were moved from the Newport Casino to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.
January 17, 1915: The New York Times reported:
NEWORT MAY LOSE TENNIS TOURNEYMovement Grows to Transfer Championship Tournament to West Side CourtsNewport is in danger of losing the national lawn tennis singles championship tournament, and a concerted movement is now afoot, with strong support, to shift the tournament this year to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, L.I. The movement is being advocated by the Tennis Player's Committee, which is composed of a number of the leading racquet wielders in the country. In urging the support of the movement the committee makes it plain that the plan is a general one and is in no way brought forward by or for the interests of the West Side Tennis Club, and that there is no intention on the part of the originators of the movement to enter into the United States National Lawn Tennis Association politics, but that the object is to enhance the welfare of the game. |
June 13, 1915: The New York Times reported:
MISS BJURSTEDT IS NATIONAL CHAMPIONThis is the first time in the twenty-nine years that the event has been held that a foreigner has captured the United States singles championship. ...Mrs. Wightman excelled in overhead strokes, and in the placing of returns just over the net. Miss Bjurstedt's forehand strokes were handled easily in the early part of the match, but after the first set they were most effective and whizzed over the net with the speed of a bullet. In the third set Miss Bjurstedt's continued excellent form brought forth rounds of applause. Her side line shots were always in by an inch or so and always found Miss Wightman flat-footed... ...Mrs. Wightman won the toss for service and elected the choice of court, giving Miss Bjurstedt the service. Mrs. Wightman took the first game with ease, to love. After Mrs. Wightman led, 30-15 in the second [game] Miss Bjurstedt brought the score to deuce, then advantage. She then netted two easy returns and put another out of court, Mrs. Wightman winning. Up to the fifth game neither of the players had tried the net game, but remained continually at the back of court. Playing her best tennis of the set, so far, Miss Bjurstedt won the [eighth] game to love and then won the ninth after some lengthy rallies. Score, 5-4, Mrs. Wightman winning. Miss Bjurstedt seemed to be gradually finding her form and assumed an early lead in the tenth game. Eventually Mrs. Wightman brought the score to deuce. Advantage was called in favor of the former Californian and national title holder... before she won and captured the set. Scores: FIRST SET.
They divided the opening games of second set, Miss Bjurstedt taking the first and Mrs. Wightman the second. Miss Bjurstedt won the third game to thirty, the final point coming after a brisk duel at the net, Mrs. Wightman volleying the last point out of court. SECOND SET.
After the seven minutes rest, the contestants returned to the court, Miss Bjurstedt wearing a coffee-colored sweater. The first point ended in favor of the Norwegian girl after a little rally during which Mrs. Wightman was kept on the defensive but made some first-class "gets." Miss Bjurstedt won the first game to love and the second, to 30. In the third game Miss Bjurstedt continually played her turns along the side line and won it after deuce score, 3-0, Miss Bjurstedt leading. Miss Bjurstedt then won the next games and the set, match, and championship. THIRD SET.
Totals--Miss Bjurstedt, 93, Mrs. Wightman, 68, Umpire--John H. Whittaker. |
After Miss Bjurstedt won her first US title in 1915, May Sutton Bundy, who had not competed in five years, came out of retirement to play 3 exhibitions against her. Molla won the first match, May won the last two.
Sunday, November 21, 1915: The New York Times reported:
MOLLA BJURSTEDT WORLD'S CHAMPIONWhen Miss Bjurstedt won all the principle [US] titles last Summer, many people were of the opinion that if Mrs. Bundy was in the field there might be a different result. Perhaps this was the cause of the Norwegian girl's invasion of the Pacific Coast and her challenging of Mrs. Bundy to a match. All the more credit is due to the Norwegian girl for defeating Mrs. Bundy on the asphalt courts... Mrs. Bundy's game was developed under such conditions, while Miss Bjurstedt never played on such a surface before. ...Both of them have consistent back court games. The forehand drive of Mrs. Bundy is made on the same play as that of Miss Bjurstedt, although it carries a little more depth with less speed. This is due to the sharp top [topspin} given to the ball by [Sutton], while [Bjurstedt] hits her ball with the full face of the racquet. Both favor their forehand, which results in a comparative weak development of the backhand. To cover up this vulnerable territory they crowd far over to the left side of the court... Mrs. Bundy owes her long list of triumphs to her consistent play from the baseline, against which the majority of women players succumb. She seldom tried for kills or clean aces. Her policy was to take no undue chances and to give her opponent plenty of opportunity to miss the ball by returning everything within reach. The keynote of her success was that she could return the ball more often, with greater speed and accuracy, than the women pitted against her in the tournaments. If her opponents had developed aggressive net play to meet this style of play she would have had more difficulty in winning championships. For although her drives were effective against a baseliner because of their depth and accuracy, they would have been equally ineffective against a net player, where met shoulder high, they could have been killed with greater ease. Miss Bjurstedt could have adopted this plan of attack against Mrs. Bundy because she has the highly developed net game to warrant it. Without doubt the Norwegian girl's forte is her strong physique, which permits of this aggressive net play, under which few women players can survive. While playing in the National Championships, both indoor and outdoor, Miss Bjurstedt displayed a marked ability in the overhead and volley departments of the game... |
Friday, November 26, 1915: The New York Times reported:
MISS BJURSTEDT LOSESMrs. Bundy proved herself here today to be the May Sutton of former days. The backhand stroke of the former titleholder, which critics said was Mrs. Bundy's weak point in the San Francisco match, proved today to be her most valuable point winner. Mrs. Bundy played a cool and steady game throughout, while her opponent tossed points away on seemingly easy shots. Miss Florence Sutton, sister of Mrs. Bundy, defeated Miss Mary Brown, who won the National Championship three times, 6-4, 6-3 in an exhibition match... |
On December 12, 1915: The New York Times reported:
MISS BJURSTEDT BEATENFor a time today the honors appeared about even. Mrs. Bundy, however, slowly forged ahead in the first set. Miss Bjurstedt won the second set in brilliant style, taking the first four games, Mrs. Bundy taking only the fifth. Mrs. Bundy started the final set with a burst of speed that surprised spectators. Mrs. Bundy was given an ovation as she won the last point. |
1917
-- The US Men's National Doubles Championships previously held in regional sections leading to a national final, began to be played as one tournament at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston. They continued in Boston until 1969, except in 1934, when they were held at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia, and 1942-1945, when they were held at Forest Hills. In 1970 the US Open doubles at Forest Hills, which had been 1st played in 1968, became the US doubles championships.
1919
October 12, 1919: The New York Times reported:
MRS. WIGHTMAN IS BEST WITH RACQUETMrs. Wightman Leads. Basing an opinion chiefly upon the tournaments which involved national or other important titles, one is compelled to place Mrs. George W. Wightman [the former Hazel Hotchkiss] at the top of the list for the season of 1919. She won the women's championship of America both indoors and outdoors, and lost only one tournament match all season, that to Mrs. Mallory. Aside from the latter, only one player gave Mrs. Wightman a real battle on turf. That was Miss Eleanor Goss of the West Side Tennis Club, who was unquestionably the second best woman tennis player of the year. She was close to Mrs. Wightman in both the National and the Metropolitan tournaments, the champion winning in each case by a spectacular finish after trailing in the deciding set. Miss Goss defeated Miss Zinderstein, her closest rival, in the Metropolitan event, and thus settled the long standing question of the relative abilities of these two brilliant players, who, in partnership, hold the national doubles championship. Miss Zinderstein deserves third place because of her victory over Mrs. Mallory in the national tournament, but the ex-champion would follow close behind her, and, strictly speaking, it would be quite fair to group the quartet in a class by themselves, making little or no distinction between them. The remaining places in the women's first ten will be less easily filled. Miss Marie Wagner deserves a high rank, but is necessarily preceded by Miss Helen Gilleaudeau, who defeated her for the New York State championship, besides making a spendid showing in several other tournaments. Miss Cassel does well. Miss Clare Cassel, who suffered from an injured arm during the national championships, nevertheless did exceedingly well until she succumbed to Miss Zinderstein. She also won the Pennsylvania State championship and the Ardsley tournament, and seems entitled to seventh position. After her should come a Philadelphian, Mrs. Gilbert Harvey, who made an unusually good record in reaching the national semi-finals. ...Summing up...: 1. Mrs. George Wightman. 2. Miss Eleanor Goss. 3. Miss Marion Zinderstein. 4. Mrs. Franklin I. Mallory. 5. Miss Helen Gilleaudeau. 6. Miss Marie Wagner. 7. Miss Clare Cassel. 8. Mrs. Gilbert Harvey. 9. Mrs. Robert Leroy. 10. Miss Helen Pollak. ...Miss Florence Ballin, Miss Florence Sheldon, Mrs. Edward Raymond, Mrs. D.C. Mills, Miss Caronia Winn, Mrs. Percy Wilbourne, Mrs. E.V. Lynch, Mrs. S.H. Waring, Miss Bessie Holden, and Mrs. W.H. Pritchard present a fairly well balanced second ten. Others Near Top. Close, or perhaps equal to these in rank, would be such players as Mrs. H.A. Cabot of Boston, Mrs. M.B. Huff and Miss Mollie Thayer of Philadelphia, Mrs. De Forest Candee, Mrs. Rawson Wood, Mrs. S. Fullerton Weaver, Miss Gertrude Della Torre, Mrs. Ingo Hartmann, and a few others... A few other players of prominence, such as Mrs. Homer Stuart Green, Mrs. Henry Eaton, the former Miss Ina Kissel, and Mrs. Barger Wallach, will scarcely be ranked, owing to "insufficient data." Of women's doubles teams, only a few were worth mentioning during the past season. In general, the feminine tennis players have not the faintest conception of the possibilities of doubles play, refusing to take the logical net position, and merely indulging in long driving rallies from deep court... |
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1919-1926 -- Suzanne Lenglen of France won 6 Wimbledon and 6 French singles titles. About seeing Lenglen play for the first time, "Crocodile" René Lacoste said: "...she played with marvelous ease the simplest strokes in the world. It was only after several games that I understood what harmony was concealed by her simplicity, what wonderful mental and physical balance was hidden by the facility of her play." 1920 -- The French Federation of Lawn Tennis was established. |
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October 3, 1920: The New York Times reported:
MRS. MALLORY TOPS WOMEN IN TENNISTwo factors, in the opinion of the writer, are worth considering in this strange and rather discouraging situation. Mrs. Mallory unquestionably failed to do herself justice on the turf in England. She did not get over in time for sufficient practice, owing to the difficulty in securing passage, and once there she never acquired the confidence that is absolutely essential to her game. Mrs. Larcombe defeated her at the Queen's Club before she was well acquainted, and later Mrs. Lambert Chambers decisively outplayed her at Wimbledon on a court to which the latter was thoroughly accustomed. This blow would not have been fatal if Mrs. Chambers had proceeded to win the English title, but in the final round she lost to Mlle. Lenglen by exactly the same score as she herself had registered against Mrs. Mallory. The assumption, therefore, is that the French marvel is at least two classes ahead of America's best. The second point for consideration, however, is that Mrs. Mallory may, after all, not be the leader among our own feminine players. Certainly Miss Mary Browne showed a far stronger all-around game when they met in their historic series of Red Cross matches. Mrs. May Sutton Bundy also is regarded on the coast as her superior, and Mrs. George W. Wightman [Hazel Hotchkiss], if playing regularly, would probably prove herself at least the equal of her successor to the national title. In spite of the decisive result of this year's final at Philadelphia, there are still many who consider Miss Zinderstein a better tennis player than Mrs. Mallory. She has more strokes and a better command of court tactics. What she notoriously lacks is the confidence to use the material at her disposal. Looked Like a Winner. Early in the past Summer it seemed that Miss Zinderstein had at least conquered her tendency to "blow," and was about to come into her own with a vengeance. She had defeated Mrs. Mallory in the previous year, through superior physical condition, and when she went through one tournament after another without having a defeat charged against her, there were many predictions that the national championship was at length to be hers. Up to that fatal final against Mrs. Mallory, Miss Zinderstein remained unbeaten, capturing the national clay court title, the North-South championship and first honors in every other even she entered. Then in two short sets she threw away everything she had gained, returning once more to her old timidity and cautiousness, and losing in distressing fashion to a rival not nearly as well equipped in the technique of the game, but of iron courage and will-power in a pinch. Mrs. Mallory is, with the possible exception of Mrs. Bundy, the best driver in America today. Her strength and endurance, with the confidence always to hit the ball hard, make her unbeatable at her own game on this side of the water, although Mrs. Larcombe and Mrs. Chambers showed her that the English have a very different idea of what constitutes hard and accurate driving. Miss Browne proved, however, that good volleying, supported by ground strokes, could defeat the best of feminine driving, and Mlle. Lenglen proved it again this year in even more convincing fashion. Miss Zinderstein has the volleying game to beat Mrs. Mallory, and, perhaps, anyone else on earth, but she persistently refuses to employ it. To be passed a few times at the net means complete discouragement for her and a sudden panic of cautious back-court hitting. Similarly, if her first service fails to find the court, she is quite likely to serve a careful double fault, or to pat the second ball for a cripple of practically no effect, although this weakness has been largely overcome this year. Playing as she did in the finals at Seabright, Miss Zinderstein should never lose a match in America. Ranking Women Stars. Any ranking of women stars of the season, however, necessarily places the national champion, Mrs. Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, at the top. She fully deserves the honor, all the more after her disappointing showing abroad. Her victory at Philadelphia proved what could be done with a few strokes, plus indomitable courage, perseverance and limitless physical energy. She is not a Mary Browne or a May Sutton or a Suzanne Lenglen, but she is the best of the season's contenders for American honors. Miss Zinderstein unquestionably stands close to Mrs. Mallory in second place, and after these two there is a big gap. Miss Eleanor Goss has the ability to rank on almost equal terms with the two leaders, but her play this year has been disappointing. She did not do well on the Coast early in the Summer, and when she returned she failed to strike the form which won her the second postion in the previous year. She was beaten by the national indoor champion, Miss Helene Pollak, at Pelham, and later lost to Miss Zinderstein twice and to Miss Eleanor Tennant once. She defeated the latter handily, however, in the metropolitan chamionship, and would seem to deserve a ranking just ahead of the new star from the West. Miss Tennant, who formerly taught tennis in California and was this year restored to amateur standing, surprised the East with the quality of her play, even on turf, to which she was unaccustomed. She showed better volleying than any of the Eastern girls except Miss Zinderstein, who defeated her every time they met. Her weakness was on ground strokes, as she depended too much on chopping. In the national tournament, however, she was the only contestant to take a set from Mrs. Mallory, and it would be practially impossible to rank her lower than fourth. Miss Helen Baker, another Californian, is credited with being superior to Miss Tennant, on the Coast, where she now holds the championship. But she never showed to full advantage on her trip East, and was beaten by Miss Tennant in their only meeting at Providence. Fifth place is certainly the best that she can attain. Others Hard to Pick. After this quintet, the relative merits of the women of the courts are harder to determine. Miss Helene Pollak, the national indoor champion; Miss Florence Ballin and Mrs. Edward Raymond were very evenly matched, with Miss Marie Wagner only a little behind them. Of the four Mrs. Raymond seems to have the best record, with a victory over Miss Pollak at Pelham and one over Miss Wagner at Ardsley. Her only serious defeat was at the hands of Miss Margaret Grove in a tournament which was later eliminated from official consideration. Miss Pollak, Miss Ballin and Miss Wagner could fairly follow Mrs. Raymond in order, although there is little to choose between them. Miss Ballin's best feat was the winning of the Long Island championship, when she defeated Miss Wagner in the finals. The women's first ten is perhaps best completed by Miss Edith Sigourney of Boston, who, after finishing second to Miss Pollak indoors, went through a consistently successful outdoor season, with a defeat by Mrs. Robert Leroy the only black mark on her list. Miss Clare Cassel might have finished in the select circle if she had played more singles. But her arm still seems to trouble her, and she had a very in-and-out season. Her best achievements were the defeat of Mrs. Leroy at Ardsley and the close match she played against Miss Goss at Cedarhurst. If not actually in the first ten Miss Cassel would almost certainly be ranked high in the second group. Near her would be Miss Margaret Grove, who made the best record of her career up to the time of the unfortunate misunderstanding regarding the New York State championship, in whose replay Miss Wagner defeated her during the past week. Well Up in Second Ten. Miss Leslie Bancroft is another Bostonian who deserves to rank high this year. She recently completed her record with the winning of the Philadelphia title, showing a vast improvement over her former play with constant tournament experience. Mrs. Leroy lost to Miss Bancroft at Longwood, but otherwise did exceedingly well. Another sure member of the second ten is Mrs. E.V. Lynch, who won the Eastern New York championship and held her own with the best of the women all year. This group might logically be completed with Mrs. B.F. Briggs, Mrs. Benjamin Cole, the former Miss Anne Sheafe, Miss Corinne Gould, last year's clay court champion, but somewhat of a disappointment in the East; Miss Marguerite Davis, whose play was too limited by time to allow a fair judgement, and Miss Caroma Winn, who shone chiefly as a doubles player. Beyond this point is is scarcely necessary to go. Mrs. Ream Leachman was another Californian who did fairly well in Eastern tournaments. and Mrs. N.W. Wiles of Boston made a good showing in the national championship. Miss Bobby Esch and Miss Marjorie Hires, also from the West, had no real chance to show what they could do, nor did the other Bostonians of merit, Mrs. Cabot and Mrs. Godfrey. Among the players of the metropolitan district who made a fairly consistent record were Mrs. D.C. Mills, Mrs. G.B. Hirsch, Mrs. Percy Wilbourne, Miss Madelon Westervelt, Miss Gertrude Della Torre, Mrs. Samuel H. Waring, Mrs. Ingo Hartmann, Miss Adele Cragin and Mrs. W.H. Pritchard. The junior events of the season were generally disappointing, and it seems that parental objections still stand in the way of the development of tournament tennis among the younger girls who must eventually supply the champions. |
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1921 -- The US Men's National Singles Championships was moved from the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills to the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia. The men's singles would return to Forest Hills in 1923. -- William Larned, 7-time US National singles champ, invented a steel-framed tennis racquet. -- Denmark held their 1st national championships. -- The US Women's National Championships, singles and doubles, were moved from the Philadelphia Cricket Club to Forest Hills, New York, former site of the men's championships. -- French great Suzanne Lenglen made her first and only trip to America to compete in the US Women's Nationals. |
In 1921, French great Suzanne Lenglen came to the US to play in the US Nationals for the first time.
Sunday, August 14, 1921: The New York Times reported:
Mlle. Lenglen Writes Her Own Story |
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The ball is coming to you like a bolt. Somehow you instantly sense what it will do. Your mind seems to decide, almost without your knowing it, that you must return it to the sideline. It must hit right there--not an inch further. Then comes your stroke. Everything in the world is blank to you, except the exact spot where that ball must go. It must go there. Do you think if at that second a doubt flashed through your mind, that your stroke would be unwavering? That is what I mean by confidence, the will to win... |
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On Tuesday, August 16, 1921, Suzanne Lenglen was scheduled to play Eleanor Goss in the opening round, but Goss defaulted due to illness shortly before the match was to start.
Because the draw was unseeded, her 2nd round opponent was defending champion Molla Mallory. Tourney officials moved that match up to Tuesday, purportedly so that the crowd of 8,000 expecting to see Lenglen play would not be disappointed.
Mallory won the 1st set 6-2. Lenglen served a double fault to go to 0-30 in the 1st game of the 2nd set, then retired from the match, telling the umpire, "I cannot go on. I am really too ill." Lenglen would never again play in the US Nationals.
The seeded draw was introduced to the tourney in the following year, 1922.
Fifteen-year-old Helen Wills, who had won the US National Junior Girl's singles title the day before, was in the audience, and seven years later described the match in her book Tennis:
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...The bronzed tan of Mrs. Mallory emphasized the pallor of the Frenchwoman. Mrs. Mallory's determination was evident to every one as she strode along. Mlle. Lenglen danced at her side. The air was electrified, the audience expectant. The stage was set for drama and a tragedy occurred. The match commenced, Mlle. Lenglen started off steadily, but not with the dash and brilliance that had been expected. Mrs. Mallory's shots were carrying both speed and direction. She made few mistakes. She was alert and aggressive on every shot. The score mounted in her favor. She gained the first set and a substantial lead in the second. Her determination seemed to increase. Mlle. Lenglen, on the other hand, weakened. She coughed and appeared to be in distress. As she went on, her cough became more frequent. She went up to the umpire's stand to say that she could not continue, that she felt ill. The onlookers were astounded, surprised into complete silence. Then she left the court, weeping, leaning heavily on the arm of the French representative... |
1922
-- The All-England Club moved from the Worple Road location to the present site in Church Road, Wimbledon.
-- The Dayton Steel Company sold metal rackets with piano wire strings, popular with schools due to their durability.
-- Another metal racket with metal strings, the Birmal racket, was made in Birmingham, England.
1923
-- A concrete stadium was built at the West Side Tennis Club in New York, which again became the site of the US National Championships. The stadium, which held 3 grass singles courts side-by-side and eventually seated about 14,000, cost $250,000 to build.
From 1923 until 1935, the women's US National Championships tourney was played as a separate tournament prior to the men's singles championship.
-- The new Forest Hills stadium was opened on August 10, 1923, for the first Wightman Cup competition between the US and Britain. Helen Wills of the US defeated Kitty McKane of Britain 6-2, 7-5 in the 1st match in the new facility.
Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman had first proposed a women's equivalent to the Davis Cup in 1920, and donated a silver vase at the trophy. But Wightman Cup competition never extended beyond an annual dual meet between the US and Britain. The Wightman Cup was discontinued after 1989, having been displaced by the fully-international Federation Cup (Fed Cup), which began in 1963. The US won the 1923 Wightman Cup competition over Britain 7-0.
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1923-1938 -- American Helen Wills Moody Roark won 8 Wimbledon singles titles, as well as 7 US National singles championships at Forest Hills, and 4 singles titles at the French Nationals. Between 1927 and 1933 Helen Wills Moody won 158 consecutive matches without losing a single set. Only Martina Navratilova has won more Wimbledon singles titles (9). Wills also won 4 US and 3 Wimbledon doubles titles, and 2 US and 1 Wimbledon mixed doubles titles. Helen Wills retired from tourney competition in 1938, at the age of 33. She died on January 1, 1998, at the age of 92. |
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August 19, 1923: The New York Times reported:
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Miss Helen Wills, the new women's national tennis champion, was born in Centreville, Alameda County, Cal., Oct. 6, 1905. She began to play tennis in s serious way in 1919 when she joined the Berkeley Tennis Club. She showed ability at once. Her first title was won in a Bay Counties tourney, a small event drawing players of lesser note in the section. By practicing diligently with the male members of the Berkeley Club, Miss Wills improved steadily and in 1921 won the California State championship. She has held the Pacific Coast championship for two years, and in 1921 she came East for the first time to win the national girl's title, which she retained last year. In 1922 she also won the national doubles championship with Mrs. Marion Zinderstein Jessup of Wilmington, Del., and was runner up to Mrs. Mallory in the national singles final. The National Ranking Committee rated her third in its list. Miss Wills will not play in the East any more this season as she is returning to California this week to enter the University of California. She will take a four-year course, majoring in art and languages. She will be eighteen on her next birthday, a few months older than was May Sutton, now Mrs. Thomas C. Bundy of California, when she won the national title almost a score of years ago. |
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1924 |
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1925
-- The first qualifying competition for Wimbledon was held. Until 1966, qualifying was held in 2 locations, in north and south England, to reduce travel requirements.
-- Australian Gerald Patterson, 1919 and 1922 Wimbledon champ, played with a steel racket with wire strings, but switched back to wood after having one of his worst seasons.
-- Egypt held their 1st national championships.
1926
-- On February 16, 1926, Suzanne Lenglen defeated Helen Wills 6-3, 8-6 in the "Match of the Century" at Cannes, France.
February 17, 1926: The New York Times reported:
LENGLEN IS WINNER OVER HELEN WILLS IN FURIOUS BATTLEFrench Tennis Star Exhuasted After 6-3, 8-6 Victory Over American Girl. BAD RULING UPSETS LATTER Probably Cost Her Set--Discouraged, She Lets Down From Brilliant Play GREAT OVATION TO VICTOR She Is Buried Under Roses Before Throng--Faints After Doubles Triumph By Ferdinand Tuohy CANNES, Feb. 16.--Some spectacles will remain forever, even in a newspaper man's mind. Such a one was that of Suzanne Lenglen lying on a bed on the sixth floor of the Carlton Hotel here at noon today, directly after her victory over Helen Wills, 6-3, 8-6, in a simple game of tennis, yet a game which made continents stand still, snd was the most important sporting event of modern times exclusively in the hands of the fairer sex. ...With difficulty I dragged from the prostrate girl such grim, little verbal bouquets as "Helen showed more intelligence than I imagined. She has style and production of strokes. She will improve." Yet none of this--not even Helen's splendid drives and placings--worried Suzanne, according to Suzanne... ...Suzanne might have beckoned to the rising star more fervently without in any way weakening her own puissant case, since today she, too, played like a champion. For many games in the memorable second set she fell steadily behind, yet she overhauled the challenger, to win fresher than Helen, and this afternoon the French girl gave one of the pluckiest performances ever seen on a tennis court when she was carried in a collapsing state to victory with Vlasto in the women's doubles over Helen Wills and Contostavos. ...Helen made her admirers, who are legion, fairly roar with joy as she more than exceeded expectations, playing well within herself, and remaining permanently on the offensive almost throughout the long drawnout second set... Since 8 in the morning the entire social register of the Riviera, flanked by a goodly slice of the Almanac de Gotha and Debrett, had been fighting their way to the Carlton courts in one long procession of automobiles stretching out along the Nice and Monte Carlo road. And for three hours we sat there in the bleachers, 4,000 strong, just as when we were waiting for Dempsey and Carpentier... ...one surely never beheld such a vivid rainbow effect beneath a blazing sun as was afforded by hundreds of the smartest women of Europe all assembled in their Helen and Suzanne frocks specially ordered for the occasion. ...Repeatedly poor, susceptible Suzanne implored for calm, only for the turmoil to break out anew, sending her almost down in defeat before the outwardly unperturbed but inwardly quivering little poker face. Then when the battle was at the tensest moment came the errors of linesmen, giving three outs against Miss Wills, all of which were in, and ending in letting Suzanne think she had won the match before she actually had. As events turned out Helen proceeded to win two more games before the end...
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Later that year Suzanne Lenglen turned professional, playing a series of exhibitions run by promoter C.C. Pyle in the US against 35-year-old Mary K. Browne in late 1926 and early 1927.
Though Browne had been ranked # 6 in the world in 1925, Lenglen won all 38 of the matches they played.
The other pros on the tour were Vinnie Richards, Howard Kinsey, Fred Snodgrass, and Paul Feret.
This was the first successful pro tennis tour in history.
August 11, 1926: The New York Times reported:
LENGLEN FEELS FREE AS PRO"Do you think you might meet Helen Wills again?" "I sincerely hope so," Suzanne responded. "Perhaps it can be arranged. I don't feel that I should be ostracized because I haved turned professional. Maybe the United States Tennis Association will permit a match between us to be staged in America. It would be the fulfillment of one of my most cherished ambitions." (Means were found to permit amateur and professional golfers to meet and it is this Miss Lenglen is believed to have in mind.) ..."How old am I?" she flashed, "I am not afraid to say that I am 27 years of age. I was born in 1899 and have been playing tennis for sixteen years. I began when I was 11 years old. "Ouf! What a relief to be free once more! Jean Borotra summed it up in a few words when he said I was the only woman in the world who had no business to be sick, but all these cares and worries are now gone and I am feeling pretty good just now." "What was my hardest match?" Mlle. Lenglen continued... "It was my match against Mrs. R. Lambert Chambers at Wimbledon in 1919, where, incidentally, I won my first world championship. I was a little girl, aged 20, pitted against the best player in the world. Mrs. Lambert Chambers had been supreme in feminine tennis. "My advice to young players? Keep your eye on the ball; second, keep the ball in play; third, meet the ball on the rise; fourth, practice your weak shots, and fifth, don't worry. "The last is advice I never myself could follow, but don't do as I did, do as I say. Control of the ball and accuracy is the secret of tennis success. I never had a wicked service; my forehand drive is not nearly as powerful as Miss Wills, but I have always been able to place the ball within inches of where I wanted it." ..."Some say that no champion in one sport can be proficient in another. Well, I think that's wrong," she ocntinued. "I was France's feminine high jump champion in 1919 with a leap of 4 feet 6 inches. This is within 4 inches of Miss Elizabeth Stine's world record. (Miss Stine of Leonia, N.J., was credited in 1923 with making a world's record high jump for women of 4 feet 10½ inches. Only a few days ago Miss D.A. Green jumped 5 feet 1 3/8 inches at the Chiswick sports meet near London.) "Then, no one can accuse me of being a poor dancer... "I feel as proud of my dancing as of my tennis. I can run 80 meters (about 87.5 yards) in 11 seconds." ..."Who do you think is the best amateur woman player in the world?" "You will excuse me from passing judgement on my late adversaries. There are many good players," Suzanne answered. ...Here Papa Lenglen intervened and said, "By all means Miss Wills. She is the best player in the world just now." Asked how he compared Senorita Ella de Alvarez, whom Suzanne has never met, Papa Lenglen answered, "Miss Wills is fifteen better than Senorita de Alvarez." Suzanne, chuckling when she was asked what topnotch player she had experienced the least difficulty in defeating, answered, "Miss Elizabeth Ryan." Discussing the play of Miss Ryan, who only last Friday defeated Miss Wills in the final of the Jubilee Tournament of the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, 6-4, 6-1, Mlle. Lenglen said, "She is one of the greatest players in the world, yet we met fifty-two times and I beat her fifty-one. I have had sterner fights from players whom Miss Ryan has defeated in love sets than from Miss Ryan herself. I think she is one of the three best players in the world just now." Just before dinner, Suzanne took a dip in the English Channel and went out two or three hundred yards until her mother cautioned her to be careful. Suzanne displayed much interest in the recent Channel swimming and expressed great admriation for Gertrude Ederle's prowess. "She must be a tremendously powerful girl, I wish I had her stamina," she said. |
-- At the age of 42 years, 5 months, Molla Bjurstedt Mallory became the oldest person ever to win a Grand Slam tourney singles title by winning her 8th US National championship at Forest Hills.
August 24, 1926: The New York Times reported:
MRS. MALLORY WINS BACK TENNIS CROWNBy Allison DanzigThe sceptre in American women's tennis returned to Mrs. Molla Mallory yesterday. Time turned back at Forest Hills as the New York woman... fought her way to a stunning victory over Miss Elizabeth Ryan of California to regain the crown which she lost to Miss Helen Wills in 1923... In all the thirty-nine years of the women's national championship there has probably never been a more sensational victory scored in a final round than Mrs. Mallory's yesterday. Trailing at 0-4 in the final set, in which she was within a single stroke of defeat in the fourteenth game, the New York woman threw the 3,000 spectators into a frenzy of delight as she fought her way through four games in a row with a savageness of stroking that crushed all opposition. Miss Ryan Wilts Before Attack. Miss Ryan, clearly the favorite from the start up to this point, wilted before the devastating attack, which completely broke up her volleying game. She fought desperately through seven more games to hold off Mrs. Mallory penetrating forcing shots, and then, amid screams of joy from the whole gallery, Mrs. Mallory brougth the play to a climax by breaking through service and winning her own game for the match. The score was 4-6, 6-4, 9-7. ...Mrs. Mallory danced with joy, throwing her racquet into the air, waving to the cheering stands and unrestrainedly giving vent to her glee... The singles final was remarkable for the closeness of the play. In both the first and the second sets neither player ever held a commanding lead, and only in the first four games of the final chapter was the play one-sided... Miss Ryan won one more point than Mrs. Mallory, 112 to 111, while the champion gained two more games, 19 to 17. Mrs. Mallory made eight more errors and seven more earned points than Miss Ryan. It was the magnificent sharp-shooting of Mrs. Mallory that decided the issue. The champion needed only to fall behind to become rampant, and she was never so deadly in her stroking as she was in eliminating the 4-0 lead of Miss Ryan in the final set, a lead that had been gained in hardly more than six minutes of Mrs. Mallory's inexcusable errors. In the next four games Mrs. Mallory scored nine placements to win 16 points, and in this last set she made 17 to 9 for Miss Ryan. This remarkable accuracy and keenness of Mrs. Mallory for penetrating the openings completely broke up Miss Ryan's net attack. During the last twelve games the Californian scored only one winning volley shot, which speaks for itself. Not only did Miss Ryan's short-court game become a total loss, but her chopped drives to deep territory made no impression whatsoever upon Mrs. Mallory in the late stages, contrasting with their effect earlier in the match, when they induced error-making repeatedly. Mrs. Mallory did not seem to know how to make an error any longer. Everything that came over the net was sent back like a bolt to open territory, keeping Miss Ryan on the run until she was badly tired and fell off in control. Mrs. Mallory, to add the last straw, completely smothered her opponent's drop shots, crafty trap strokes, which Miss Ryan made with such delicate finesse to catch Mrs. Mallory flat-footed in her back court in the two first sets, were now retrieved by a fleet-footed, keenly alert opponent every time and returned with winning shots. Mrs. Mallory had the advantage of what might be called the "breaks" in the concluding stages, winning a number of points when the ball hit the top of the net fence and rolled the right way for her. But, on the other hand, she was the victim of a number of what seemed doubtful decisions, one of which cost her a point in the twelfth game that put Miss Ryan within two points of the match. Mrs. Mallory showed her fine sportsmanship by refusing to question the decision and silenced the crowd, which objected to the decision, with a wave of her arm. In the fourteenth game Miss Ryan was at match point, but her errors in returning a service--a weakness she showed throughout the match--cost her the opportunity. Crucial Struggle Begins. Mrs. Mallory pulled out the game, and then there began a desperate struggle in the fifteenth. Miss Ryan gained a 30-0 lead in this game. Mrs. Mallory pulled up to 30-all and then scored on a fluke return of service, the ball just getting over the net. Miss Ryan brought the score to deuce. Fighting desperately to get to the net, she found her efforts wasted when Mrs. Mallory scored on a net-cord placement. The deciding break was made. In the final game, Miss Ryan showed her championship fibre, trailing at 0-40, and with defeat only a point away, she fought Mrs. Mallory through the next four rallies and gained the advantage point. Here her control waned as Mrs. Mallory pounded her base corners and the champion took the next two points on errors for the match...
Umpire--Ben Dwight... Time of match--1:10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the scoring used at the time: N= shots into the net, O= shots hit out, P= shots hit past the opponent, SA= service aces, DF= double faults, E= errors, EP=earned points, TP=total points, G=games, S=sets.
1927
January 30, 1927: The New York Times reported:
Mlle. Lenglen gets $100,000 as Tennis Pro in Four Months; |
-- Apparently considering the success of the Suzanne Lenglen pro exhibition tour as a potential threat to its authority, the USLTA passed a resolution requiring clubs that wished to hold pro or "open" (open to both pros and amateurs) events to get permission from the USLTA.
1927-1932
-- France's "Four Horsemen," Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Rene Lacoste, won the Davis Cup from the US in 1927 and kept it for 6 years. During this period Lacoste and Cochet each won 7 grand slam singles titles, and Borotra won 5.
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Late 1920s -- Open-throated wooden rackets are popular, particularly the Top-Flite racket. 1930 -- The Germantown Cricket Club, in financial difficulty, requested permisson from the USLTA to hold an "open" (to amateurs and professionals) tourney to raise money. Subsequently, the USLTA proposed an amendment to ILTF rule 23. This rule permitted pro vs. amateur matches when approved by a member association. The USLTA requested that the rule be amended to add the words "and tournaments" after the word "matches." |
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-- Italy held their 1st national championships.
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1931 -- Pro tour: Bill Tilden defeated Karel Kozeluh. |
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1932 -- Pro tour: Bill Tilden defeated Hans Nusslein. |
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1933
-- The Germantown Cricket Club, as they had in 1930, requested permisson from the USLTA to hold an "open" tourney. USLTA president Louis J. Carruthers, and attorney, decided that there was nothing in ILTF Rule 23 that prohibited member associations from holding open tourneys. Therefore the Germantown Cricket Club request was granted.
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Several months prior to the scheduled event, the annual ILTF meeting was held in London. The USLTA was represented not by a tennis official, but by a US Embassy official. The USLTA position was debated with no one there who could properly defend it, and the ILTF adopted a resolution stating the "neither Rule 23 nor any other rule permits the holding of such tournaments." -- Short pants were worn for the first time by a gentleman playing on Centre Court at Wimbeldon, by Henry Wilfred "Bunny" Austin. -- '33-'34 Pro tour: Ellsworth Vines defeated Bill Tilden 47-26. 1935 -- The US men's and women's singles natonal championships were united as a single tourney at Forest Hills. The women's doubles was moved to Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, where it was played along with the men's doubles and mixed doubles national championships. |
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1936 -- The first Swedish championships were played. -- Short pants pioneer Henry Wilfred "Bunny" Austin was one of the few players who used the radical-looking Hazell "Streamline" racquet, which was in production for only 3 years. This racquet now costs about $1000. 1937 -- Without permission from the USLTA, the Greenbriar Golf and Tennis Club held what it called the "First U.S. Open Tennis Championships." |
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-- '37-'38 Pro tour: Ellsworth Vines defeated Fred Perry 49-35.
1938
-- A proposal by the Lawn Tennis Association of India that the ILTF should allow member associations to hold open tournaments was defeatded by a vote of 118 to 51.
-- Helen Wills defeated Helen Jacobs to win her 8th and last Wimbledon singles title on July 2, 1938. Just before leaving the dressing room for the final, the players were informed that Suzanne Lenglen was gravely ill in Paris.
July 4, 1938: The New York Times reported:
SUZANNE LENGLEN, TENNIS STAR, DIESA blood transfusion was administered after she become ill last Wednesday. She appeared to be resting comfortably, but her condition became worse on Friday. Her age was 39. ...Born in Compiegne, France, on May 24, 1899, Mlle. Lenglen launched her brilliant career on the courts at the age of 14, when she won the singles championship of Picardy... ...She swept triumphantly through her first Wimbledon tournament in 1919, capturing the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles. ...Trailing her arch-rival, Mrs. Molla Bjurstedt Mallory, the American champion, at the end of their second-round match in the 1921 American championships at Forest Hills, Mlle. Lenglen dramatically stalked off the court, saying she was too ill to continue... That incident and others of a similar stripe in later years--such as her refusal to play in a scheduled match at Wimbledon in 1926, when Queen Mary was among the disappointed audience, and her subsequent withdrawal from that tournament because "illness"--had a dimming effect on her personal popularity in America and England, but there was no gainsaying her consummate ability. ...In 1922 she gained revenge at Mrs. Mallory's expense for the Forest Hills fiasco by humiliating the American champion 6-2, 6-0 at Wimbledon. ...Another celebrated triumph for Mlle. Lenglen was that over Miss Helen Wills, whom she defeated, 6-3, 8-6, at Cannes in 1926. Preceded by months of fanfare, her victory was front page news the world over. After the Wimbledon debacle of that same year, which was so much of an international incident that the French Government apologized to the Queen for Mlle. Lenglen's conduct, the volatile Suzanne dropped another bombshell into tennis ranks by announcing she had accepted a professional contract. |
-- Don Budge became the first player in history, man or woman, to win all 4 major national championship singles titles (Wimbledon, French, US, & Australian) within one calendar year. Later, this feat would be labeled a Grand Slam, and the 4 majors thus called "Grand Slam tournaments." After this feat, Budge turned pro.
-- '38-'39 Pro tour: Don Budge defeated Ellsworth Vines 21-18, and Budge also defeated Fred Perry, 18-11. Budge later told Sarah Palfrey that Vines averaged 2 aces per game on this tour.
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1940 -- '40-'41 Pro tour: Don Budge defeated Bill Tilden 51-7. |
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1945 |
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1946
-- '46-'47 Pro tour: Bobby Riggs defeated Don Budge 23-21.
1947
-- '47-'48 Pro tour: Jack Kramer defeated Bobby Riggs 69-20.
1948-1972
Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" Gonzalez won the U.S. National singles title at Forest Hills in 1948 and 1949. After helping the U.S. hold the Davis Cup against Australia, Gonzalez turned pro to tour against Jack Kramer on the tour then run by Bobby Riggs. Kramer won 96-27.
After Kramer retired in 1954 Gonzalez won a tour over Don Budge, Pancho Segura and Frank Sedgman. In subsequent tours, Gonzalez defeated Tony Trabert, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Ashley Cooper, Mal Anderson, Alex Olmedo and Segura. He also won the U.S. Pro singles tournament championship a record eight times. For all practical purposes, Pancho Gonzalez was pro tennis.
In 1968, at age 40, Pancho defeated 2nd-seeded Tony Roche to reach the quarterfinals of the first U.S. Open. In the 1st round at Wimbledon in 1969, Gonzalez defeated Charlie Pasarel 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9, saving seven match points in the fifth set. It was the longest match in Championships history, 112 games totaling 5 hours and 12 minutes over 2 days (this was the longest match at any grand slam tourney until 1992, when Michael Chang and Stefan Edberg went 14 minutes longer at the U.S. Open).
Gonzalez was in the top 10 in the US for 24 years. In 1972, at age 43, Gonzalez became the oldest person to win a tournament singles title in the open era, defeating 24-year-old Georges Goven in Des Moines, Iowa, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. That year he was ranked # 9 in the US, the oldest ever to rank so high. Panch was ranked # 1 in the world in 1949, and # 6 in the world in 1969.
Pancho won $911,078 between 1950 and 1972, and went over a million in seniors play. He was married six times. His sixth wife was Rita Agassi, sister of Andre Agassi. Gonzalez died July 3, 1995, of cancer in Las Vegas, where he was a teaching pro.
1949
-- '49-'50 Pro tour: Jack Kramer defeated Richard "Pancho" Gonzales 96-27.
1950
-- '50-'51 Pro tour: Jack Kramer defeated Francisco "Pancho" Segura 64-28.
Also on the tour were Pauline Betz and Gertrude "Gussie" Moran.
1951-1954
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-- Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly won all 9 Grand Slam tourneys she competed in from the 1951 US Nationals at Forest Hills to the 1954 Wimbledon. In 1953 Maureen became the first woman (and 2nd person) to win THE Grand Slam: all 4 Grand Slam singles titles in a single calendar year. "On clay, Chris [Evert] and Maureen Connolly are close... She and Chris are very similar-- great, great baseliners. If anything, Maureen might have been a little swifter and quicker around the court than Chris. Maureen would have beaten Martina [Navratilova] on clay. Its questionable whether Maureen would have beaten her on a hardcourt. On grass I like Martina." Bobby Riggs, quoted in Tennis Confidential by Paul Fein "Whenever a great player comes along you have to ask, 'Could she have beaten Maureen?' In every case the answer is, I think not." London Daily Telegraph tennis writer Lance Tingay |
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On July 20, 1954, Maureen Connolly's horse, Colonel Merry Boy (a gift Maureen had recieved from hometown fans in San Diego) shied at a cement truck while Maureen was horseback riding. Maureen's leg was crushed against the truck, resulting in a broken fibula and cuts that required 20 stiches.
At the time, San Diego doctor Bruce Kimball said Maureen would make "a full recovery," but "I just can't say when she'll get back into championship form."
In fact, Maureen never returned to competition, and the injury ended her tennis career at age 19.
Maureen became the women's sports editor for the San Diego Union newspaper, and got married. Later she and her husband Norman Brinker moved to Dallas, Texas.
Sadly, Maureen died of cancer in 1969, at the age of 34.
1953
-- Pro tour: Jack Kramer defeated Frank Sedgman 54-41.
July 5, 1953: The New York Times reported:
Maureen Connolly Beats Miss Hart in Thrilling Wimbledon MatchBy Fred TupperWIMBLEDON, England, July 4--In what assuredly must rank as one of the great matches in the history of women's tennis, Maureen Connolly of San Diego, Calif. [defeated] Doris Hart of Miami at the very top of her game, 8-6, 7-5... "Little Mo" was defending her crown and in between she had garnered the American, Australian and French titles, but she has never ground out a victory against so stubborn an opponent as she faced for seventy minutes in this ivied crater today. Gone were the timidity and looseness that had characterized Miss Hart's play in continental tourneys earlier this year. This was an old campaigner reaching into her memory book for all the shots that had made her a champion in her own right of every country in which she had ever competed. Here were the fluent forehand mixed with the hard slice, the beautifully timed lob with the deceptive drop shot. They were all on display in this brilliant final and yet, as the points and games rolled by, it was apparent that they were just not enough. For Maureen has more pace and length off the ground-- perhaps more than any other woman ever-- and she is faster afoot. This year she has added an overhead and ironed out the wrinkles in her service and net play. More than all these, she has concentration in the clutch. In the final analysis, it was her sheer tenacity that brought her home. ...Little Mo opened service and held it perfectly to 4-3. Finally, in a long game, she blasted a crosscourt forehand out of reach for the break. Then she became human just long enough to double-fault twice and Doris was back to 5-4. In the fourteenth game, a Connolly drop shot left Doris standing, a passing backhand ripped down the line and another cross-court forehand gave Miss Connolly game and set after trailing 40-0. Miss Hart was through service in the first game of the second set, but Maureen came right back and added another on Doris' service to lead at 3-1. Two delightful punch volleys evened it again and on they went to 4-4. Doris made a last effort in the ninth game; six times the score was deuced and twice she had the advantage. On the last attempt, she made the big gamble, hitting all out with a flat forehand down the side. It hit the top of the net and caromed back. That was the breaking point. Maureen held her service to 6-5 and then took Doris' delivery at love. An ovation from 15,000 throats echoed through the arena for more than four minutes. It was superb tennis... |
1954
-- Pro tour: In round-robin play, Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Frank Sedgman and Francisco "Pancho" Segura.
July 4, 1954: The New York Times reported:
Maureen Connolly Is Victor Over Miss Brough at Wimbledon, 6-2, 7-5By Fred TupperWIMBLEDON, England, July 3--...Maureen Connolly of San Diego, Calif. won her third Wimbledon singles title today... she defeated Louise Brough of Beverly Hills, Calif., 6-2, 7-5, and the manner in which she did it put her closer to her rightful niche among the tennis immortals. Little Mo took the first set just as she had been expected to do, purposefully and ruthlessly, in 18 minutes... She was firing her ground strokes for the corners, and as Louise raced from side to side retrieving, she would increase the pace and put the ball firmly away. When the mood seized her, she would vary the tempo, and time and again, after a long base-line rally, out would come the most delicate of drop shots to spin just over the net and fade away. All this was in the best Connolly tradition. Another chapter in the saga of invincibility that has carried her to triumph in every major tournament in which she has appeared the world over for the past three years. But today she was meeting another champion in her own right, winner of Wimbledon three times herself in 1948, '49, '50 and now on the comeback trail after being sidelined with a "tennis elbow." There is only one way left to play Miss Connolly. There is no use slugging it out with her outright; it is foolhardy to force the net against the lightning of her passing shots. And so Louise attacked her down the middle. ...She fed her a diet of slow chops, high and deep, just inside the baseline. Maureen would take the cut-off with her drive, but Louise would slice it back interminably. ...Maureen became impatient... having trouble with her service... Louise kept pushing away... The points started to come now, and then the games. She was 5-2... Then came the deluge. Clenching her fists and muttering her own private words of encouragement, Maureen started to hit out. She produced the big shot on nearly every shot, the scorching backhand across court and the flat forehand down the line. Louise was back to the treadmill again, scampering all over the court in an increasingly hopeless attempt to retrieve. ...Little Mo took five straight games for the match. "I thought I was a goner in the second set," she said later... "But I did what I knew I must. I aimed for the winner and it came off. Lucky for me." Louise had a different version. "I made the biggest mistake ever. I worked too hard to break Maureen's service when I had her down, 5-2. It took that little bit out of me that I needed to hold my own," she said. |
1955
-- '55-'56 Pro tour: Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Tony Trabert 74-27.
1957
-- '57 Pro tour: Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Ken Rosewall 50-26.
-- '57-'58 Pro tour: Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Lew Hoad 51-36.
1958
-- '58-'59 Women's Pro tour: Althea Gibson defeated Karol Fageros 114-4.
1959
-- Pro tour: In round-robin play, Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Lew Hoad, Mal Anderson, and Ashley Cooper.
-- The foot-fault rule was changed by the ILTF. The old rule forbade stepping or jumping on the court at the end of the service motion; the new rule allowed it, but only after the ball had been struck.
-- '59-'60 Pro tour: In round-robin play, Richard "Pancho" Gonzales defeated Ken Rosewall, Alex Olmedo, and Francisco "Pancho" Segura.
1960
-- July: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) met in Paris and voted on a motion to open tennis tournaments to professionals, but the motion, which required 139 out of 209 votes to pass, got only 134 votes, 5 short.
1961
-- Pro tour: Richard "Pancho" Gonzales won the most matches in a tour with Lew Hoad, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, Alex Olmedo, Ashley Cooper, Butch Bucholz, Barry MacKay, and Andres Gimeno.
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1960-1975 -- Australian Margaret Smith Court won 62 Grand Slam tourney titles, from the 1960 Australian Open singles title, to the 1975 US Open doubles title. 24 of the 62 major titles were singles titles. In 1970 Margaret completed THE Grand Slam, winning all 4 major singles titles in the same year. She was only the 2nd woman (and 4th person) to complete a singles Grand Slam. Margaret Smith Court, although she started out left-handed as a child, played right-handed with a 1-handed backhand, using an evenly balanced 13 5/8 oz. racket with a 4 5/8" square-built grip. She played in 1003 singles matches from 1960 to 1973, winning 929 and losing only 74. The 74 losses were to just 31 players, and Margaret's win-loss record against all 31 was solidly in her favor. |
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1960-1975 -- American Billie Jean Moffitt King won 39 Grand Slam tourney titles, from the 1960 Australian Open singles title, to the 1975 US Open singles title. 13 of her 39 major titles were singles titles. Billie Jean played in 826 singles matches from 1960 to 1983, winning 677 and losing only 149. Billie Jean reached the Wimbledon singles semifinals in 1983, at the age of 39, before losing to 18-year-old Andrea Jaeger 6-1, 6-1. |
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1961-1967
-- Australian Roy Emerson won 12 Grand Slam singles titles. He also won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles during his career, for a total of 28 major titles.
1962-1969
-- Australian Rod Laver completed THE Grand Slam, winning all 4 major singles titles in the same year, as an amateur in 1962, the 2nd man ever to do so. In 1969, the first year it was possible, he repeated the feat as a professional.
1963
-- The first Federation Cup (Fed Cup) competition was held. The Fed Cup is the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup, a playoff between national teams. "Ties" between teams originally consisted of 2 singles matches and 1 doubles match, and the competition was held in a single week at a single site; later it would adopt the Davis Cup system of multiple dates (1st round, QF, and SF/Final) at multiple locations worldwide, with "ties" consisting of 4 singles matches and 1 doubles match.
The US defeated Australia 2-1 in the first Fed Cup final, held at Queen's Club, London:
Margaret Smith AUS d Darlene Hard USA 6-3, 6-0
Billie Jean Moffitt USA d Lesley Turner AUS 5-7, 6-0, 6-3
Billie Jean Moffitt & Darlene Hard USA d Margaret Smith & Lesley Turner AUS 3-6, 13-11, 6-3
-- Colin Dibley hit a 148 mile-per-hour serve, a record which would stand until the late 1990s.
-- Pro tour: Ken Rosewall finished 1st and Rod Laver finished 2nd in a tour with Alex Olmedo, Butch Bucholz, Barry MacKay, and Luis Ayala.
1964
-- July: The ILTF met in Paris voted on a motion to hold experimental "open" tournaments, but the motion, requiring a two-thirds majority to pass, failed with 120 votes in favor and 100 opposed.
Late 1960s-Early 1970s
Up to this point in history, almost all players had held 2 balls in their hand while serving, tossing one while retaining the other, ready to use it for their 2nd serve. Some players even held three balls in their tossing hand.
In the late '60s and early 70's a gradual transition began: more and more players put the second ball in their pocket, sensibly simplifying their service toss by holding only the ball to be served in their hand.
Retired former US Nationals champion Sarah Palfrey, in a book she wrote at the time, reported that this was "the current vogue among many of our ranking men players;" apparently women's tennis garb was not yet routinely equipped with pockets.
1967
-- Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi suggested that Nick Bollettieri should run a summer tennis camp at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Bollettieri ran the camp for 25 years.
-- The Wilson T2000 steel racket was introduced, and was used at Forest Hills by Billie Jean King (who later switched back to wood), Clark Graebner, and Gene Scott. French "musketeer" Jean Rene Lacoste invented the T2000, which had a split steel shaft, but used conventional strings, over a conventional 63-square-inch head. Lacoste had patented the steel racket design in 1963, with an additional patent in 1965.
-- Early 1967: The ILTF rejected a British proposal for open tournaments by a vote of 139 to 83.
-- During The Championships in 1966, Wimbledon's working chairman Herman David had talked to Jack Kramer and BBC tennis exec Bryan Cowgill about the possibility of making the tournament "open" to both amateurs and pros. The topic had been raised on and off for years.
By 1966 public interest in tennis had been at a long-sustained low. Cowgill suggested a trial pro tourney at Wimbledon for the following year, and in late August, 1967, the tourney was held at Wimbledon with total prize money of $35,000 for singles and $10,000 for doubles, making it the largest prize-money event in tennis history at that time.
The Wimbledon pro tourney was very successful. There was an 8 player draw, consisting of Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Segura, Andres Gimeno, Butch Bucholz, Frank Sedgman, and Lew Hoad.
-- December 14, 1967: The British Lawn Tennis Association voted 295 to 5 to conduct the 1968 Championships at Wimbledon as an open tourney, and to end any distincton between pro and amateur as of April 22, 1968.
1968
-- January 8, 1968: ILTF president Giorgio di Stefani announced that the British Lawn Tennis Association would be suspended from the ILTF effective April 22. After this, the USLTA and its president, Robert J. Kelleher, worked to convince other ILTF members to revoke the suspension and introduce open tennis under the auspices of the ILTF. However, while in favor of open tennis, the USLTA did not want to abolish the distinction between amateur and pro.
February 3, 1968: At the USLTA meeting in Coronado, California, president Robert J. Kelleher, also the US delegate to the ILTF, was empowered to threaten to withdraw the USLTA from the ILTF if the Federation did not change its postion on open tennis.
Kelleher, with the help of Sweden's Lawn Tennis Association, arranged for a special meeting of the ILTF in Paris on March 30th to try to reach an agreement on open tennis. By this time Australia had also come out in favor of open tennis under the auspices of the ILTF.
March 30, 1968: At the Automobile Club at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the ILTF met and unanimously approved 12 "open" (open to both amateurs and professionals) tournaments for 1968 and 30 open tourneys for 1969. While not formally ending the distinction between amateur and pro, the ILTF also made it possible for those member nations who so wished to create a class of "registered" players, who could profit from prizes at open events, but still remain eligible for amateur events.
Jack Kramer helped the BBC organize the first open tournament, which was held at the West Hunts Club in Bournemouth, beginning on April 22, 1968. Virginia Wade won the women's title at Bournemouth, but turned down the prize money.
-- The French Championships at Roland Garros was the second open tourney played. Ken Rosewall won the first French Open mens's singles title, and Nancy Richey the women's singles.
-- At the first open Championships at Wimbledon, pro Rod Laver won the men's singles and Billie Jean King the women's singles.
-- At the first US Open at Forest Hills, amateur Arthur Ashe won the men's singles, while "registered" player Virginia Wade won the women's singles, allowing her to retain amateur status while accepting the $6000 1st place prize money.
-- In the US, a separate amateurs-only US National tourney was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston in 1968 and 1969, but after 1969 the US Open became the US outdoor national championships. However, in 1988 a separate and superfluous "US Hardcourt Championship" was again begun to be played annually.
1969
-- At the first Australian Open, pro Rod Laver won the mens's singles title, and Margaret Smith Court the women's singles.
-- Arthur Ashe started playing with the new Head Competition racket, which was built of aluminum and fiberglass with an open throat. The Head Competition weighed 12.5 ounces and had a 68-square-inch head (one ounce lighter and 3 square inches larger than typical wood rackets).
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1970-1989 -- American Chris Evert won 157 singles titles, including 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Chrissie turned pro in 1973, and by 1976 had become the first player ever to win over $1 million in prize money. In 303 tournaments entered, she won 1,309 singles matches while losing only 146. Her winning average of .8996 is the highest in pro history, allowing Chrissie to reach the final in 76% of the tourneys she entered. Evert was ranked # 1 in the world in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, & 1981, and was ranked in the world's top 10 for 17 years. As of this writing, Chrissie is the publisher of Tennis Magazine. |
1970: "Women's Lob"
-- At the 1970 Italian Open in Rome, women's singles champ Billie Jean King won $600, while men's champ Ille Nastase received $3,500. King and other women on the pro tour had been getting irate about the difference in pay since the open era began 2 years earlier. At the 1970 US Open women pros protested their lower prize money at a press conference, threatening to boycott the upcoming Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles (run by Jack Kramer), where the men would receive ten times as much prize money as the women.
Gladys Heldman, World Tennis magazine founder and mother of pro player Julie Heldman, offered to promote a women-only alternative tourney in Houston, offering $5,000 in prize money, with the winner receiving $1,500.
September 9, 1970: The New York Times reported:
Miss Casals Gains Semifinals; 8 Women to shun Coast EventThe second-seeded Miss Casals... took the first set after a marathon 28 point 10th game... Joining Miss Casals in the semifinals was Virginia Wade, of Britain, seeded No. 5. She lost a 4-1 lead in the opening set, then put her powerful serve and volley together for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 triumph over fourth-seeded Françoise Durr of France. Meanwhile, at a meeting last night, the leading women players decided on their step to obtain what they considered a more equitable distribution of prize money in relation to what men were getting. The top eight players, to be selected by a committee, will withdraw from the Pacific Southwest tournament, which starts Sept. 21 in Los Angeles, and compete instead in a new Houston women's tournament offering a $5,000 purse. The rest will play in the Pacific Southwest, which offers a top prize of $1,500 for women and $12,000 for men. "In this way more girls will get to share more money," said Mrs. Gladys Heldman, publisher of World Tennis magazine, at whose home the meeting took place. |
But three days before the Houston women's event, the USLTA declared that it would not sanction the tourney, and that they might ban the players, officials, and the host Houston Racquet Club from national affiliation. Women who played at the Houston tourney might not be allowed to play in Grand Slam tourneys.
Heldman then hired the nine players committed to the event as employees, with one-week [later extended] "personal service" contracts for one dollar each. They would still play for the prize money, but if the USLTA suspended the players, they could file an antitrust case for restraint-of-trade.
Heldman also asked Joseph Cullman, head of Philip Morris and a tennis supporter, to have the tobacco company sponsor the Houston tourney. Cullman agreed. A tournament featuring outspoken women fighting for equal pay was a good advertising match for his company's recently introduced Virginia Slims cigarettes.
Cullman raised tourney prize money to $7,500, and the Houston tourney became the first Virginia Slims Women's Pro Tournament. The nine-player draw consisted of world # 2 Bille Jean King, # 4 Nancy Richey, # 5 Julie Heldman, # 6 Rosie Casals, # 10 Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, and Val Ziegenfuss (all Americans), and world # 3 Judy Tegart Dalton and # 7 Kerry Melville (both Australians).
The following day the US players were notified by telegram that they were suspended from the USLTA. They could be locked out of the Grand Slam events of 1971, and they would no longer be eligible for national rankings.
But they played anyway, and the Houston Virginia Slims was a success. On September, 24, 1970, after the 1st round had been played in Houston, United Press International reported that the women planned to form their own tennis tour. Heldman arranged two more tourneys in San Francisco and in Richmond, Virginia.
1971
The Virginia Slims events were very successful and generated much media attention. Heldman and Philip Morris expanded to an "official" circuit of eight tourneys for early 1971, each one offering at least $10,000 in prize money. The schedule did not conflict with the Grand Slam tourneys, so the players could compete if not banned.
February 12, 1971: The USLTA, while holding its annual meeting in Florida, lifted the suspension on the US players. By this time there were 19 women on the Virginia Slims tour, 16 of whom had signed $1 service contracts to improve their legal postion. USLTA President Robert Colwell said that although several items needed to be "ironed out... Everything is peaches and cream... The suspension has been lifted."
Margaret Smith Court had not yet joined the Virginia Slims tour (she would later), but Françoise Durr and Ann Haydon Jones had. On February 14, tennis writer Neil Amdur reported in The New York Times that the Slims tour events, with 16 player draws, paid $300 to 1st round losers, and were using yellow tennis balls in tourney play for the first time.
1972
August 14, 1972: Gladys Heldman announced she would resign as director of the Virginia Slims tour as of October 15. Mrs Heldman, who had been serving as director without any salary, said: "We feel that the United States Lawn Tennis Association can and should have the opportunity to take over. I am certain they will do a proper job for the players, sponsors, and tournament directors."
But Mrs. Heldman and the Slims Tour players and sponsors were unable to reach an agreement with USLTA officials. On October 3, 1972, The New York Times reported that the 22 Virginia Slims Tour players (which by this time included Margaret Smith Court) had formed a new organization called the Women's International Tennis Federation. Instead of resigning, Gladys Heldman continued as director of the WITF. A schedule of 13 tourneys for winter-spring 1973 was announced (one more spring event was added later). The WITF would pay no sanction fees to the USLTA or the ILTF. Mrs. Heldman said: "It isn't a war of women against men. It's a war against a few officials who have simply been too tough."
1972-1992
-- American Jimmy Connors won a men's-record 109 singles titles (in 163 finals).
In 1974 Connors won Wimbledon and the Australian and US titles using the Wilson T2000 racket. Connors was banned from playing in the French Open along with all other players who had contracted to play in the first season of World Team Tennis; otherwise he might have completed the Grand Slam.
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1973-2004 -- Czechoslovakia-born Martina Navratilova won 167 singles titles, an all-time record which included 18 Grand Slam singles titles. 9 of her Grand Slam singles titles were at Wimbledon, more than any other player (Helen Wills Moody is second with 8). Martina was ranked # 1 in the world in 1978 & 1979, and from 1982 until 1987, when Steffi Graf took over the position. Martina became a US citizen in 1981, and while playing for the US was undefeated in Federation Cup play until 2004. |
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1973 -- While the Women's International Tennis Federation conducted the Virginia Slims-sponsored women's pro tour of 14 events, the USLTA organized a completely separate tour of 8 events. The WITF-Virginia Slims tour featured Billie Jean King, Margaret Smith Court, and Rosie Casals. The USLTA women's tour featured Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, and Virginia Wade. On January 9, 1973, Heldman filed a lawsuit against the USLTA charging six counts of antitrust violations and unfair competition. In April, 1973, while the litigation was still pending, USLTA and WITF officials met in Boston to discuss ending the feud and combining the two women's tennis tours. On April 9, USLTA president Walter E. Elcock told The New York Times: "I think everything is pretty well resolved... We have another meeting tomorrow to put the final touches on everything." |
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There would be no immediate agreement. One problem was that the USLTA refused to agree to a combined tour with Gladys Heldman in a managment position. Elcock said: "I told the Slims girls there's no way I or the USLTA can work with Gladys. As far as I'm concerned, she can promote a tournament for 1974, just like any promoter. But she can't promote all the tournaments." While these discussions were being held, Mrs. Heldman was also announcing the WITF-Virginia Slims summer-fall 1973 schedule of 9 tournaments.
5 days later, with no agreement reached, Neil Amdur reported in The New York Times that the split was "killing" women's tennis. Among other things, Amdur pointed out that although the Slims tour prize money had reached as much as $100,000 (for the Sea Pines, S.C. Family Circle Cup, with $30,000 going to the winner), there still was no full-time trainer traveling with either the WITF or the USLTA ladies tour to treat the women's frequent injuries.
On the same day, April 15, the ILTF announced that it would suspend the WITF players if they did not sign a statement by April 30. The mandatory statement declared that the players would no longer take part in events unsanctioned by nationals associations (such as the USLTA) after May 15. By this time there were 40 players on the Virginia Slims circuit who came under the ruling. ILTF president Allen Heyman of Denmark said: "If Mrs. King does not sign, she will not be able to play again at Wimbledon or elsewhere... The question was whether to suspend the girls immediately. In fairness, we thought we should give them a chance to think things over."
An agreement was finally drafted in New York in the last week of April, 1973, and approved by the WITF-Virginia Slims players at Sea Pines, South Carolina on April 30. The USLTA agreed to sanction the remainder of the 1973 Virginia Slims tour, and to incorporate the Slims tour within the USLTA schedule in 1974. Although it was originally announced that Gladys Heldman was "expected" to continue to run the Slims events in 1974, that did not turn out to be the case, and Mrs. Heldman's tenure as director of the Slims tour came to an end.
-- The end of the WITF led to the formation of the Women's Tennis Association as a player's union at Wimbledon in June, 1973. WTA president Billie Jean King worked with Edy McGoldrick of the USLTA to organize the new women's tour for 1974, still under Virginia Slims sponsorship. Because the WTA was a player's union, and did not run the women's tennis tour, its formation received little press coverage.
To formalize a new structure for running the women's pro tennis tour, another group was formed: the Women's International Professional Tennis Council. This group consisted of representatives from 3 constituencies: 1) the Grand Slam tourneys (who had the largest voice in the ILTF as well as the USLTA and other national associations); 2) the tour sponsors (Virginia Slims-Philip Morris to begin with); and 3) the WTA (the players).
1975
-- The grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, site of the US Open, were replaced with clay courts. Uneven bounces on the grass there had always been a source of many complaints. The new clay courts also had lights, so night play in the US Open was possible for the first time. But the US Open would only be played on clay for 3 years before moving to a new hardcourt facility at Flushing Meadows.
1976
-- In the US, Howard Head recieved a patent for the oversized head tennis racket. Since Head had sold control of his Head ski and racket company to AMF, a tennis ball machine company called Prince sold the first oversized racket, the Prince Classic. The Prince Classic had a 110-square-inch head, giving it 4 times the effective hitting area of conventional rackets. Head obtained a second patent in 1977.
1977
-- Acceptance into Wimbledon qualifying was based on world rankings for the first time.
1978
-- The US Open moved from Forest Hills to the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City. The courts there are of a rubberized asphalt type of surface sold by the trade name Deco-Turf II. The decision to move was made in September, 1977 when USTA president Slew Hester grew impatient with the West Side Tennis Club's reluctance to expand their facilities in Forest Hills. The site chosen, on city property, had been part of the site of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, and the facilities were built around the already-exixting Louis Armstrong Stadium, which had been built for the Fair and was sized right for tennis, with seats for nearly 20,000 spectators (Armstrong stadium now seats 9,465). The USTA contributed $10 million to renovate the stadium and expand the facilities into the National Tennis Center, including a 6,000 seat grandstand, 25 additional lighted outdoor courts, and 9 indoor courts. The planning and construction was completed in less than 1 year, and the facilities were dedicated on August 30, 1978, for the start of that year's US Open.
-- Nick Bollettieri opened a tennis school in Florida. The Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton used techniques that had been developed at his Wisconsin tennis camp. The academy was an immediate success. Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, Venus & Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Nicole Vaidisova, Jelena Jankovic, and many other successful players at one time have attended the Bollettieri Academy.
The Academy was later purchased by International Management Group (IMG), one of the major athlete's agencies. IMG retained Nick Bollettieri to run the Academy for them.
-- Seeding was used in Wimbledon qualifying for the first time.
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1986-1999 -- German Steffi Graf won 107 WTA singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam singles titles (second only to Margaret Smith Court). Steffi was ranked # 1 in the world for 377 weeks, including 187 consecutive weeks from 1987 to 1991. In 1988 Steffi became the 3rd woman (and 5th person) ever to complete THE Grand Slam, winning all 4 major singles titles in a single calendar year. First (1938) Grand Slam winner Don Budge participated in presenting Steffi with the US Open trophy when she completed the Slam. |
1988
September 11, 1988: The New York Times reported:
The final was a tense, if not classic match, the pressure obvious in some of the tentative points that Graf played. But Sabatini also was eager for the challenge. The 18-year-old is ranked fifth in the world and is generally regarded as the player most likely to challenge Graf's status as the top player in the game. Last March, Sabatini handed Graf her only two losses of the year. "I think it is great what she did," Sabatini said. "Not too many people can win a Grand Slam. She won all with much confidence. Her mentality is perfect." Graf has lost only four matches in the last two years... Sabatini, however, has many of the same qualities that Graf brings to the court. She has an excellent topspin forehand, an ever-improving serve, and arguably, a better net game. Yesterday, she even varied the pace, looping some groundstrokes, making Graf supply her own power... Graf advanced to the final when Chris Evert was forced to withdraw from Friday's semifinal because of a stomach ailment. She broke Sabatini twice to win the first set, but her own service games were shaky. So, despite the first set outcome, Sabatini felt she was very much in the match. She broke Graf in the fourth game of the next set, forcing three errors, among them one on Graf's forehand, the single most intimidating shot in women's tennis. Graf broke back in the seventh game... but Sabatini displayed some resolve of her own, immediately breaking back... She closed out the set and had the majority of the fans supporting her... Anyone closely watching Sabatini, however, could see that she was taking longer between points. She did not seem as excited as she should. "I knew she had to be nervous," Sabatini said, "but I just got too tired. I was trying, though. I played like I did against her in the last two matches. I hit deep balls. That bothers her very much. For some moments I do it, for some I don't." One fo the moments that she didn't came in the second game of the third set. Graf broke Sabatini at love, 3 of the points coming on unforced errors. There was also a forehand crosscourt winner by Graf, which landed on the line. The early break raised her confidence, giving her game some breathing room. She broke again in the sixth game, with Sabatini double-faulting on break point. There were some nervous moments when she was trying to close out the match, but when she reached Grand Slam point, Graf whistled a backhand groundstroke crosscourt that almost knocked the racquet from Sabatini's hand...
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Sources:
Lawn Tennis: Its Founders & Its Early Days
by George E. Alexander, 1974, H.O. Zimman, Lynn, MassachussettsBadminton Library of Sports and Pastimes
1890Total Tennis
edited by Bud CollinsModern Encyclopedia of Tennis
edited by Bud Collins & Zander Hollander, 1994 Visible Ink PressOfficial Encyclopedia of Tennis
edited by the staff of the United States Lawn Tennis Association, 1971, Harper & Row, NYThe Encyclopedia of Tennis
Max Robertson & Jack KramerLadies of the Court
by Virginia WadeHistory of Lawn Tennis in Pictures
by Lance Tingay, 1973, Stacey, LondonTennis Styles and Stylists by Paul Metzler, 1969, Macmillan
The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis by Jack Kramer with Frank Deford, 1979, G.P. Putnam's Sons
The Courts of Babylon by Peter Bodo
Tennis Confidential by Paul Fein, 2002, Brassey's, Inc.
A Long Way Baby
by Grace LichtensteinThe Art of Tennis
by Gary H. Schwartz, 1990, Wood River, Tiburon, Calif.BBC Sport: The history of tennis
Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Tennis Styles and Stylists by Paul Metzler
Chrissie: My Own Story by Chris Evert with Neil Amdur
Courting Triumph by Virginia Wade with Mary Lou Mellace
The Game by Jack Kramer about Pauline Betz & Gussy Moran & more
Beyond Center Court: My Story by Tracy Austin with Christine Brennan
Courting Danger by Alice Marble with Dale Leatherman
Evonne!: On the Move by Evonne Goolagong with Bud Collins
Court On Court: A Life in Tennis by Margaret Smith Court
Goddess & the American Girl: Suzanne Lenglen & Helen Wills by Larry Englemann
Hard Courts by John Feinstein about Mary Carillo & John McEnroe & more
Ladies of the Court by Michael Mewshaw about Mary Joe Fernandez & more
A Long Way, Baby by Grace Lichtenstein about Rosie Casals
Monica by Monica Seles & My Aces, My Faults by Nick Bollettieri Seles at Bradenton
Tough Draw by Eliot Berry about Nick Bollettieri
The Courts of Babylon by Peter Bodo: Tournament Draws
The Courts of Babylon by Peter Bodo: Dawn of the Pro Tours
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