Tennis through the ages: Why Wimbledon moved

Tennis through the ages: Why Wimbledon moved

With star players such as French Suzanne Lundgren and American Bill Tilden, Wimbledon became increasingly popular, and in 1922 Wimbledon had to find a new venue…

In the years immediately following World War I, public interest in tennis increased, large stadiums were built, and four Grand Slam tournaments were held throughout most of the 20th century. In 1922, Wimbledon moved to new, larger premises on Church Road, with a purpose-built 13,500 seat center arena designed by architect Captain Stanley Peach and a further 12 outdoor courts. I did. After the war, other major tennis stadiums around the world opened, including Sydney’s White City (1922), New York’s Forest Hills (1923), Roland Garros (1928) and Melbourne’s Kooyong (1932). . These venues hosted four Grand Slam tournaments during most of the 20th century.

In May 1914, at the age of 15, Lenglen lost in the final of the French Championship to his compatriot Mouret Brokedis in a close three-set contest. Incredibly, this would be the final loss of her career. The Frenchwoman remained undefeated in singles play for 12 years until she turned professional in 1926. She never lost in singles at Wimbledon, and she won a total of 15 Wimbledon titles between 1919 and 1925, including six singles wins. She also won 19 French championships, including six in singles, and two Olympic gold medals. This extraordinary record puts her above all other women in soccer history.

Young Suzanne was born in Paris in 1899 and spent her winters at her parents’ home in Nice on the Côte d’Azur, opposite the Nice Lawn Tennis Club. When Suzanne was 11 years old, her father Charles gave her her first tennis racket. At that time, she was at a very young age to start playing tennis. And she immediately showed her great potential. Tennis was an important part of the Riviera’s social season, with numerous tournaments held in Nice, Cannes, Beaulieu, Menton and Monte Carlo from January to April each year. She had great success in these events during her teenage years, first in handicap draws and then in open adult events.

During her years as the undisputed number one player in the world, she continued to star on the Riviera circuit, and in February 1926, at the Carlton Club in Cannes, Suzanne finally faced off against rising American star Helen Wills. This was the stage for the remaining matches. The 20-year-old Californian had just won her third consecutive U.S. singles title, and many experts believed she would be the player to finally end Suzanne’s 12-year undefeated streak. Demand for tickets to the match was so great that even the construction of a large temporary stand with 3,000 seats, double the normal seating capacity, could not meet the demand. Suzanne won the match 6-3, 8-6, but the young Wills did enough to prove she was the rightful heir to the French women’s crown. Later that year, Suzanne won her sixth French singles title, but failed at Wimbledon due to injury. Early in the tournament, the Queen arrived at Wimbledon expecting to see her play, but Suzanne was absent due to communication problems, causing controversy. Some in the Center Court audience were hostile to Lenglen, who left Wimbledon under difficult circumstances and never returned. A few weeks later she turned professional, but she sadly died in Paris in 1938, when she was just 39 years old.

Despite his untimely death, Lenlen single-handedly took lawn tennis from the sports press to front page headlines. Rejecting her old Victorian values ​​of dress and modesty, she wore bold outfits that exposed more female flesh than ever seen in public, making her look elegant and athletic. He played in a style. She was charismatic, enigmatic, and a fashion icon. She is the first global superstar in women’s sports.

Wimbledon Museum has been on site since 1977 and will reopen in a new location at Gate 4. The museum, previously located on a corner of Center Court, was relocated due to roofing work planned for the 89-year-old building that required new supports to be installed to hold his 3,000-ton retractable roof. I needed to.

After the war, men’s tennis featured Frenchmen Jean Borotrat, René Lacoste (founder of the clothing brand Lacoste), Henri Cochet, and Toto Bourgnon (collectively known as the “Four Musketeers”). ) and America’s Big Bill, a fascinating battle for supremacy unfolded. Tilden. Tilden was a larger-than-life man who many consider the greatest player of all time. He won his first Wimbledon singles title in 1920 at the age of 27, and his third and final title ten years later at the age of 37, making him the second oldest singles champion at Wimbledon. Ta. Mr. Tilden was no stranger to controversy. A champion in his amateur days, he constantly clashed with public officials because of his extrajudicial income from his writing and journalism, and in his later years served a prison sentence for sex crimes. Tilden continued to play high-level competitive tennis until his death in 1953 at the age of 60.

As the 1920s drew to a close, tennis, like other major sports, remained popular as people sought to block out thoughts about the world’s increasing economic and political uncertainty. After the first radio broadcast from Wimbledon in 1927, interest in the championship continued to grow, and no matter what challenges the outside world faced, tennis in general and Wimbledon in particular would go from strength to strength. I saw.

This feature originally appeared in Tennishead Magazine in 2007, and you can get a unique annual subscription that includes 4 issues of our great print magazine and 24 issues of The Bagel newsletter. Masu. em>