History of tennis: The rise in popularity of tournament tennis from humble beginnings
As tennis grew in popularity, the first clubs and tournaments appeared and it wasn’t long before tournament tennis as we know it gradually caught the attention of tennis fans. Why not take a look back at the history of tennis with Tennis Head?
Lawn tennis first appeared in the mid-1870s, but it became so popular that within a few years thousands of people were playing it in newly founded clubs around the world. People felt a sense of freedom through tennis and began to leave their daily lives behind to go to the court and have fun, play sports, and participate in competitions. A few years after the game was introduced in 1874, Walter’s original rules for Wingfield were refined, the shape of the court was changed, the height of the net was lowered, and the game became what we know today. The shape is now almost exactly as it is.
Leamington Spa in Warwickshire is considered by many to be the home of the world’s first lawn tennis club. The Remington Club was founded in 1872 by Augurio Perera and his Birmingham-based lawyer Harry Gemm. The first game played there was Pelota, which Perera brought from his native Spain. Perera and Gem were also early pioneers of lawn tennis, and by the end of 1874, their club, along with many others, had opened up to this popular new sport and changed their name to Remington Lawn Tennis Club. did.
The most prestigious club to add tennis to its roster was the All England Croquet Club at Wimbledon. The club was founded in July 1868 at a meeting at the London branch of The Field ‘Sports Gentleman’s Newspaper’. The meeting was chaired by magazine editor J.H. Walsh, who would go on to become one of the architects of the first Wimbledon Championships almost ten years later. The new club began looking for suitable land in Greater London and, after some bad decisions, in 1869 they settled on a four-acre site just off Worple Road, halfway between Wimbledon and Raynes Park. A rental agreement has been secured.
In the summer of 1875 the club provided a croquet lawn for use as a tennis court and in 1877 its name was changed to the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Other early lawn tennis clubs include New Orleans (founded 1876), Dublin (1877), Northern, Manchester (1881), Surbiton (1881), Southfields (1884), Queen’s Club, London ( (1886), Nice (1890), and West Side. , Forest Hills (1892).
The Victorians were sports enthusiasts and good organizers, so it was inevitable that tournaments would be organized for more competitive players. However, the first Wimbledon Championship came about almost by chance. The All England Club he added four more pitches to its Worple Road ground in 1876, but by the summer of 1877 faced a financial dilemma. One of the keys to keeping croquet and tennis lawns beautiful was the regular use of heavy rollers pulled by ponies to keep the playing surfaces level. The club’s pony scooter, originally donated by J.H. Walsh and now on display as part of Wimbledon Museum’s Club Tour, was broken and in need of repair. In order to raise funds, the committee decided to hold the first open tournament. The first Wimbledon Championship began on his July 9, 1877. 22 male players paid his one guinea (one pound and five pence) to take part. First prize, worth 12 guineas, went to 27-year-old Spencer Gore, a local sportsman whose greatest passion was cricket. Gore won a silver trophy worth 25 guineas, donated by the owners of The Field. The tournament was held over 11 days, including a two-day break for a cricket match between Eton and Harrow at Lord’s. The Wimbledon final was attended by around 200 spectators and the admission fee was 1 shilling (5 pence).
With coverage in The Field and other magazines, news of the first championship’s success spread quickly and spurred the growth of tournament tennis in the UK and abroad. Tournaments had already been held in the United States in 1876, but the first official U.S. championship was held in Newport, Rhode Island in 1881 until Richard Sears defeated England’s William Glynn in the final. did not. Sears won the title seven years in a row. Across the Atlantic at the same time, the Renshaw brothers conquered Wimbledon, with William winning his seven singles titles and his younger brother Ernest his one.
The Renshaw family, along with the Sears family, were the first true tennis stars, and their fame began to reach beyond the court. Archival photos from the time show the Renshaw brothers posing in a studio-like environment wearing tennis clothes whose style and functionality are largely derived from cricket wear. These include long flannel pants and long-sleeved shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Military belts for elbows, neckties, etc. This was the fashionable sportsman’s attire of the late Victorian era, and this was the first fashion trend to emerge from his manicured lawns in SW19.
Women’s tournaments were held at various venues in the late 1870s and early 1880s, but it was not until 1884 that they first appeared at Wimbledon. Thirteen women competed for a silver trophy worth 20 guineas, with 19-year-old Maud Watson, the daughter of a Coventry vicar, defeating her older sister Lillian in the final to become Wimbledon’s first ever women’s singles champion. Ta. Wimbledon also hosted the first men’s doubles tournament in 1884, with three American players, including Sears and James Dwight, becoming the first overseas participants. Tennis has matured as an international sport.
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