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The Summing-Up: Women's Tennis
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 Close-up of a Young Woman Playing Tennis Photographic Print 16 in. x 12 in. Buy at AllPosters.com Framed Mounted During the over one hundred years that women in the United States have played tennis, the sport has changed dramatically. From the court-length dresses with their numerous petticoats of the 1870's to the short, pastel-colored tennis dresses of the 1970's, from patting a ball gently over a high sloping net to attacking baseline or net games, and from the pastime of the leisurely country-club set to a popular professional sport, women's tennis has come a long way. This transition was studied in order to identify and to record the contributions that women players, especially those from America, have made to tennis through their original or perfected styles of play, through their domination of or successes in tournament competition, through their liberation from the traditionalism in tennis attire, or through their enhancement of the popularity of the sport.
The careers of the various American players and some nonAmericans who influenced tennis in the United States have been examined to determine what influence, if any, these women had on changing styles of play. Some originated techniques, others borrowed the men's strokes, while most simply accepted the current, popular playing styles. The fame of women in tennis often resulted only from their tournament domination over a number of years, while a few players became champions because of their introduction of new and different styles of play. Although not necessarily champions, some women players influenced tennis through their advocacy of changes in the traditionalism in tennis attire relative to length, color, or design. All these combined thrust women's tennis forward with the fitting acclaim that "it never looked so good."
Recognition of the accomplishment of certain women in the promotion of the sport usually has appeared to be superficial as men have always received more publicity and acclaim than have women. This was especially evident when examining histories of the sport. Lance Tingay in Tennis, A Pictorial History gave much less print to the "distaff" side, as he repeatedly called women players, thus favoring the men. For example, he mentioned the beginning of the Wightman Cup matches between the United States and England with only one sentence, yet, these annual team matches have promoted women's tennis for over 50 years. E. C. Potter, Jr. in his Kings of the Court devoted only one of his twelve chapters to women's play. The tennis styles of female players were only featured in 13 out of over 160 illustrations in Tennis Styles and Stylists by Paul Metzler.
In the volumes of Outing, American Lawn Tennis, World Tennis, and Sports Illustrated women received this same secondary status. Sports Illustrated reported men's tennis during the mid-1950's about ten times more frequently than women's, although by the early 1970's this margin had narrowed to only five-to-one in favor of the men. Consequently, the reporting of tournaments and the performances of the women competitors were seldom foremost in these publications and were often relegated to the middle pages and given scant recognition.
One defense of this discrepancy in the amount of printed, and later televised, coverage of men's and women's tennis was that men played a faster, more vigorous game and thus attracted larger crowds to see them play. However, over the years as women's play advanced, many tennis enthusiasts identified more with the women's slower and less powerful games. So, the women began to attract crowds to their matches. Another acknowledged rationale for the greater publicity given men emphasized that the men had a greater number of tournaments as well as the extensive Davis Cup competition. This, too, changed during the past one hundred years as more and more females adopted the game and desired more opportunities to compete. These included the USLTA junior development programs for younger girls, collegiate tournaments, women's tours, and international competitions. Yet, even though more people watched women play and more females competed, still the sports pages and publications highlighted the performances and accomplishments of the men, rather than provided equitable coverage for both sexes.
Women have indeed led the way in tennis in many aspects of the game. A woman was the first American to win at Wimbledon. The major attraction on the first professional tour was a woman. The first black star to win the Wimbledon (English) Championship and the American Championship was a woman. Women first adopted tennis following its introduction into the United States by a woman. Following the acceptance of the game by men, the women still made their own way in the game. In the early years of open tennis, the women were leaders in organizing themselves for greater equity in prize money. In their early tours they affirmed the interest that spectators had in watching women play tennis. So, the female racketwielders have contributed to the popularity and expansion of the sport overall.
One further point of clarification about the terminology should be established. The sport of tennis in its early history was called "lawn tennis" because it was a tennis-like game played on lawns of country clubs or summer villas. By the 1970's very little tennis was played on grass because of the adoption of California's asphalt, Florida's clay, or the currently popular indoor and outdoor artificial surfaces. Also, these changes in acceptable surfaces helped expand the play and popularity of the sport for all, making it a public rather than a private sport. Reflecting this change, in 1976 the United States Lawn Tennis Association (today USTA) and the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame (today International Tennis Hall of Fame) dropped the word lawn from their titles.
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