Serving up some vintage tennis history and fashion

It is nothing short of impressive, if you ask me, that my maternal grandma has been playing - and still continues to play - tennis since she was a teenager in the 1940s. Throughout her life, this wonderful sport has been a regular and deeply beloved game and form of exercise for her, and I can scarcely think of a time growing up when I didn't see a racket in her car or spend a day together with out the topic coming.

She's always played at a strictly armature level, but I'd venture to guess that after several decades spent honing her skill, she could give some of the household tennis names a run for their money - or at the very least, regale them with tales of how one dressed for a match in the 1940s or 50s.

While I certainly played a number of matches with my grandma as a child, and remember one summer when I was about ten years old that my parents put my brother and I in tennis lessons (which, as I recall, always took place relatively early in the morning on a shade-less court), I was never bite by the tennis bug. Thus, I didn't develop my grandma's passion for it on a personal level (I'll always think her own interest in the game in marvelous and look for tennis themed things to give her wherever I go), and I had very little skill at the sport (unlike badminton which I utterly loved and was, humbly, fairly good at as a youngster).

Tennis ace I am not, that much is for sure, but I find my grandma's adoration of the sport infectious and have developed an appreciation for it over the years, in no small part because of the absolutely lovely yesteryear fashions that have been donned for a day on the courts for numerous decades now.

A game known the world over as being a favourite pastime of the well-to-do, who have (or are perceived as having) oodles of leisure time on their hands, tennis' popularity amongst the upper crust of society is deeply tied into the lengthy history of the sport, which dates back to twelfth century France (where it was originally played by hitting a ball off of a wall with one's hand). As the centuries wore on, rackets came into play (literally) and by the 1500s, a version of tennis (now called real tennis) that we'd easily recognize today was in full swing, and much adored by many of Europe's royals and aristocrats.



{A French illustration from 1622 showing men playing doubles tennis on an indoor court. Image source.}


Over the years, tennis has continued to evolve and change in various ways (including the birth of lawn tennis in the 19th century), its popularity waxing and waning at times, but ultimately coming back into vogue in a big way amongst the Victorians, where again it was often a favourite sport of the moneyed classes. However, it was no longer seen as being quite as exclusively a game for the wealthy as it had been in generations past.

Just as the game itself evolved over time, so too (in keeping with the fashions of the day) did the clothing that one wore on the court. As tennis was (and still is) often played outside, and always involves a great deal of back and forth movement, restrictive clothing - for either sexes - made it hard to play successfully, and an unofficial uniform, typically of white or light coloured fabrics, of sorts began to develop for both men and women.

Traditionally, and well into the twentieth century, woman nearly always wore skirts (or dresses) to play tennis, men long pants (with shorts gaining popularity with men in the 1940s). The nearly ubiquitous white palette we expect of tennis (which naturally works great to help keep you a bit cooler if you've playing outdoors under the glaring sun) really came into its own with the Edwardians and has remained a mainstay of tennis fashion ever since.

One of the most iconic items of tennis wear, especially amongst chaps, the polo shirt made its way onto the courts in 1926 when a French tennis champ by the name of René Lacoste designed a white short-sleeved, knit pique cotton shirt that he wore to the U.S. Open that year. To this day the brand he founded (with its iconic crocodile logo) remains one of the most most loved, and frequently worn, garments amongst tennis players the world over.

As the Victorian era gave way to the twentieth century, tennis - though certainly still popular amongst the wealthy - became more of an everyman's sport, enjoyed as much by those in F. Scott Fitzgerald's circle in the 1920s as by my middle class grandparents and their friends during the forties.

Though tennis is certainly played year-round the world over, the fact that so many take part in this sport when the sun is out in full glory, coupled with childhood memories of doing just that around this time time of the year with my grandma when I was a child, really put in the mood for it this week.

In celebration of tennis' longstanding history and delightful sports attire, allow me to present a selection images that show the evolution, and some of the many lovely styles, of clothing that were worn by players (with an emphasis on ladies fashions) between 1885 and the late 1950s.



{Elegant tennis costumes from the pages of Peterson’s Magazine, June 1885. Love their cute hats, especially the one on the left with the teeny bow on top.}



{Five young women, circa 1889, posing with their tennis rackets in a photography studio.}



{Sharply dressed male and female members of the Staten Island Tennis Club, 1892.}



{A serene Victorian image of tennis being played at the beach, 1893.}



{A turn of the century glass negative showing four Australian women standing near the net on an outdoor court.}



{A female tennis player graced the August 3, 1907 cover of Saturday Evening post, highlighting the wide spread popularity of tennis at the time.}



{Hemline gradually crept a little higher as the 1900s progressed, but almost all tennis skirts of the era - such these three lovely ladies here are sporting - still grazed a player's ankles, if not covering their shoes almost entirely.}



{Well-known Edwardian tennis champ Florence Sutton, 1911.}



{Great action shot of an Edwardian woman in mid-air on an outdoor tennis court, 1916.}



{French female tennis star (and Olympic medalist), Suzanne Lenglen, looking especially glamorous (either before or after a match) on the courts, 1920.}



{Five members of the Berkeley Women's Tennis Team, 1920s - note that hem lengths are non-mid calf, instead of at the ankle or foot as in previous decades.}



{The 1920s really ushered in the classic, preppy look - which is still with us to this day - of v-neck sweaters for male tennis players.}



{The beautiful June 1927 tennis themed cover of Vogue magazine.}



{Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (right) and Sarah Palfrey Fabyan Cooke Danzig, winners of the 1930 U.S. Indoor Championships in women's doubles. They also won this title in 1928, 1929, 1931, and 1933.}



{The tennis themed August 1932 cover of Vanity Fair magazine.}



{Shorts - for both men and women - begin to slowly make their way onto the courts in the 1930s, though skirts and tennis dresses remain highly popular with female players right up until the present day.}

{Chic, curve hugging knit tennis wear from 1934.}

{Actress Irene Rich sitting courtside in 1934, as she was photographed by Lusha Nelson for Vogue magazine.}



{Short sleeve polo shirts and long pants were staples of the well dressed 1930s male tennis player's wardrobe.}



{Four female Australian tennis players leaping over the next in a photo that was snapped on January 5, 1937.}



{Actress Ava Gardner looking radiantly gorgeous as she takes a breather during a game of tennis (1940s).}



{A good-sized outdoor tennis class at Berkeley during the 1940s.}


{A young 1940s woman playing tennis in a casual ensemble of shorts and a long sleeved shirt.}



{Tennis' wide spread popularity ensured it a spot amongst the work created by pin-up artists and magazine illustrators, such as this 1944 piece entitled "Ball, please?" by Dal Holcomb.}



{The understated elegance that tennis attire excels at personifing shines through in this peaceful image from 1947.}



{A mid-century model poses with a tennis racket in a charming novelty print tennis/playsuit ensemble.}



{Maureen Connolly (Little Mo) and Mrs. I Rinkel (right) walking onto the court at Wimbledon, June 14, 1952.}



{Eight stylish 1950s gals sporting short skirted tennis dresses, many with matching belts.}



{A great action shot of a 1950s female tennis player as her racket makes contact with the ball.}



{The good natured enthusiasm that pervaded most 1950s ads couples with the fun of tennis in this charming mid-century photograph.}

{To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

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Now wasn't that smashingly fun? While it's been beyond the scope of my health to be able to play tennis for well over a decade now, I still enjoy catching the occasional match on TV (say during the Olympics or Wimbledon), and will always love hearing my grandmother talk about her passion for the sport and the fun matches she still continues to play to this day - not mention looking at great yesteryear images like these.

Game, set, and match, vintage tennis!