Tennis in the Roaring Twenties

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island includes tennis courts, the old style court tennis, and a tennis museum. The museum is situated in the Newport Casino which is a Victorian shingle-style structure set up in 1877 but founded as the tennis hall of popularity in 1954 by James Van Allen. In the 18th century, gambling establishments were constructed on personal estates to provide owners with a location for leisure and satisfaction. During this time, the Newport Casino provided these pleasures in the kind of billiards, performances, dancing, and obviously tennis. In 1881 the Newport Casino hosted the first U.S National Lawn Tennis Championships also referred to as the present day U.S Open until 1915. The Tennis Hall of Fame Museum is the world’s largest tennis museum and holds the a lot of tennis souvenirs. Today it stands as a National Historic Landmark and an outstanding historical museum. One marvelous aspect of the Hall of Fame is that tennis has been played at the website for over a a century where countless experiences and achievements have been witnessed. The museum displays this history of tennis through exhibitions, videos, and souvenirs.

One particular exhibition on tennis during the roaring twenties or what is called the “Golden era” of tennis is an interesting display for history fans. The overall exhibition takes over a whole room which contains life size statues, paintings, and an abundant quantity of tennis souvenirs including tennis rackets, photographs, clothing, and trophies. The walls of the display stick to the tennis style as they are green and white in color. The numerous paintings and photographs on the walls highlight what life and tennis was like in the twenties. From the style of clothes to the rackets utilized, tennis in the roaring twenties was a really different scene.

The duration after World War I brought a duration of much invited leisure and as an outcome, tennis grew in appeal. High class citizens were more than likely to be individuals who played tennis and gathered together in Newport, RI since this was an amazing place to play. The photos hanging on the walls demonstrate this completely because the garments males and females wore showing that individuals who played were of the high class. The clothes were really elegant ranging from sweatshirts and/or matches for guys and loose fitting dresses that fall listed below the knees and headbands used by the women. The style of dress exhibits how individuals in the twenties played sports. While it was required to be proper at this center, males and women were anticipated to use white. In addition to the proper sports wear, it was a sport that was being played and gamers used some loose fitting and comfortable products. In the space is a life size figurine of Suzanne Lenglen that is modeling the popular red headband that was both wise for tennis and a fashion product.

During the twenties, expert players ended up being celebrities and were appreciated for their athleticism and grace. This is seen in the figurine of Suzanne Lenglen as she is swinging a racket. This motion of swinging a racket involves a lot of skill, however her sophistication and the way she moved and rubbed the ball needs to not be masked by her athleticism. This was typical of players in the twenties as they seemed to dance on the court. A painting of Don Budge that holds on the wall reveals many things about that time period. He remains in the volley position with his arms extended out and on one foot which shows his grace and . The painting assists to show the typical male player who had brief hair; worn white t-shirts tucked into white pants, and even white shoes. Wooden rackets are likewise on display on the walls of the space which were the standard type of racket. Not just does the display program clothing for tennis, however casual clothing are on display screen as well. Suzanne Lenglen’s white gown, red sports jacket, and white athletic shoe are characteristic of the twenties along with a men’s white sweatshirt resting on a rack on the wall.

The exhibition on tennis in the roaring twenties does a fantastic task of recapturing the life and atmosphere of the twenties. It is lively and interesting to see not just for tennis fans, but for everyone. The space displays the story of tennis through considerable objects referring to this theme. This space definitely recreates the ambience of what it was like to live and play in the twenties.

The paintings of gamers and the invaluable memorabilia help to prove why the twenties was called the Golden Age of tennis. With all the leisure time individuals had following World War I, it was common for individuals to play tennis. Tennis took off with popularity and quickly established a strong following of fans. These were a few of the very best years for tennis since worldwide play increased as displayed in some of the photographs of the players in Newport. Intense competitions emerged which assisted the video game of tennis for lots of reasons. In the display, there are lots of images and records of rivals playing each other. There is also a section of the room where a video is shown called the Great Players video [1] The video includes remarkable and momentous matches along with historic sections to showcase tennis during the Golden era.

One thing that the exhibition should have included was more in depth details about the items on display. Even though a lot of things consisted of some key points about them, they were really quick. This did not help bring some of the things to life and feel as if you were in the twenties. On the other hand, in some locations there were audio/video clips playing which was a great method to experience the Golden era of tennis. In addition, the figurine of Suzanne Lenglen did make up for this. It was attracting see the garments of the players during the twenties that assisted inform the story of tennis gamers in the twenties. One can visualize using the wood rackets to play tennis and how creative one had to be when playing compared to today’s rackets. The clothing in the glass cases adorned by the players in the twenties helped to envision what players appeared like face to face and how difficult it would be to play in such a long dress and even in heavy sweaters and pants.

Overall, the display on the Golden Age of tennis during the roaring twenties was interesting and informing. The photographs truly helped to picture what life and tennis was like in the twenties. Since the Newport Casino had a long history before the twenties, it was even more incredible to check out and how it had actually affected this period. The story told through the figurines and photographs was a remarkable one that brought to life the environment of the twenties. Lastly, the museum itself is a wonderful historical shrine to tennis that has plenty of enthralling stories and memories that everybody ought to go to.

[1] International Tennis Hall of Fame, (2005 ). Tennis’ Golden Era – The Roaring Twenties.