Women's tennis

Today, tennis is a serious international sport and a multi-billion dollar industry. And this is one of the most challenging sports in which men have enough opportunities to earn money. But it was not always so. Tennis has a long and famous history. Although today it is a sports stadium rich in sponsors, excellent equipment, and TV coverage, it used to look different.

Even though we perceive tennis as a sport, in fact, in the critical role played by specialized modern equipment, it is very many years old. The earliest forms of tennis were popular in the French monasteries, and formerly not rackets were used, but one's own hands. This game was transformed into the so-called real tennis (yes, "real tennis"), which is still played today. This was important in the courts of medieval Europe — and led to the death of at least three kings: James I in Scotland and Louis X and Charles VIII in France. It makes the receiver wait in a new way, right?

Tennis in the form we know it appeared in the middle of the 19th century in Britain, and then it was called "lawn tennis." And from the very beginning, he was popular among women. How has women's tennis changed over time? Let's see.

Early lawn tennis

Lawn tennis was born in the middle of the 19th century after a British military man, and a Spanish merchant combined the British game of rackets and the Spanish game of pelota. In 1874 they opened the first tennis club. The drawing above is from the same year and shows a schematic of a court — a diagram familiar to anyone who has seen a modern court. Another typical feature is the women on the court. Even in 1874, women played mixed doubles. Actual, skirts with a bustle as a sports uniform did not survive the 19th century.

"Wimbledon"

Wimbledon began in 1877 as a fundraising event — not the brightest start for what would become one of the most important tournaments in tennis in the future. The first women's tournament was held in 1884. Maud Williams became the first champion and received 20 guineas for the victory. Compared to the £1.8 million the champ is getting today, that's not a lot.

The tournament was also notable because, on a scorching day, one of the participants lost consciousness during the second set, probably because the athletes performed in long skirts and corsets. This incident was used as an illustration that women are too weak to play five-set matches. But this did not have much effect on the women's tennis wardrobe.

US appearance

Tennis wasn't just popular with women after its introduction to the US. It was introduced there by a woman named Mary Ewing Outerbridge. She was introduced to the game in Bermuda and brought it back to her homeland. The first match in America was between Mary Ewing Outerbridge and her sister Laura in 1874.

An 1887 drawing shows that American women enjoyed just as much as British women mixed skirts- and puffy dresses.

The 1890s

Tennis continued to develop on both sides of the Atlantic and in Australia, where women also played alongside men.

Olympics

In 1896, tennis became an Olympic sport, but the first women's tournament only occurred at the next summer Olympics in 1900. (In 1924, he was removed from the Olympic program, where he returned only in 1988 because of the conflict between the International Tennis Federation and the Olympic Committee).

When representatives of four countries fought for victory in 1900, Charlotte Cooper from Great Britain, who had previously won at Wimbledon, became the first Olympic champion.

Early 20th century

During this time, the popularity of tennis among men and women grew. New competitions have emerged, including three future Grand Slams. The International Tennis Federation was formed, which initially included 12 countries, and tennis became a truly international sport. Soon, professional players — men and women — began going on international tours.

He began to change the appearance of the players — at least tennis players. From long skirts, they gradually moved to much more loose clothing — like these Australian tennis players in 1922.

By the 1930s, when stars such as American Helen Wills Moody emerged (who won 30 Grand Slams throughout her career), women wore something very similar to modern tennis attire.

Breaking the skin color barrier

Although women played tennis from the beginning, there was no such tolerance for race, and even into the 20th century, the game was segregated. The first black person to break through in tennis was Altea Gibson, who became the first black Grand Slam champion by winning Roland Garros in 1956. At the time, blacks and whites in the US were forbidden from sharing drinking fountains, which made her success in the all-white tennis world all the more remarkable.

In total, Gibson won 11 Grand Slams, and after that, she became a professional golfer. She paved the way for other blacks in tennis, such as Arthur Ashe, Katrina Adams (who now leads the USTA), and, of course, the Williams sisters.

Open era

In 1968, the Open Era began in tennis — professionals and amateurs received the right to play in the Grand Slam tournaments. It was a significant change that opened up new opportunities for women. True, there was a severe gap between the prize money for men and women.

Among the first stars of the Open Era were women — for example, the record holder for the number of Slam wins, Margaret Court.

Another star, Billie Jean King, helped found the WTA. And in 1973, the US Open became the first Grand Slam to equalize the prize money for men and women.

Closing the prize gap

Women have fought for equal prize money for many years, and in 2007 Wimbledon became the last Grand Slam to equalize payouts for men and women. This happened thanks to pressure from both the WTA and tennis stars — especially Venus Williams.

Women in our tennis team

Melissa Boyden

Melissa started tennis at the age of 5, and at 6, she started playing at TC Zandvoort. From age 7, she played tournaments with her brother, where they won the Haarlems Youth together. Melissa began 2018 at #2029 in the ITF junior rankings. She went to Bosnia, where she went on to win after going through the qualifications, the week after into another final. She won another TE Under 16. She also won the National Championships U16. By the end of 2018, Melissa got into 9 ITF finals, winning two singles and one double. She is now ranked 227 globally, around 20 for her age 15. By New Year, she will be top 200. Melissa is very dedicated and hardworking; she aims to get to be a professional.

Elitsa Kostova

Elitsa Kostova is a former professional Bulgarian tennis player.

On 12 September 2016, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of №130 on 12 September 2016. Her best doubles ranking is world №154, reached on 26 October 2015. Playing for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team, she has a win-loss record of 16–18.

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