Tennis History

Perry T. Jones and a literal depiction of his pawns. Could it be that one man, and one man alone, could thoroughly and completely dominate and control an international sport for nearly four decades? The answer is yes. The sport...

Tennis History

The Golden Boy: less well known to history than to his own era. At the middle of the 20th century, the Los Angeles Tennis club was the cradle of the tennis world, the home of Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer,...

January 2007

Tennis History

A natural who won his first racket playing marbles. After Don Budge achieved the first Grand Slam in 1936, he turned pro to tour against Ellsworth Vines. Waiting his turn to take the crown of amateur tennis into his eager...

December 2006

Tennis History

World champion: in table tennis and then tennis. Fred Perry became the world table tennis champion at 19, and then looked for a new realm to conquer. And conquer he did. A paragon of speed and style, he became the...

November 2006

Tennis History

Vines forehand: velocity and ferocity. Big Bill Tilden was a colossus who achieved legendary status in tennis history. (Click Here to read his profile.) But the next great player to dominate the amateur and professional world may have been a...

October 2006

Tennis History

Phenomenal strength and technique at age 10. Lew Hoad possessed the greatest combination of speed and strength tennis has ever seen. An exaggeration? Watch the video clips and see for yourself. At 10 years of age, he was slightly built...

September 2006

Tennis History

Pancho grew up on public courts in South Central Los Angeles, far from the privileged LA Tennis Club. While Jack Kramer and the other young men in Southern California were being groomed on the privileged courts of the Los Angeles...

May 2006

Tennis History

Minimal, fluid, and effortless: Rosewall's legendary backhand. It is a vast understatement to say that Ken Rosewall had a successful career as a tennis player. But the one aspect of his career that was truly stunning was its longevity. This...

December 2005

Tennis History

The great players who came before and after him shared one quality: blazing footspeed. Jack Kramer was the exception. By no means slow, he defied the previously uncontested axiom, "If you can't fly, you're dead." At an early age, Kramer...

September 2005

Tennis History

Gorgeous historical film of the first great shot in tennis. Little Bill Johnson was the first great champion in tennis history. And his "western" forehand was one of the first great shots ever to be filmed. Taking a look at...

August 2005

Tennis History

An absolute natural, Don Budge created the concept of the Grand Slam. J. Donald Budge: the hero of every tennis player who ever saw him play, and a man whose backhand is considered the greatest shot in the history of...

May 2005

Tennis History

Ever since the days of the gladiator, athletes have been pitted against each other in single combat, the ultimate challenge. Today, there are only two sports which preserve this ancient legacy, the consummate test of all the resources an athlete...

April 2005