Tennis
A History from American Amateurs to Global Professionals
Published on 27. July 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-252-08588-8 (ISBN)
Description
Analyzing how tennis turned pro
The arrival of the Open era in 1968 was a watershed in the history of tennis--the year that marked its advent as a professionalized sport. Merging wide-angle history with individual stories of players and off-the-court figures, Greg Ruth charts tennis's evolution into the game we watch today. His vivid account moves from the cloistered world of nineteenth-century lawn tennis through the longtime amateur-professional divide and the battles over commercialization that raged from the 1920s until 1968. From there, Ruth details the post-1968 expansion of the game as it was transformed by bankable superstars, a popular women's tour, rival governing bodies, and sponsorship money. What emerges is a fascinating history of the economics and politics that made tennis a decisive, if unlikely, force in the creation of modern-day sports entertainment. Comprehensive and engaging, Tennis tells the interlocking stories of the figures and factors that birthed the professional game.
The arrival of the Open era in 1968 was a watershed in the history of tennis--the year that marked its advent as a professionalized sport. Merging wide-angle history with individual stories of players and off-the-court figures, Greg Ruth charts tennis's evolution into the game we watch today. His vivid account moves from the cloistered world of nineteenth-century lawn tennis through the longtime amateur-professional divide and the battles over commercialization that raged from the 1920s until 1968. From there, Ruth details the post-1968 expansion of the game as it was transformed by bankable superstars, a popular women's tour, rival governing bodies, and sponsorship money. What emerges is a fascinating history of the economics and politics that made tennis a decisive, if unlikely, force in the creation of modern-day sports entertainment. Comprehensive and engaging, Tennis tells the interlocking stories of the figures and factors that birthed the professional game.
Reviews / Votes
"Ruth's work is an excellent source for a history of sexism in tennis, while highlighting some of the biggest names on and off the court, who ushered tennis into a profitable sport in the postmodern era." --Journal of American History"This well-researched volume will be a valuable addition to any sports history collection." --Choice
"This book is for tennis pros, serious amateurs, hackers, lovers of the game, and anyone interested in sport history. Greg Ruth shows us how tennis evolved from England's royal court to L.A.'s public courts to the U.S. Open's billionaire courts. Featuring big personalities and terrific storytelling, Tennis shows us how and why the game evolved over the years. This is excellent sport history."--Elliott J. Gorn, coauthor of A Brief History of American Sports, Second Edition
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore
United States
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
51 black & white photographs, 5 maps
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
567 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-252-08588-8 (9780252085888)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Greg Ruth is an independent scholar.
Content
CoverTitle PageCopyrightContentsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction: Tennis Amateurs and Tennis Professionals1. Amateur Associations along the American Atlantic Coast2. The West Coast Game3. The Cause Celebre of the Pioneering Professional4. Depression-Era Developments in Amateur and Professional TennisPhoto Section 15. Wartime Southern California Professionals6. The Cultural Contexts of Mid-Century Women's Tennis7. The "Kramer Karavan"8. The World Champion from "The Wrong Side of the Tracks"9. Tennis OpensPhoto Section 210. The Rise and Demise of World Championship Tennis11. The Impact of Sports Agents and Agencies on Professional Tennis12. Women's Professional Tennis in the Early Open EraConclusion: Professional Tennis as Global EntertainmentNotesSelected BibliographyIndex