Tennis - what's worth knowing…

For years, the characteristic color assigned to tennis was white. However, Wimbledon has in it’s rules white color to these days. Its dress code was written in the elegant 1880s. One of the first who broke the rule was Andre Agassi, who refused to play at Wimbledon from because it prevented him from wearing the flashy clothes that were most comfortable for him. The legendary Roger Federer was reprimanded for using white shoes with an orange sole. Eugenie Bouchard broke the rules because her black bra strap was sticking out from under her T-shirts, and Mariusz Fyrstenberg hadn’t been able to wear a headband, which was white but with a black stripe. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, summed up that she is afraid of wearing different colored underwear on the court, and she did not wear white even at her own wedding. According to Wimbledon rules, tennis players can only use a snow-white match, and dirty white and cream shades are prohibited. This rule also applies to the back, left side and e...

Coco Chanel - French designer also influenced the update on the court fashion. No one expected then that her knee-length white dress and headband would become part of the canons of tennis fashion for decades.  A revolution in the wardrobes of female athletes, also was made by Ted Tinling. In 1949, Gertrude Moran wore a short skirt with shown underwear. It was sensation for people at that time.  Over the years, the standard was becoming less and less restrictive. Andre Agassi brought a bit of color to the fashion. His trademarks included denim shorts, flashy T-shirts and bright tennis shoes.  Another change to women are pants. The fashion revolution, in which women fight for the right to legally wear trousers, can easily compete with best-selling crime novels. Amelia Jenks Bloomer, an American feminist from the second half of the 19th century, won women the right to wear trousers. A decision was made because women wanted to spend free time more actively but also comfortabl...

Tennis has always been considered as an elite sport. The modern version of the sport became available in the 19th century and became very popular among the British aristocracy. Women had to wear long dresses, puffy sleeves and obligatory corset. Men should wear trousers, long-sleeved clothes and a tie. Uncomfortable but fashionable.  The breakthrough came with May Sutton - an American player who appeared on the court in a shirt with exposed wrists, and the scandal became the beginning of great changes.  The 1920s turned to Rene Lacoste - one who appeared on the court in 1926 wearing a polo shirt of his own design. The short sleeve was new and shocking. Seven years later, the French tennis player founded a brand that is one of the most recognizable in the world. In women's tennis, Suzanne Lenglen took the lead, thanks to whom women began to play in skirts that didn’t restrict their actions. Part 2 about tennis fashion next week 🔜 https://www.merchantoftennis.com/blogs/tennis-i...

On average, a tennis match lasts from about 1.5 to 4.5 hours depending on the number of sets and tie-breaks. The longest tennis match was played in 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut on Wimbledon. It lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes and was contested over three days. These match was very even and made a great show for the viewers. John Isner ultimately won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. Isner and Mahut played four sets on the first day but the match was stopped due to a lack of natural light. Men returned on next day and began the fifth set, unfortunately play had to be suspended again because of too little natural light. The match finally ended on day three. As a fun fact, an interesting situation occurred during the match, the electronic scoreboard stopped at 47:47 because its creator didn’t predict a higher score in a tie-break, normally played to 10 points. For comparison, the longest woman’s match lasted ,,only” 6 hours, 31 minutes and it was between Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepn...

The four most prestigious tennis tournaments: Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open are played in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York, respectively. Together they are called Grand Slams and a win in each of them brings 2,000 ranking points. Players are classified in two rankings: women's WTA and men's ATP. Both organizations keep lists - overall achievements and achievements from one season. It is this second ranking that selects the participants of the season-ending events - WTA Finals and ATP Finals. The best 8 female and 8 male tennis players receive the right to compete. It is the second most important event, right after the Grand Slams (the winner receives 1,500 ranking points). The next important events are tournaments of rank 1000, among which the most respected are events held in North America - on hard courts in Indian Wells, Miami, Cincinnati and Montreal, and in Europe - Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid (on clay). https://www.tennisct.com/tennis-grand-...