Tennis Book 2010_Layout 1 - TIA UK

The Sport of Tennis
The art deco Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, the
centre piece of the French Open. Picture Fotosports
International.
interest generated by the Olympics played in Paris the
previous year. Then it was renamed ‘Championnats
Internationaux de France’ and three years later, having
alternated between the Racing Club de France and the Stade
Francaise, the event was established in the Roland Garros
stadium.
French tennis was at its height in the twenties with the likes of
Suzanne Lenglen and the Four Musketeers, Rene Lacoste,
Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon, winners of
the Davis Cup in 1927.
In recognition of that success, the site at Porte d’Auteuil was
donated by the Stade Francaise for a suitable stadium to be
erected for the defense of the Cup in 1928 on condition it was
named after a well known French aviator, a member of the
club, who was killed during the Great War.
Over time this has become the name of the complex with the
main stadium being renamed Court Philippe Chatrier in 1988
in recognition of the work he had done in building up the
credibility of the French Open as well as his work in French
Tennis and on the international front as President of the
International Tennis Federation.
With its slow clay court heritage it is now viewed as one of
the most physically demanding tennis events in the world.
The French is also the only Grand Slam to play over 15 days
with the Australia and the US competing over 14 and
Wimbldon over 13. It was also the first Grand Slam to include
an ‘open’ field in 1968 by welcoming both amateurs and
professionals into their draws and, interestingly, between
1945 and 1947, was held after Wimbledon!
Originally organised by officials from both Australia and New
Zealand, the event was first staged at the Warehouseman’s
Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, now known as
the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre. It then travelled round
Australia and New Zealand as follows: Sydney (17 times),
Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (7 times), Perth (3 times),
Christchurch (in 1906), and Hastings (in 1912). Melbourne
hosted it 16 times before it became the events permanent
home in 1972 at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
In 1922 New Zealand parted company with its Australian
counterparts. It was also the year that the event first opened
its doors to women.
In those early days players were reluctant to travel down
under, bearing in mind that, in the twenties, it took 42 days to
reach Australia by ship. It wasn’t until air travel became more
of the norm, a firm January date was established and prize
money levels were improved that their fields started to attract
a more truly international field.
The Kooyong venue also played a big part in raising the
profile of the Australian leg of the Grand Slam but by 1988 it
was found to be too small and the Open was moved to a
custom made complex on Flinders Park with a very innovative
sliding roof over the main show court.
The move also saw the end of grass as far as Australia was
concerned, and the introduction of Rebound Ace, a cushioned
hard court, thereby establishing a different surface from the
other three. The surface was eventually changed twenty years
later to Plexicushion Prestige to help offset heat retention and
make it more akin to the US Open’s conditions.
As a consequence of all the improvements and faster methods
of travel, the Australian Open, which was always perceived to
be the weaker of the four Grand Slams, is no longer the junior
partner though there are many who would prefer it not to
staged so early in the year.
The Australian Open
The youngest of the big four, the Australian was held for the
first time in 1905 as the Australasian Championships until
1927 when it was rebranded the Australian Championships. It
wasn’t until 1969, the year after the sport went ‘Open’, that it
became the Australian Open.
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The Australian Open named their innovative main show court
with the first sliding roof, the Rod Laver Arena, in recognition
to the Aussie’s achievements, including winning two Grand
Slams. Picture Fotosports International