Surbiton_Trophy_Programme_2017
different eras The 1949/1950 British Champion Joan Hughesman. Different strokes, different eras If you stepped back in time, to Surbiton Racket & Fitness Club as it was around the time of WWII, the sport would be almost unrecognisable. Technically, tactically, physiologically, financially and culturally, it is radically different. Here, players from the 1940s have their tennis lives contrasted with modern professionals. Words: Dominic Bliss 20 Aegon surbiton trophy 2017
“In the 1940s the Americans used to bring their own steaks over because you couldn’t get them here because of rationing. They’d put the meat in the deep freeze at the hotel.” 1947 Wimbledon doubles finalist Tony Mottram (left) Tony Mottram he rackets were wooden, the balls were white, T the clothing was modest, and the prize money was non-existent. Life for top players before tennis went professional in 1968 was radically different to today in just about every aspect you can think of: training methods, travel, prize money, diet, equipment, clothing… you name it. Here we compare the lot of modern pros to two players who competed in the 1940s – the 1947 Wimbledon doubles finalist Tony Mottram (who sadly passed away last year) and the 1949/1950 British champion Joan Hughesman. Training Modern pros spend almost as much time in the gym as they do on the court. Then there’s all the stretching, ice baths, massages and sports psychology. Many among the game’s elite travel with a full-time fitness expert. Andy Murray, whose fitness trainer is Matt Little, is one of the most athletic players in the world right now. His strength workout includes back squats, box jumps, lunges, split jumps, pull-ups, medicine-ball throws and core stability exercises. On the running track he does gruelling 400-metre sessions. “By the end your legs are like jelly,” he says. And his post-match ice baths are now legendary. “It’s always chilled to the right temperature, about eight degrees,” he told BBC Sport. “I do eight minutes straight. The water is moving inside the ice bath because otherwise your body starts to heat it up. I might be used to it after all this time but it’s still not nice, believe me.” Back in the days of amateur tennis, players rarely saw the inside of a gym. “In comparison to today, we did nothing. General jogging but no weights,” says Tony Mottram, the 1947 Wimbledon doubles finalist. Joan Hughesman was British champion in 1949 and 1950. She says she did “no physical training at all.” “But I lived three miles away from our courts and I used to walk or run there every day,” she adds. “That kept me fit.” Match preparation Early nights, no drinking, and plenty of beauty sleep. For most top pros, life on the tour can be monastic, to say the least. Back in the 1940s, however, even at tournaments, it was quite normal to prop up the club bar until the early hours of the morning. “Tennis was very social,” says Mottram who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon singles in 1948. “When you packed your case you made sure you had your tennis rackets and then the next most important thing was your dinner jacket. We were expected to socialise and we did.” “If you liked parties, there were plenty of parties,” Hughesman remembers. “Some of the male players drank and gambled a lot. Especially on the French Riviera.” www.LTA.org.uk/aegonsurbitontrophy @SurbitonTrophy 21
- Page 1 and 2: 3 - 11 JUNE Surbiton Racket & Fitne
- Page 3 and 4: A warm welcome to the Aegon Surbito
- Page 5 and 6: Charlotte Cooper Sterry Charlotte C
- Page 7 and 8: Roger Taylor Helen Wills Moody 1950
- Page 9 and 10: Wesley Moodie after her triumph at
- Page 11 and 12: crosshead NEW BRITISH TENNIS TEAM M
- Page 13 and 14: An aerial drone captures images of
- Page 15 and 16: Left: Hawk-Eye. Below: a virtual re
- Page 17 and 18: Office team and Surrey Tennis counc
- Page 19: that have played here are Fred Perr
- Page 23 and 24: “I lived three miles away from ou
- Page 25 and 26: Summer Home of the Tennis Camps 201
- Page 27 and 28: crosshead www.LTA.org.uk/aegonsurbi
different eras<br />
The 1949/1950 British<br />
Champion Joan Hughesman.<br />
Different<br />
strokes,<br />
different eras<br />
If you stepped back in time, to <strong>Surbiton</strong> Racket & Fitness Club<br />
as it was around the time of WWII, the sport would be almost<br />
unrecognisable. Technically, tactically, physiologically, financially<br />
and culturally, it is radically different. Here, players from the 1940s<br />
have their tennis lives contrasted with modern professionals.<br />
Words: Dominic Bliss<br />
20 Aegon surbiton trophy <strong>2017</strong>
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