Our Very Relevant Tennis History

By Rod Heckelman

The history of our sport has many interesting characters, of which some are poorly or inaccurately represented, not necessarily on purpose, just the result of poor record keeping or hyperbole. Fellow tennis pro, John Carpenter, recently came out with a book called, “Modern Tennis Instruction,” that begins by addressing the inaccurate accounts or facts about a few famous tennis legends, followed by a clever weaving of our tennis history into our history of tennis instruction. After reading his book, a few more very relevant events in our tennis history came to mind.

If you are a tennis enthusiast, maybe this information will be of intrigue but also will provide insight into how our sport addressed issues long ago that have become very relevant today. This is not meant to be an article that brags of “Been There, Done That,” but more of a statement of how our sport has in the past weathered controversy and social issues that are headlines today…politics, overbearing tennis parents, gender issues and that old time argument, who is the best.

Bill Tilden

Also, what was most surprising in Bill’s career, after being banned from pro tournaments for nearly three decades due to his sexual misconduct, he was finally allowed to enter a pro tournament in Cleveland at the age of 60 years, only to suddenly pass away a few days before leaving for that tournament from heart complications. At the time of his death, he only had a few dollars to his name.

His conduct and actions were deservingly admonished, but it took nearly a century later for the sports world to act on this serious issue and require an educational program for all coaches.

Jon Douglas

Another colorful character that never really achieved notoriety, was Jon (Jack) Douglas. As a result, few knew of his very interesting tennis career. He played for Stanford as a tennis player making it to the finals in both singles and doubles in the NCAA finals.  He also participated on the U.S. Davis Cup team, proving he was one of the better players in the country. But his father insisted that he stay out of football, which was also one of his great passions. His father insisted that he not play football at Stanford, even though he was an outstanding football player in high school. He spent his first two years being the backup quarterback to the famous and talented John Brodie, which his father would tolerate. When Brodie graduated, Jon Douglas the great tennis player, became Jack Douglas, the great Stanford quarterback, but did so without his father’s approval or awareness. By changing his first name and never taking off his helmet on the sideline he hoped never to be recognized by his father. Is there a better example of children rebelling against overbearing tennis parents?  

Richard Raskin aka Renée Richards

As the result of scrutiny by TV anchor Richard Carlson, the father of Tucker Carlson, the USTA began requiring genetic screening for female players that year. Richards challenged that policy and the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor, a landmark case in transgender rights. Among the first professional athletes to transition, she became a spokesperson for transgender people in sports. She later coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon titles.

Richards played professionally from 1977 to 1981 when she retired at age 47. She was ranked as high as 20th overall (in February 1979), and her highest ranking at the end of the year was 22nd (in 1977). Her first professional event as a female was the 1977 U.S. Open.

What is of interest is that Richards has since expressed ambivalence about her legacy, and came to believe her past as a man provided her with advantages over her competitors, saying "Having lived for the past 30 years, I know if I'd had surgery at the age of 22, and then at 24 went on the tour, no genetic woman in the world would have been able to come close to me. And so, I've reconsidered my opinion.” An interesting comment, but also at a time when all female athletes were just beginning to find their stride in all sports.

Rod Laver

The argument they would make is that in 1962, a few players were banned from the Grand Slams as the rules suddenly changed, banning any paid athlete from participating. The result is that Laver missed out on playing 21 majors. Considering he had essentially won back-to-back slams on the front and back side of this banned period for professionals, it would be fair to say that he could have potentially won another 14 thus earning 25 championships which would make him the only player to do so in history. Note this is not a review of the level of play, only the statistics of winning the majors, and is admittedly speculation.

Conclusion

The real message of these four examples is how the history of tennis has seldom been used as a barometer of how sports fans could evaluate and learn from the sport of tennis that has experienced such controversy. There is a great deal of controversy and angst about many difficult subjects. Maybe looking back at tennis to analyze those very relevant issues and see how they evolved would be helpful. Is this point of view biased, of course, it is, after all, this is an online tennis magazine.