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Blog
Our blog highlights defining moments in the history of tennis. Key events, turning points, and innovations are examined within their historical context, tracing how individual milestones contributed to the formation and transformation of the sport over time.


Hazells Streamline White Star 1937
By the late 1930s, Hazell’s introduced what would become the most iconic design of the entire Streamline series: the White Star model. With its clean white lacquer finish and subtle detailing, the racquet embodied visual clarity, structural harmony, and technical refinement.

tennishistory.com
Jul 81 min read


Relic of Hitler’s 1936 Olympic Illusion
The Hammer Tauberperle racquet, marked with the Reichsadler and Olympic rings and featuring a swastika on a part of the frame deliberately excluded from our presentation, is a relic of that era. It serves as a reminder of how sport, once intended to unite people across nations and cultures, could be appropriated for political purposes and used in the service of a regime determined to shape international perceptions through spectacle and symbolism.

tennishistory.com
Jul 71 min read


Hazells Streamline Foundational Piece
This early production model of the Hazell’s Streamline represents one of the most daring departures from traditional racquet design in the interwar period. Patented by Frank W. Donisthorpe, the racquet’s distinctive triple-shaft structure embodied a radical aerodynamic vision at a time when tennis technology was still dominated by the classic wooden racquet design.

tennishistory.com
Jul 71 min read


Miloslav Mecir - The Last to Win an ATP with a Wooden Racquet
This article examines Miloslav Mecir’s 1989 tournament victory as the last ATP singles title won with a wooden racquet. The moment is placed within the broader transition from traditional wooden equipment to composite technologies that reshaped professional tennis.

tennishistory.com
Apr 261 min read


Jaroslav Drobný. The Wimbledon Champion Without a Nation
Jaroslav Drobný was born in Prague on 12 October 1921 and died in London on 13 September 2001. He competed at the highest level in two sports, tennis and ice hockey, and is recorded as an Olympic silver medallist in ice hockey as well as a Grand Slam singles champion in tennis.

tennishistory.com
Apr 174 min read


How Jean Borotra Saved Schloss Itter in the Final Days of WWII
Jean Borotra, two‑time Wimbledon champion, his imprisonment at Schloss Itter in Austria, and his presence during the Battle of Schloss Itter in May 1945, one of the final armed engagements of World War II.

tennishistory.com
Apr 163 min read


Object-based Learning with Tennishistory.com
An object-based overview of tennis history from 1000 to 1930, documenting key rackets and equipment through historical context, imagery and video.

tennishistory.com
Apr 93 min read


The Maxply Effect: How Automotive Advances Ended 400 Years of Tradition
For more than four centuries, from the 1500s to the early 1900s, tennis racquets were made from solid pieces of wood . It was a tradition that seemed unbreakable, until industrial innovation, much like in the automotive world, paved the way for something new. Earlier attempts had been made to build racquets using layered wood, similar to the bentwood furniture techniques pioneered by Thonet. However, these early efforts failed because the glues available at the time could not

tennishistory.com
Apr 92 min read


Tennishistory.com - A Journey Through the Ages
Tennishistory.com presents a museum-like visual and editorial journey through the evolution of tennis, tracing the sport from its early European origins to its emergence as a global cultural phenomenon. Through iconic venues, historic equipment, legendary figures, and shared audience experiences, the article explores how tennis has evolved across centuries while preserving its distinctive traditions and material identity.

tennishistory.com
Apr 62 min read


Boris Becker - Last in White. First in Yellow
From White to Yellow Tennis Balls. London, 07 July 1985. The conditions surrounding Boris Becker 's Wimbledon victory in 1985 have since become a significant part of tennis history . Boris Becker's final match against Kevin Curren marked the last Wimbledon final played with white tennis balls. For decades, white balls had shaped the visual identity of the Championships and were closely associated with traditional grass-court tennis. At the time, white balls were still stand

tennishistory.com
Apr 12 min read


How Automotive Pioneers gave Tennis its First Bounce
Vulcanized Solid Rubber Ball Charles Goodyear In the 19th century, two groundbreaking inventions laid the foundation for modern lawn tennis: Charles Goodyear 's vulcanization of rubber and Edwin Budding's creation of the mechanical lawn mower. In 1839 , Charles Goodyear discovered that heating natural rubber with sulfur transformed it into a durable, elastic material, a process he patented in 1844 as vulcanization . This innovation revolutionized the production of rubber goo

tennishistory.com
Apr 2, 20211 min read
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