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Westerners are not only known as history ignoramuses, but double dumbass history ignoramuses when it comes to Tennis and tennis history. Since I'm the one-and-only Historyscoper (tm), let me quickly bring you up to speed before you dive into my Master Historyscope.

Tennis is very French, merci beaucoup.

In 1308 French king (1285-1314) Philip IV (Le Bel) (the Handsome) (1268-1314) purchases the Hotel des Nesle near Notre Dame de Paris, in which he builds one of the earliest tennis courts in Paris.

In 1351 after the horrible Black Death of 1347-50, tennis becomes an open air game in England - now that the air is cleared, the perfect game, where love means nothing?

On Feb. 20, 1437 (Lent) after his nearest male relative Robert Stewart, grandson of Earl Walter Stewart of Atholl lets them into his lodgings in the Dominican convent at Perth, Scottish king (since 1406) James I (1394-1437) is assassinated by Robert Graham and armed servants of Robert Stewart, duke of Albany, incl. Thomas Chambers, Christopher Chambers, and the two Barclay brothers after he tries to squeeze through a sewer tunnel which he had just had blocked to prevent balls from being lost from his tennis court, causing him to become trapped like a rat; Queen Joan is wounded but escapes, sending word to Edinburgh to remove John Spens, a known Atholl man from guardianship of her 6-y.-o. son James, duke of Rothesay and replace him with trusted John Balfour; she then goes on a revenge tour, getting the papal nuncio Bishop Anthony Altani of Urbino to declare her butchered hubby a martyr at his funeral, then have the conspirators tracked down and given the English-style hanging, drawing, and quartering.

In 1641 the word "advantage" is first applied to the game of tennis.

Just a little bit, just a little bit, sock it to me sock it to me? On June 17 after the king's financial adviser Jacques Necker (1732-1804) (wrong name for this country?) rigs the voting by rank to nullify the third estate's advantage, Abbe Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes (Sieyès) (1748-1836), author of of the hit CD What Is the Third Estate? makes a motion, causing it to bolt and meet to form a new constitution, declaring itself the beat-me-heat-me-come-on-eat-me Nat. Assembly, and inviting the other estates to join, which causes king (since May 10, 1774) Louis XVI (1754-93) on June 20 to lock them out and suspend meetings for three days, which doesn't phase them, because they got cat scratch fever and meet in an indoora tennis court, swearing the Tennis Court Oath to stay in session until they create a new constitution; on June 23 the king continues to try to stop them, ordering each estate to meet separately, and Honore (Honoré) Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau (1749-91) (elected for both Marseille and Aix) steps forward and answers royal messenger Henri Evrard, Marquis de Dreux-Breze (Dreux-Brézé) (1762-1829) with the truly breezy immortal Mr. Saturday Night Special soundbyte: "If you have orders to remove us from this hall, you must also get authority to use force, for we shall yield to nothing but to bayonets"; the 10-year 7-mo. 11-day French Rev. (ends 1799) begins as 24M French citizens kept down by 400K aristocrats upend the entire social structure, infecting the world with incurable dreams of equality that overtake the milder Am. Rev.; on June 27 after the three estates unite, Louis XVI orders the rumps of the first two estates to join them, and Comte de Mirabeau emerges as leader; although Louis XVI is waffling, his wife Marie Antoinette makes him take the hard line, talking him into sending troops from Versailles to surround Paris in an obvious plan to you know what; the aristocratic favorite drink tea becomes unpopular for the next 50 years.

In 1873 Walter Clopton Wingfield (1833-1912) introduces the game of Lawn Tennis at a garden party under the name Sphairistike, and patents it in Feb. 1874.

In 1876 the First Tennis Tournament in the U.S. is held in Nahant, Mass.; court owner Dr. James White is the winner.

On July 19, 1877 the first All-England Lawn Tennis Championships are held at Wimbledon; the men's singles champion is Spencer W. Gore; there is no women's singles championship until 1884.

In 1880 the Orange Lawn Tennis Club is founded in Britain, going on next May to help found the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc., which reaches 700K members by modern times.

In 1880 the Cincinnati Tennis Club in Ohio is founded, surviving to modern times.

In 1881 the first U.S. Lawn Tennis Nat. Singles Championship (later called the U.S. Open) is won by Richard Dudley "Dick" Sears (1861-1943), who continues to win through 1888; Clarence Munroe Clark (1859-1937) and Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) win the first doubles tournament, and Clark marries Winslow's sister; next year he is defeated in the singles final by Sears.

In 1884 women are allowed to play in the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon; Maud Watson (1864-1946) becomes the first women's singles champion, winning the Venus Rosewater plate - to serve men with?

In 1887 Ellen Forde Hansell (Hansel) (1869-1937) wins the first U.S. Open women's singles title; next year she loses to Bertha Louise Townsend Toulmin (1869-1909), who discovers the underhand technique and wins again in 1889.

In 1887 Peter Walker Latham (1865-1953) of England wins the world racquets title (until 1902), going on to win the world tennis title in 1895-1905 and 1907-8.

In 1887 the word "sneaker" is first used in the Boston Journal of Education, which says it's "the name boys give to tennis shoes"; in 1917 Henry Nelson McKinney of N.W. Ayer & Son advertising agency claims to coin it.

In 1888 the Lawn Tennis Assoc. is founded in London, England.

On May 14-Oct. 28, 1900 the Second (2nd) (II) Summer Olympic Games, held in Paris as part of the World Fair feature 1K+ athletes competing in 19 sports, with women competing for the 1st time; too bad, they are marred by a scrap after the French refuse to hold the finals on Bastille Day (Sat.), followed by half a dozen Americans withdrawing because they won't run on Sunday; tennis player Charlotte Reinagle Cooper (1870-1966) wins the first-ever U.S. women's gold.

In 1900 Dwight Filley Davis (1879-1945), tennis-playing son of a wealthy St. Louis, Mo. businessman presents the first internat. lawn tennis cup, the Davis Cup.

On May 1-Dec. 1, 1904 the St. Louis World's Fair (World Exhibition) is held in commemoration of the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase a year late, and 20M visitors attend it; cotton candy and Dr. Pepper are introduced; on Apr. 30 Pres. Roosevelt presses a telegraph key at the White House to signal its official start; Beals C. Wright (1879-1961) of the U.S. wins golds in singles and doubles tennis.

In 1904 the U.S. Lawn Tennis singles titles are won by Holcombe Ward and May G. Sutton.

In 1905 Beals C. Wright (1879-1961) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's singles title, and Elisabeth Holmes "Bessie" Moore (1876-1959) wins the women's singles.

In 1906 William J. Clothier (1881-1962) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's singles title, and later becomes pres. #1 of the Tennis Hall of Fame, while his son William J. Clothier II (1916-2002) becomes a tennis pro and a CIA spy; Helen Homans wins the women's singles title.

In 1907 Sir Norman Everard Brookes (1878-1968) of Australia wins the Wimbledon singles tennis title.

In Mar. 1912 the Internat. Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) is founded in Paris by 12 nat. assocs.

On May 5-July 22, 1912 the V Summer (5th) Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden are dominated by All-American James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (1888-1953), a Sac and Fox Indian with some Irish descent who wins the pentathlon (4 firsts) and the decathlon (8412.96 out of a possible 10K pts.), then responds to the compliment "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world" by Swedish king Gustavus V with the immortal soundbyte "Thanks, king!"; Charles Lyndhurst Winslow (1888-1963) of South Africa wins gold in men's singles and doubles tennis.

In 1913 the U.S. wins the Davis Cup of tennis 3-2.

In 1914 Australia wins the Davis Cup tennis championship from the U.S.

In 1915 Anna Margarethe "Molla" Bjurstedt Mallory (1884-1959), who emigrates to the U.S. from Norway this year wins the women's Open Tennis title for the first of a record four consecutive times (1915-18) (until Chris Evert Lloyd); her 8th and last win is in 1926.

In 1918 R. Lindley Murray (1892-1970) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's singles title; Molly Mallory wins the women's title.

In 1919 French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938) begins to dominate the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship (until 1923).

In 1920 theatrical William Tatem "Big Bill" Tilden II (1893-1953) begins dominating the Wimbledon tennis singles title (until 1925).

In 1921 Anna Margarethe "Molla" Bjurstedt Mallory (1884-1959) of the U.S. outruns French tennis champ Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938) at the U.S. Open, beating her 6-2 in the first set, after which she resigns, huffing, puffing, coughing, and weeping, and claiming sickness, causing a row in the French Tennis Federation and the resignation of vice-pres. Albert de Joannis after it exonerates her.

In 1922 George V of Britain opens a new 15K-seat concrete tennis stadium at Wimbledon; Bill Tilden and W.M. Johnston win the singles, and Tilden and V. Richards lose the doubles but win the Davis Cup in tennis; Suzanne Lenglen avenges the previous year's loss to Molla Mallory with a 26-min. 6-2, 6-0 win at Wimbledon; in the summer they play for the last time, and Lenglen wins 6-0, 6-0.

In 1923 William M. Johnston wins the men's tennis singles title at Wimbledon; the U.S. tennis team defeats Australia to win the Davis Cup; the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title is won by Bill Tilden, and the women's singles title by "Little Miss Poker Face" Helen Wills Moody (Helen Newington Wills Roark) (1905-98), who goes on to win 31 Grand Slam tournament titles incl. 19 singles titles.

In 1924 the U.S. team of Bill Tilden, V. Richards, and W.M. Johnston defeats Australia to win the Davis Cup in tennis; the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title is won by Bill Tilden, and the women's singles title by Hellen N. Wills.

In 1925 Bill Tilden wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Helen N. Wills wins the women's singles; Bill Tilden and W.M. Johnston win the singles, and R.N. Williams and V. Richards win the doubles against France to retain the Davis Cup for the U.S.

On Mar. 1, 1926 Suzanne Lenglen of France defeats Hellen N. Wills of the U.S. in the Tennis Match of the Century, their only meeting; Bill Tilden loses the U.S. Open singles tennis title to Rene "the Crocodile" Lacoste (1904-96) of France, but the U.S. retains the Davis Cup for the 7th straight year.

In 1927 Helen N. Wills wins the Wimbledon women's singles title, along with the U.S. Open women's singles title; the U.S. Open men's title is won by Rene Lacoste of France, who defeats Bill Tilden; the French team of Rene "the Crocodile" Lacoste (1904-97), Jean Robert "the Bounding Basque" Borotra (1898-1994), Henri Jean Cochet (1901-87), and Jacques "Toto" Brugnon (1895-1978) becomes known as the Four Musketeers as it defeats the U.S. to win the Davis Cup, then sixpeats (1927-32), with Lacoste going 32-8 in singles and 8-3 in doubles play.

In 1927 Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) launches a line of knitwear based on a double-layered stitch borrowed from Armenian refugees, with a pattern that looks like a scarf wrapped around the neck; her divided skirt is worn by Lili de Alvarez at Wimbledon in 1931, shocking the tennis world, after which she expands to evening wear, pioneering zippers, shoulder pads, weird buttons, and "shocking pink", collaborating with Salvador Dali and other Surrealists to design bizarre items incl. a lobster dress, a giant shoe hat, and a giant lamb chop hat, made famous by rich admirer Daisy Fellowes.

In 1928 Henri Jean Cochet of France wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Helen N. Wills wins the women's singles title.

In 1929 Bill Tilden wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Helen N. Wills wins the women's singles title; H.R. Johnston wins the U.S. Golf Assoc. amateur title, and Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Open; French tennis star Rene Lacoste retires, going on to found the Lacoste Shirt Co., with its trademark alligator emblem, later inventing the first successful metal tennis racket.

In 1930 Bill Tilden and "Little Miss Poker Face" Helen Wills Moody (Helen Newington Wills Roark) (1905-98) win the Wimbledon singles tennis titles.

In 1931 Sidney Wood (1911-) of the U.S. and Cilly Aussem (1909-63) of Germany win the Wimbledon tennis singles titles (first German woman), and Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. (1911-94) of the U.S. wins the U.S. Open men's singles title this year and next, going pro in 1934 and becoming #1 in 1932-7; Helen Wills Moody wins the U.S. Open women's singles title.

In 1932 the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title is won by Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr., and the women's title is won by Helen Hull Jacobs (1908-97) (first of 4 in a row); Gottfried von Cramm (1909-79) wins the first of four straight German nat. tennis titles, going on to win the 1933 mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the French Open in 1934 and 1936, and runner-up at Wimbledon in 1935-7; too bad, the Nazis try to use him as the perfect Aryan symbol, and he refuses to cooperate, causing them to keep him out of the 1937 French Open, and he is arrested on Mar. 5, 1938 for a gay affair with Jewish actor-singer Manasse Herbst, who had blackmailed him for $12K and moved to Palestine; he serves 6 mo. until Don Budge et al. send a protest letter to Hitler to get him released, after which his criminal record gets him barred from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; he serves on the Eastern Front in 1941, then wins the German nat. title again in 1948-9. the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title is won by Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr., and the women's title is won by Helen Hull Jacobs; Gottfried von Cramm (1909-79) wins the first of four straight German nat. tennis titles, going on to win the 1933 mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the French Open in 1934 and 1936, and runner-up at Wimbledon in 1935-7; too bad, the Nazis try to use him as the perfect Aryan symbol, and he refuses to cooperate, causing them to keep him out of the 1937 French Open, and he is arrested on Mar. 5, 1938 for a gay affair with Jewish actor-singer Manasse Herbst, who had blackmailed him for $12K and moved to Palestine; he serves 6 mo. until Don Budge et al. send a protest letter to Hitler to get him released, after which his criminal record gets him barred from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; he serves on the Eastern Front in 1941, then wins the German nat. title again in 1948-9.

In 1933 Frederick J. Perry of England wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. singles title, and Helen Hull Jacobs wins the women's title.

In 1936 Frederick J. Perry wins the U.S. Open men's singles tennis title, and Alice Marble (1913-90) wins the women's singles title, the first of 18 Grand Slam titles by 1940.

In 1937 the U.S. wins the Davis Cup (tennis) from England after John Donald "Don" Budge (1915-2000) trails 1-4 in the final set against Gottfried von Cramm then comes back to win 8-6 despite a personal call from Herr Hitler to Cramm before the match that turned him pale; Budge also sweeps the Wimbledon singles title, and wins the men's doubles title with Gene Mako, and the mixed doubles crown with Alice Marble, along with the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, causing him to become the first tennis player to win the James E. Sullivan Award as top U.S. amateur athlete. Anita Lizana (1915-94) of Chile wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. women's singles title, becoming the first Latin-Am. woman to win a Grand Slam event.

In 1938 Don Budge defeats Gene Mako to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Alice Marble wins the women's title; Don Budge goes on to defeat John Bromwich in the Australian Open, Roderick Menzel in the French Open, and Bunny Austin in Wimbledon to win the Grand Slam of tennis; Henry Christian "Harry" Hopman (1906-85) becomes captain of the Australian Davis Cup team (1938-9, 1950-69), going on to wins in 1939, 1950-3, 1955-7, 1959-62, and 1964-7; too bad, this year the U.S. team defeats Australia to retain the Davis Cup.

In 1939 Australia wins the Davis Cup of tennis from the U.S.; Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs (1918-95) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's singles title, becoming the #1 world amateur before going pro in 1941; Alice Marble wins the women's title; William Donald "Don" McNeill (1918-96) becomes the 2nd U.S. player after Don Budge (1938) to win the French Open in tennis.

In 1940 William Donald "Don" McNeill (1918-96) wins the U.S. Open tennis singles title, and Alice Marble (1913-90) wins the women's singles title; because of the war, the Wimbledon tennis tournament is not held in 1940-45.

In 1941 Bobby Riggs wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. amateur men's title, and Mrs. Sarah Palfrey Cooke wins the women's title; Marvin Ward wins the U.S. Golf. Assoc. Amateur title, and Craig Wood wins the Open.

In 1942 F.R. Schroder Jr. wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Pauline M. Betz wins the women's singles title.

In 1943 Navy Lt. (j.g.) Joseph Raphael "Joe" Hunt (1919-45) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title despite leg cramps that cause him to collapse after his opponent Jack Kramer hits a return that barely goes long; Pauline M. Betz wins the women's singles title; too bad, Hunt is killed in 1945 on a training mission off Daytona Beach, Fla. in his Grumman Hellcat.

In 1945 U.S. Army Sgt. Frank A. Parker wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's single's title, and Mrs. Sarah Palfrey Cooke wins the women's single's title.

In 1946 John A. Kramer wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Pauline M. Betz win's the women's singles title; Althea Louise Brough Clapp (1923-) wins the French Open, along with the women's singles title at Wimbledon, going on to win 5x (1946, 1948-50, 1954), plus nine straight doubles titles at the U.S. Open (1942-50).

In 1947 Louise Brough wins the women's singles title; the U.S. defeats Australia to win the Davis Cup of tennis.

In 1948 the U.S. defeats Australia for the Davis Cup of tennis; Richard Alonso "Pancho" Gonzales (1928-95) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, going on to become the #1 rated pro from 1954-61; Margaret Osborne duPont (1918-) wins the women's singles title, and threepeats in 1949-50.

In 1949 Am. tennis player Doris Hart (1925-), who was handicapped from childhood osteomyelitis wins the Australian singles title, and goes on to win the French singles title in 1950 and 1952, Wimbledon in 1951, and the U.S. singles title in 1954 and 1955; Pancho Gonzales wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Mrs. Margaret Osborne duPont wins the women's singles title. Am. tennis player Getrude "Gorgeous" "Gussy" "Gussie" Augusta Moran (1923-2013), the #7 seed shocks the crowd at Wimbledon when her lacy panties peek through at regular intervals; her dress designer Cuthbert Collingwood "Ted" Tinling (1910-90) of the U.K. is banned from Wimbledon for 33 years, but goes on to design dresses worn by the Wimbledon women's champs for most of the years 1959-79.

In 1950 Clarendon County, S.C.-born Althea Gibson (1927-2003) becomes the first African-Am. to compete in the Forest Hill, N.Y. tennis championships, and the first to compete at Wimbledon next year; superstitious lefty Arthur David "Art" "Tappy" Larsen (1925-), known for tapping everything in sight delights audiences by winning the U.S. Open singles title at Forest Hills; Tappy played against Jonathan Quayle Higgins in 1944 :).

In 1951 Australia defeats the U.S. to win the Davis Cup of tennis; Frank Sedgman wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Maureen Catherine "Little Mo" Connolly (1934-) wins the women's singles title.

In 1953 U.S. Open singles champ (1951-2) Maureen Catherine "Little Mo" Connolly (1934-69) becomes the first woman to win the grand slam of tennis (Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open, Wimbledon); Vic Seixas Jr. (1923-) of the U.S. wins the Wimbleton men's singles; Tony Trabert (1930-) of the U.S. wins the men's U.S. Open, and next year wins the Wimbledon, French, and U.S. Open. In 1953 Australia defeats the U.S. to retain the Davis Cup of tennis.

In 1954 Vic Seixas Jr. wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title; Doris Hart wins the women's singles title; Richard Alonso "Pancho" Gonzales (1928-95) of the U.S. becomes the #1 tennis player in the world for the first of 8x.

In 1955 Tony Trabert wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Doris Hart wins the women's singles title.

In 1956 Kenneth Robert "Ken" Rosewall (1934-) of Australia wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis men's singles title and Wimbledon men's singles title, repeating in 1970; Shirley June Fry Irvin (1927-) wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis women's singles title, and defeats Althea Gibson in a quarterfinal match at Wimbledon.

In 1957 Althea Gibson becomes the first African-Am. tennis player to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow Am. Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2 on July 16; Gibson also wins the U.S. Open women's singles title; Malcolm Anderson wins the U.S. Open men's singles title.

In 1958 Ashley Cooper wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Althea Gibson wins the women's singles title.

In 1959 Australia defeats the U.S. to win the Davis Cup of tennis; Neale Fraser of Australia wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title, and Maria Esther Andion Bueno (1939-) of Brazil wins the women's singles title, along with the Wimbledon singles title, going on to win Wimbledon again in 1960 and 1964-6.

In 1960 Neale Andrew Fraser (1933-) of Australia wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title along with the Wimbleton singles title, and Darlene Hard (1936-) of the U.S. wins the women's singles title along with the French Open; Maria Esther Andion Bueno (1939-) of Brazil wins her 2nd straight Wimbledon women's singles tennis title, and Neale Fraser defeats Rod Laver to win the men's singles title; Australia defeats Italy to win the Davis Cup of tennis - yes yes yes oi oi oi?

In 1961 Roy Stanley Emerson (1936-) of Australia wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. men's singles title; he also wins the Australian Open this year, followed by 1963-7; Darlene Hard of the U.S. wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assoc. women's singles title; Rodney George "Rod" Laver (1938-) (#1 world player in 1964-70) wins the Wimbledon men's singles title, and Florence Angela Margaret Mortimer Barrett (1932-) of England wins the women's singles title. In 1961 Australia skunks Italy 5-0 to win the Davis Cup of tennis, its 10th win since 1946 vs. six for the U.S. In 1962 Rod Laver wins the grand slam of tennis.

On Aug. 1, 1964 Arthur Ashe (1943-93) becomes the first African-Am. to play on the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team, which loses to Australia; he goes on to win the U.S. Open in 1968 and Wimbledon in 1975, becoming a leading straight spokesperson for AIDS before his death.

On Sept. 15, 1965 the cool TV series I Spy, produced by Sheldon Leonard debuts for 82 episodes (until Apr. 15, 1968), starring Robert Martin Culp (1930-) as internat. tennis star Kelly Robinson, and William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (1937-) as his Man Friday, er, black trainer Alexander Scott, who are really U.S. spies and totally equal; Three-F Productions is formed by David Friedkin, Morton Fine, and Fouaid Said to produce the show.

In 1965 tennis town Wimbledon, a city in Surrey becomes part of Greater London.

In 1966 Manuel Martinez "Manolo" Santana (1938-) from Spain defeats Richard Dennis Ralston (1942-) of the U.S. to win the Wimbledon men's tennis singles title, and Billie Jean King (1943-) of the U.S. wins the women's singles title, first of three in a row; Frederick Sydney "Fred" Stolle (1938-) of Australia wins the U.S. Open singles title, and Maria Bueno of Brazil wins the women's singles title for the 4th time in eight years; Australia defeats India 4-1 to win the Davis Cup of tennis.

In 1967 Am. tennis player Billie Jean King (1943-) cleans up, winning almost every pro team match open to women; Rosemary Casals (1948-) wins the doubles title at Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open with her, emerging as another major star; John David Newcombe (1944-) of Australia wins the Wimbledon men's singles title, and Billie Jean King wins the women's singles title.

On May 3-5, 1968 black tennis player Arthur Ashe is allowed to play on the whites-only courts at Byrd Park in Va. for the first time, helping the U.S. Davis Cup team defeat the British West Indies team; Wimbledon finally allows profs. to complete; Rod Laver wins the Wimbledon men's singles tennis title, and Billy Jean King wins the women's title; Arthur Ashe becomes the first African-Am. to win the U.S. Open men's singles tennis title at Forest Hills, N.Y.; Margaret Court Smith wins the women's singles title; Ashe also wins his first U.S. Open men's singles, while Sarah Virginia Wade (1945-) of Britain wins the women's singles title; on July 22 Philip Morris introduces Virginia Slims brand cigarettes for women in 1968, with the slogan "You've come a long way, baby", and the message that smoking keeps your weight down and tennis is a spectator sport?;meanwhile the avg. smoker puffs down 205 packs a year (571.1B cigs total).

In 1969 Rod Laver wins the grand slam of tennis for the 2nd time (1962); Adrianne Shirley "Ann" Haydon-Jones (1938-) of Britain wins the Wimbledon women's singles title (first lefty winner); Margaret Smith Court wins the U.S. Open women's singles title; on June 25 the Longest Match in Wimbledon History (until ?) sees aging 41-y.-o. tennis star Pancho Gonzales defeat Charlie Pasarell in a 5-set match lasting 5 hours 12 min. and taking two days, with the final score 22-24, 1-6, 16-4, 6-3, 11-9, causing tie break scoring to begin.

In 1970 Kenneth Robert "Ken" Rosewall (1934-) of Australia wins the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, repeating his 1956 feat; the U.S. defeats West Germany 5-0 to win the Davis Cup of tennis; Jan Kodes (1946-) of Czech. wins the French Open of tennis, and repeats next year, defeating Ilie Nastase in the final; Margaret Smith Court (1942-), "the Arm" of Australia wins the grand slam of tennis; meanwhile on Sept. 23 the first Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament is held in Houston, Tex., sponsored by Philip Morris, with $7.5K in prize money, becoming the first women's prof. tennis tournament and leading to the formation of the cough-cough Women's Tennis Assoc. in 1973; the tournaments are picketed by anti-smoking groups carrying signs reading "Emphysema Slims"; the first Virginia Slims Internat. Tennis Tournament is held in Moscow on Aug. 10, 1989.

In July 1971 John David Newcombe (1944-) of Australia wins the men's singles at Wimbledon; Australian aborigine Evonne Fay Goolagong (1951-) defeats fellow Australian Margaret Smith Court in the finals to win the Wimbledon singles tennis title; she also won the French Open singles title in June, and wins the U.S. Open in 1973-6, and the Wimbledon again in 1980; Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith (1946-) wins the men's U.S. Open, and Billie Jean King wins the women's, becoming the first woman in any sport to make $100K in a single season.

In 1972 Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith (1946-) of the U.S. wins the Wimbledon men's singles title, and Billie Jean King wins the women's singles title; Ilie "Nasty" Nastase (1946-) of Romania wins the U.S. Open men's title, and Billie Jean King wins the women's title; next year Nastase wins 17 tournaments, incl. the French Open (without dropping a set, a first) and Masters, becoming #1 in the world (until 1974); "As long as I can get angry I play well"; the U.S. wins the Davis Cup of tennis for the 5th straight time.

In 1972 the Assoc. of Tennis Profs. (ATP) is founded for male prof. tennis players; next year the Women's Tennis Assoc. (WTA) is founded for women.

On May 13, 1973 Am. tennis hustler Bobby Riggs defeats Margaret Smith Court in a Mother's Day match in Calif. - the battle of the sexes, pt. 1? On July 19, 1973 the U.S. Open becomes the first pro tennis match to give equal prize money to men and women; Jan Kodes (1946-) of Czech. wins the Wimbledon men's singles title after 13 of 16 players sit out over a labor dispute, and Billy Jean King wins the women's singles title; the Women's Tennis Assoc. (WTA) is founded in the U.S., becoming the main body for women's prof. tennis. On Sept. 20, 1973 the publicity stunt Battle of the Sexes is hosted by Howard Cossell, featuring the exchanging of gifts (a 6-ft. lollipop and a live pig), after which female tennis star Billie Jean King (1943-) (sister of San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Moffitt) defeats aging male 55-y.-o. Wimbledon and Forest Hills winner Robert "Bobby" Riggs (1918-95) in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in the Houston Astrodome in Tex., becoming the female King of the Courts, and making a big splash for women's libbers; in 2013 Hal Shaw claims that Riggs threw the match to pay off gambling debts to the mob - proving what?

Big year for the U.S. in tennis? In 1974 James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (1952-) of the U.S. (who was raised by women to conquer men?) wins the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open, becoming the #1 ranked male player for 160 weeks from July 29 of this year through Aug. 29, 1977, followed by 8x more during his career, for a total of 268 weeks; Christine Marie "Chris" Evert (1954-) of the U.S. wins the Wimbledon, Canadian Open, French Open, and Italian Open, going on to be ranked #1 through 1977, then again in 1980-1; Connors and Evert come in #2 at the mixed doubles in the U.S. Open; Billie Jean King of the U.S. wins her 4th straight U.S. Open; South Africa defeats India by default to win the Davis Cup of tennis.

On July 5, 1975 Arthur Ashe (1943-) defeats Jimmy Connors, becoming the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title; Billy Jean King wins her 6th Wimbledon women's singles title; Manuel Orantes Corral (1949-) of Spain defeats Jimmy Connors to win the U.S. Open men's singles title along with the Canadian Open, and Chris Evert wins the women's singles title; Sweden wins the Davis Cup; meanwhile tennis racket sales in the U.S. peak at 9.2M, dropping to 5M by 1978.

In 1975 Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova (1956-), named Rookie of the Year by Tennis World in 1974 defects to the U.S. in order to play tennis "whenever and wherever" she wishes.

In 1976 Bjorn Rune Borg (1956-) of Sweden wins his 1st Wimbledon tennis men's singles title.

On July 1, 1977 Sarah Virginia "Ginny" Wade (1945-) of the U.S. wins her only Wimbledon women's singles title in its centenary year, becoming the last Wimbledon singles title by a Brit until ?; ; Bjorn Borg of Sweden wins his 2nd straight Wimbledon men's singles title; Australia wins the Davis Cup of tennis. On Aug. 29-Sept. 11 the 1977 U.S. Open of Tennis is the 3rd and last year played on clay courts, and the last played at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills before moving to Flushing Meadows; on ? Guillermo Apolinario Vilas (1952-) of Argentina defeats Jimmy Connors to win the U.S. Open (his only win); Chris Evert of the U.S. wins her 3rd straight U.S. Open.

In 1980 Bjorn Rune Borg (1956-) of Sweden defeats John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (1959-) of the U.S. to win his 5th straight and last Wimbledon men's singles title; Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (1951-) of Australia (aborigine) wins the women's singles title, breaking Martina Navatilova's streak; John McEnroe defeats Bjorn Borg to win the U.S. Open men's singles title, and Chris Evert wins the women's title.

In 1981 Nick Bollettieri (1931-) opens the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, W Fla., becoming the first major tennis boarding school, going on to incubate world champions Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Mary Pierce; John McEnroe wins the British and U.S. Open men's single's tennis titles; Christine Marie "Chris" Evert (1954-) of the U.S. wins the women's singles title at Wimbledon for the 3rd and last time (1974, 1976), and Tracy Ann Austin (1962-) of the U.S. wins the U.S. Open women's singles title for the 2nd time (1979); too bad, a series of injuries causes her career to tank.

On Apr. 4, 1983 the U.S. grants asylum to female Chinese tennis star Hu Na (1963-), who defected last July during a tournament in Calif.

Big year for Czechs in tennis? In 1985 17-y.-o. Boris Franz Becker (1967-) of West Germany wins the men's singles title at Wimbledon (youngest until ?), and Martina Navratilova of Czech. wins the women's singles title; Ivan Lendl (1960-) of Czech. wins the U.S. Open men's singles title, and Hana Mandlikova (1962-) of Czech. wins the women's singles title, becoming the first since Tracy Austin to beat Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in the same tournament; next year Lendl finishes in 1st place 9x and 2nd place 3x in his 15 singles tournaments.

On Jan. 11, 1988 Rod Laver Arena tennis stadium in Melbourne, Australia opens, with a 15K seating capacity; originally called Nat. Tennis Centre at Flinders Park and Centre Court, the name is changed in Jan. 2000.

On Sept. 10, 1988 Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (1969-) of West Germany achieves the first Grand Slam in tennis since Margaret Court Smith in 1970 by winning the U.S. Open women's final. On Sept. 17-Oct. 2, 1988 the XXIV (24th) Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea; North Korea (whose request to co-host the games was refused), Cuba, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua boycott it; tennis returns after a 64-year absence, and Steffi Graf of West Germany defeats Gabriela Sabatini in the final.

In 1989 "King of Clay" Thomas Muster (1967-) becomes the first Austrian tennis player to reach the semifinals of the Austrian Open, and first to be ranked in the world top-10; too bad, after defeating Yannick Noah of France in Mar. to set up a match with #1 Ivan Lendl, he is hit by a drunk driver, putting him out of action for 6 mo.

On Aug. 10, 1989 the first Virginia Slims Internat. Tennis Tournament is held in Moscow.

On July 7, 1990 Martina Navratilova (1956-) captures a record 9th women's title at Wimbledon, easily defeating Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1.

In 1990 the first Kremlin Cup of Tennis is held in Moscow on a carpet surface; the men's singles winner is Andrei Cherkasov; in 1996 women are allowed to compete.

In 1991 Am. tennis player James Spencer "Jim" Courier Jr. (1970-) wins his first Slam at the French Open on ? after defeating Andre Agassi (1970-).

On Apr. 20, 1993 Hungarian barking tennis player Monica Seles (1973-), who became the youngest-ever tennis champ at the 1990 French Open in 1990 is stabbed in the back by a crazed fan, derailing her career after winning 32 titles - that crazy bark would drive anybody into stabbing her to shut her up?

On July 8, 1995 Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (1969-) of Germany defeats Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 to win the Wimbledon women's single title; on July 9 Pete Sampras (1971-) of the U.S. defeats Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to win the men's title.

In 1997 the $254M Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens, N.Y. opens, replacing Louis Armstrong Stadium as the primary venue for the U.S. Open tennis tournament, becoming the largest tennis stadium on Earth (cap. 23,771); the other stadium in Queens, Shea Stadium, is a permutation?

Never heard of vs. Who's that? On July 4, 1998 the Wimbledon women's singles match is played by two no-names, and Czech player Jana Novotna (1968-) defeats French player Nathalie Tauziat 6-4, 7-6; on July 5 Pete Sampras of the U.S. defeats Goran Ivanisevich of Croatia in five sets for his 5th Wimbleton and 11th Grand Slam win.

In 1999 Serena Williams (1981-) wins the U.S. Open, becoming the first black woman since 1958 to win a Grand Slam tennis title.

On June 26-July 9, 2000 the 2000 (114th) Wimbledon Championship sees Pete Sampras defeat Pat Rafter to win his 4th straight (last) Wimbledon single's title and 7th men's singles title; Venus Williams defeats Lindsay Ann Davenport (1976-) to win the women's singles title, becoming the first of five Wimbledon titles. On Aug. 28-Sept. 10 the 2000 U.S. Open of Tennis sees defending champ Andre Agassi upset in the 2nd round by Amaud Clement, and defending champ Serena Williams upset in the quarter-finals by Lindsay Davenport, who loses in the final round to her older sister Venus Williams (1980-) of the U.S.; Marat Safin (1980-) easily defeats Sampras to become the first Russian U.S. Open singles winner.

On Feb. 25, 2002 Venus Williams (1980-) becomes the first black U.S. pro tennis player to be ranked #1 since Arthur Ashe in 1975.

In Feb. 2004 Roger Federer (1981-) of Switzerland becomes the #1 tennis player in the world; too bad, he can't win on clay, and never wins the French Open? On July 3, 2004 17-y.-o. 6'2" Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (1987-) upsets Serena Williams to win the 2004 Wimbleton women'a singles title; she becomes world #1 next Aug. 22, but wins no major titles until the 2006 U.S. Open.

On Jan. 30, 2005 homeless man William Lepeska (1965-) is arrested after swimming nude across Biscayne Bay, trying to get into the $5M Sunset Island estate of tennis star Anna Kournikova (1981-), screaming "Anna, save me!", and accused of stalking her; on Feb. 23 he is ordered to permanently stay at least 1K ft. away from her after he admits to doing the swimming, and she reads portions of a letter sent to her by him - her ass is too high class for him?

On Mar. 9, 2006 Christophe Fauviau of Mont-de-Marsan in SW France is convicted of drugging his children's tennis opponents, leading to one accidental death.

On Aug. 28, 2006 the USTA Nat. Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, N.Y. is renamed for Billie Jean King.

On July 7, 2007 black tennis star Venus Williams wins her 4th Wimbleton singles title, coloring up the rarified ranks of Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf.

On July 6, 2008 Rafael Nadal Parera (1986-) of Spain defeats 5-time champ Roger Federer of Switzerland for the Wimbledon men's singles tennis title in 5 sets in a record 4:47 with two rain breaks, becoming the first Spaniard to win since Manuel Santana in 1966 and the first male since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open (against Federer) and Wimbledon the same year.

In 2008 Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanovic (1987-) defeats Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open, followed by the Australian Open, achieving #1 world ranking.

On Aug. 31-Sept. 14, 2009 the 2009 U.S. Open of Tennis (which runs to Mon. because of rain) sees Belgian wild card Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (1983-), who left the game two years ago to start a family then returned to tennis a month ago defeat Serena Williams in the semi-final, who blows up at the end and threatens a judge, drawing a $10.5K fine and other disciplinary action, becoming Williams' 3rd tournament since returning; Clijsters defeats Caroline Wozniacki (1990-) (first Dane in a Grand Slam final in the Open Era) in straight sets 7-6, 6-3 to win her 2nd U.S. Open title (2005), becoming the first unseeded player and wild card to win, and first mother since Evonne Goolagong in 1980; on Sept. 14 Juan Martin (Martín) del Potro (1988-) of Argentina upsets five-time defending champ Swiss maestro Roger Federer in a four-hour match to win the men's singles title.

On June 6, 2010 Francesca "the Lioness" Schiavone (1980-) defeats Samantha Stosur to win the French Open, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tennis title.

On June 21, 2010 Jenny Higgs (1947-) becomes the first woman chief ump at Wimbledon, in charge of 310 umps; on June 22-23 Nicolas Mahut (1982-) of France and John Robert Isner (1985-) of the U.S. play the longest match in Assoc. of Tennis Profs. (ATP) history; after being suspended at 59-59 for darkness, Isner defeats Mahut 70-68 in the 5th set after 11 hours of play; on June 24 Queen Elizabeth II makes her first Wimbledon appearance since 1977; on June 29 2009 winner (6-time winner) Roger Federer is stopped in four sets by 12th seed Tomas Berdych of Czech. Repub., who becomes the first Czech man to reach the final four since Ivan Lendl in 1990; on July 3 Serena Williams of the U.S. wins the women's singles title, and on July 4 Rafael Nadal of Spain wins the men's singles title.

On Jan. 17-30, 2011 the 2011 Australian Open sees Li Na (1982-) of China defeat #1-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinal, becoming the first Asian player to reach a tennis grand slam final; meanwhile Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kutznetsova play the longest match in women's grand slam history, 4 hours 44 min.; on Jan. 28 Kim Clijsters defeats Li Na in three sets to win the women's singles title; Novak Djokovic defeats Andy Murray in three sets to win the men's singles title.

On Aug. 29-Sept. 12, 2011 the 2011 U.S. Open of Tennis at Billie Jean King Nat. Tennis Center in Flush Meadows Park in Queens, N.Y. sees Novak Djokovic (1987-) of Serbia defeat defending champ Rafael Nadal 62, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 on Sept. 12 to win the men's singles title, becoming the first Serb to win a grand slam singles title, and the youngest player in the open era to reach the semifinals in all four grand slam events; on Sept. 11 after defending champ Kim Clijsters bows out due to an abdominal muscle injury, Samantha Jane "Sam" Stosur (1984-) of Australia defeats Serena Williams to win the women's singles title, becoming the first Australian woman to win a majors title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980.

On May 27-June 11, 2012 Rafael Nadal of Spain (3rd time in a row, and 7 times in 8 years) and Maria Sharapova of Russia win the 2012 (116th) French Open singles titles; Sharapova returns to #1 world ranking after a 4-year major title drought caused by a shoulder injury in 2008. On June 9, 2012 Maria Sharapova defeats Sara Errani in the 2012 French Open women's singles final, returning to #1 world ranking after a 4-year major title drought caused by a shoulder injury in 2008; on June 11 Rafael Nadal of Spain wins the men's singles title for the 3rd time in a row (7x in 8 years). On June 25-July 8, 2012 Roger Federer of Switzerland and Serena Williams of the U.S. win the 2012 (126th) Wimbledon singles titles. On Aug. 27-Sept. 10, 2012 Andrew Barron "Andy" Murray (1987-) of Scotland (first from the U.K. to win a Grand Slam singles tournament since 1936) and Serena Williams of the U.S. win the 2012 (116th) U.S. Open singles titles.

On May 26-June 9, 2013 the 2013 (117th) French Open at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France sees 3-time defending champ Rafael Nadel defeat fellow countryman David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to become the first man to capture the same Grand Slam title 8x, becoming his 59th win in 60 matches in Paris; a topless protester against same-sex marriage interrupts the 2nd set; on June 8 #1-ranked Serena Williams defeats defending champ Maria Sharapova to win the women's single title 6-4, 6-4, becoming her 16th Grand Slam title, and her first French Open win since 2002. On June 24-July 7, 2013 the 2013 (12th) Wimbledon Championships see Marion Bartoli (1984-) of France defeat Sabine Lisicki of Germany on July 6 to win the ladies' singles title; on July 7 (7/7) Andrew Barron "Andy" Murray (1987-) of Britain (coach Ivan Lendl) defeats Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the gentlemen's singles title 77 years after Fred Perry (1936).

On June 23-July 7, 2014 2014 (128th) Wimbledon Championship sees defending champion Andy Murray lose in the quarterfinals to Grigor Dimitrov, and defending champ Marion Bartoli retire before the match; Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins the gentleman's singles title, and Petra Kvitova (Kvitová) (1990-) of Czech. Repub wins the ladies' singles title.

On Aug. 31-Sept. 13, 2015 the 2015 (13th) U.S. Open sees defending champ Marin Cilic defeated by Novak Djokoic for the men's singles title; on Sept. 11, 2015 unseeded Roberta Vinci (1983-) of Italy upsets 3-time defending champ Serena Williams in the semifinals, ending her hopes of a triple crown, meeting fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta (1982-) in the final on Sept. 12, which is won by Pennetta 7-6, 5-2.

On June 27-July 10, 2016 the 2016 (130th) Wimbledon Championships see two-time defending champ Novak Djokovic lose in the 3rd round to Sam Querrey, ending a 30-match Grand Slam winning streak along with his hopes of becoming the first man to achieve the golden calendar slam; Andy Murray goes on to win the gentleman's singles title, and Serena Williams defends her ladies' singles title, equalling Steffi graf's record of 22 major singles titles in the Open Era.

On July 3-16, 2017 the 2017 (131st) Wimbledon Championships sees defending champ Andy Murray lose to Sam Querry in the quarterfinals, and two-time defending champ Serena Williams not play after ending her season in Apr. due to pregnancy; Roger Federer win the gentleman's singles title for a record 8th time, passing Pete Sampras and William Renshaw; the ladies' singles title is won by Spanish-Venezuelan player Garbine Muguruza Blanco (1993-), who won the 2016 French Open.

On July 2-15, 2018 the 2018 (132nd) Wimbledon Championships sees Novak Djokovic of Serbia win the gentleman's singles title, and Angelique Kerber (1988-) of Germany win the ladies' singles title.

On May 26-June 9, 2019 the 2019 (123rd) French Open of Tennis at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France features a 5-hour match on June 2 (Sun.) between Swiss player Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (1985-) and way younger Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas (1998-), which is won by Wawrinka after Tsitsipas lets his famous 1-handed backhand ("best in the game" - John McEnroe) fly past him, and the referee rules that it hit the line.