Famous Tennis - Tennis History Museum

Famous Tennis

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Is it that famous people like tennis, or that tennis makes people famous?

Well, both of course.

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Find more famous tennis affiliations in the Media & Image area.

Here is a 2003 Milk ad featuring (top to bottom) Mary Jo Fernandez, Monica Seles and Chris Evert:

An ad for the PacTel Cellular challenge, circa 1991, featuring Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras:

This 1978 Bancroft book depicts Bjorn Borg and Billie Jean King in action.

A 1976 ad with Bjorn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, and John McEnroe (left to right):

The back cover of the 1969 book "Lawn Tennis Encyclopedia" pictured here shows tennis greats Maureen Connolly (1950s) in action, and Suzanne Lenglenne and Helen Wills (1920s & 30s) shaking hands:

An 1892 photo of top players P.H. Hovey, O.S. Campbell, and W.S. Larned:

Althea Gibson(8/25/1927 - 9/28/2003)- Ms. Gibson was a multi-sport athlete from the USA who won 5 Grand Slam singles titles (French, Wimbledon & US), and 6 Grand Slam doubles titles (all 4). She was a pioneer as the first black person to win a major tennis championship.

You are somebody, Ms. Gibson.

Andre Agassi (4/29/1970 - ) - Mr. Agassi is a retired number 1 player from the USA who has won all the majors making him one of the few career Grand Slam winners, and has an Olympic gold making him the only man with a career 'Golden Slam'. His long career illustrated tremendous personal evolution. Tremendously talented, and a natural ball-striker, his exact place on the short list of all-time greats will continue to be a relevant part of the debate. He is now married to German great Steffi Graf and together they have various business pursuits, in addition to his own charitable efforts.

Agassi Foundation

Andrea Jaeger (6/4/1965- ) United States of America

Ms. Jaeger ranked as high as number 2 on the tour and won a grand slam Mixed Doubles championship at the French Open before she retired in 1987 with injuries. Subsequently she devoted her life to charity, and has become a nun.

Andy Roddick (9/30/1982 - )- Mr. Roddick has been the top ranked American most of the time since his singular grand slam event win at the 2003 US Open. He is known as one of the fastest servers of all time, and also plays a very powerful forehand.

Andy's website

Ana Ivanovic (11/6/1987 - ) - This photogenic Serbian reached number 1 on the WTA tour briefly in 2008. She won the French Open in 2008. She struggled on tour in 2009 with her ranking dropping into the 20s.

Ana's website

Anna Kournikova(6/7/1981 - ) - Russian born Ms. Kournikova is a former top 10 singles and number 2 doubles player on the WTA tour. In addition to 2 grand slam event titles (Australian in 1999 & 2002) in doubles (with Martina Hingis) Ms. Kournikova has also won the season ending championships and a variety of doubles titles. But she has no major singles titles after having a 61% winning singles record on tour. As of 2009 she is still active in World Team Tennis. Arguably more notable than her on-court accomplishments is her marketability that forged the example for other Russians and Europeans to make a major mark in modeling and endorsement revenue - how many tennis players make the cover of Forbes.

Anna's website

Archie (Betty & Veronica) (1940s or 1950) - Is it any surprise the Archie crowd likes to play tennis. These Archie comic books are from 1967, 1974 and 2001 respectively.

Arthur Ashe (7/10/1943 - 2/6/1993) - "Class", definition - see "Arthur Ashe". Civil rights leadership, largely by example, and gifts to humanity in the awareness of coronary disease and AIDS are aspects of Mr. Ashe's life that transcend a stellar tennis career. From Richmond Virginia this winner of 3 grand slam event titles (US, Wimbledon and Australian) and considered one of the all-time greats, Mr. Ashe's premature death to AIDS was a significant loss for the world.

Betty Boop (1930s - ) - Tennis player.

Bill Cosby (7/12/1937 - ) - One of the all-time greatest United States comedians is also a tennis player with expertise in both tennis knowledge and tennis humor. Mr. Cosby has included tennis in his comedy routines and even authored an instructional book "Bill Cosby's Personal Guide to Tennis Power". Here he is pictured on the cover of the July 1981 World Tennis magazine.

Bill Cosby's webpage

Bill Tilden (2/10/1893 - 6/5/1953) - Tilden = Tennis: American "Big Bill" Tilden was a legend in his own time and was synonymous with the sport itself for years beyond his best playing days. His iconic personality was larger than life, and contrasted sharply with his life outside of tennis which had some dark aspects. William Tatem Tilden II had an extraordinarily long career as a player, which was further extended as a coach, but was ended prematurely with a fatal stroke. Controversial and dominant Big Bill won 10 singles national titles (future grand slam events), 5 in doubles and 4 in mixed doubles. He also led the US to 7 consecutive Davis Cup titles. He was also dominant on tour after turning pro in 1931, and was still competitive with top players into his 40s. He invented technique and mastered strokes bringing his game and the game overall to a new level. His game was complete with athleticism and skill, tactics and strategy, mental focus and showmanship, and hard work and dedication.