Tennis Timeline – Major Events and Grand Slam Highlights**

 

13^th century – Jeu de Paume is established

15^th-to-16^th century – Racquets are employed

18^th and 19^th centuries – Jeu de Paume, Rackets, Field tennis, etc

1873 - “Sphairistike” played - Major Walter Clopton Wingfield –

1874 - “Lawn tennis” sets patented and sold

1877 – First Wimbledon ‘all-comers’ championship; rules unified

1881 – William Renshaw wins 1^st of 6 consecutive Wimbledon Championships, defeating John Hartley

1881 – US Championships begin at Newport, Rhode Island

1881 - Richard Sears wins 1^st of 7 consecutive US Championships, defeating William E. Glyn

1881 – US National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) forms; (later USLTA, then/now USTA)

1884 – 1^st Wimbledon championships for women

1887 – 1^st US championships for women

1888 – Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) forms in the UK

1891 – French Championships begin

1896 – Lawn Tennis in the Olympics (until 1924 (amateurism), back again in 1988)

1900 – Davis Cup begins; US held cup for first 3 (no play in 1901), British win next 4

1904 – Lawn Tennis Association Australia (LTAA) formed

1905 – Australian Championships begin, November in Melbourne

1906 – William Larned wins 1^st of 6 consecutive US championships, defeating Beals C. Wright

1913 – International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) formed (March 1); (dropped “Lawn” in 1977)

1915 – No French or Wimbledon championships due to WWI

1915-1918 – No Davis Cup

1915 – Molla Bjurstedt (Mallory) wins 1^st of 8 grand slam event US titles

1916 – American Tennis Association (ATA) for African-Americans founded in Washington D.C.

1916-1918 – No Australian, French or Wimbledon championships due to WWI

1919 – Suzanne Lenglen wins 1^st of 12 grand slam event titles, Wimbledon

1920 – Bill Tilden wins 1^st grand slam event, Wimbledon, & the 1^st of 6 consecutive US championships

1920-1926 – Bill Tilden and William Johnston lead US to record 7 consecutive Davis Cup titles

1920-1930 – ‘Big’ Bill Tilden wins 10 grand slam event titles, 7 of them vs. William Johnston (‘Little Bill’)

1923 – US joins England, France and Australia as an ILTF member; forges way for ‘grand slams’

1923 – First Wightman Cup event between US and UK (ended 1989)

1923 – Helen Wills (Moody) wins her 1^st of 19 trans-Atlantic grand slam event titles

1924-1932 – 3 French ‘Musketeers’ (Borotra, Cochet, Lacoste) win 20 grand slam event titles

1927-1932 – 4 ‘Musketeers’ (+ Brugnon) lead France to 6 consecutive Davis Cup titles

1930s-1940s – Transatlantic air travel became reality in the 30s, and boomed after WWII

1933 – Fred Perry wins 1^st of 8 grand slam event titles at US Championships; eventual career Grand Slam

1933 – The term ‘Grand Slam’, from the card game Bridge, is taken into the tennis context

1937-8 – Don Budge wins 7 consecutive slam/national titles; completes 1^st ever Grand Slam

1939 – No French championships

1940 – No French or Wimbledon championships

1940-1945 – No Davis Cup

1941-1945 - No French, Wimbledon or Australian championships due to WWII

1946 – Jack Kramer wins 1^st grand slam event; ultimately becomes one of greatest influences in tennis

1950-1967 – Australia wins Davis Cup 15 times vs. 3 finals losses to US in 1954, 1958, and 1963

1953 – Maureen Connolly 1^st woman, and second person, to complete Grand Slam

1956 – Althea Gibson wins 1^st of 5 grand slam titles; 1^st black person to win a grand slam title

1960 – Margaret Smith (Court) wins 1^st of 24 grand slam event titles

1960 – Rod Laver wins 1^st of 11 grand slam events

1961 – Roy Emerson wins 1^st of 12 grand slam events; eventual career Grand Slam

1962 – Rod Laver becomes second male, 3^rd overall, Grand Slam title holder, as an amateur

1963 – Federation Cup (Fed Cup) begins

1966 – Billie Jean King wins 1^st of 12 grand slam event titles; eventual career Grand Slam

1968 – ‘Open tennis’ begins with amateurs and professionals recognized as “players”

1968-1972 – US wins 5 consecutive Davis Cups - the last time a country would win 3 in a row

1969 – Rod Laver wins second Grand Slam – only one to win twice (as a pro this time)

1970 – Margaret Smith Court becomes 2^nd woman, 4^th overall, to win Grand Slam

1970 – First use of tiebreakers (US Open)

1973 – Association of Tour Professionals (ATP) is formed

1973 – Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is formed

1973 – Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’

1974 – Chris Evert wins 1^st of 18 grand slam event titles; eventual career Grand Slam

1974 – Jimmy Connors wins 3 of the 4 grand slam event titles, of eventual 8 (not French)

1974 – Bjorn Borg wins 1^st of 11 grand slam event titles at French; Jimmy Connors wins other 3

1974 –South Africa first country to win Davis Cup other than US, Britain, Australia or France - walkover

1975 –Sweden first non-US, Britain, Australia or France country to win Davis Cup competitively

1978 – Martina Navratilova wins 1^st of 18 grand slam events; eventual career Grand Slam

1978-1980 – Bjorn Borg wins 3 consecutive French-Wimbledon championship combinations

1985 – Martina Navratilova holds all 4 grand slam event titles with Australian win

1987 – Stefanie Graf wins 1^st of 22 grand slam event titles, at French

1988 – Stefanie Graf becomes 3^rd woman, 5^th overall, to win Grand Slam

1988 – Stefanie Graf becomes only player to win a ‘Golden Slam’ (Grand + Olympic gold)

1990 – Pete Sampras wins 1^st of 14 grand slam events at US Open

1992 – Andre Agassi wins 1^st grand slam event title at Wimbledon; eventual career Grand Slam

1993 – Monica Seles (9 grand slams) is stabbed in Germany

1999 – Serena Williams wins 1^st of 10 grand slam event titles (so far)

2003 – Roger Federer wins 1^st of 15 grand slam event titles (so far)

2003 – Serena Williams completes career slam and holds all 4 titles with Australian win

2006 – Line call challenges by players are subject to electronic review, finally to stay

2009 – Roger Federer career Grand Slam with French; most career titles (15) with Wimbledon

 

** Singles grand slam events only; the 4 major championships (Wimbledon, US, French, Australian) were not known as ‘grand slam’ events until the 1930s