Draws Scoreboard USTA Junior International Grass Courts Championship
Has Made Big Changes Over 81 Years
In the summer of 1918, America was on edge anticipating the daily telegraphed reports from Pershing's American First Army in France. Patriotic fever was being fueled with stories of flying ace, Eddie Rickenbacker and the horrors of German dirigible attacks. Two million of our boys were over there and 100,000 had already been killed. Here at home, our collective breath-holding had halted all normal life. Churches, social and sports clubs stopped non-essential meetings and gave over their game rooms and dining areas to the Red Cross Home Service for bandage-wrapping and the regular posting of the names of its fallen members. Organized sports activities were suspended until the war could be won. All this waiting was fine for some, but it clearly did not suit a handful of independent and spirited Cricket Club suffragettes who decided to shake Edwarddian sensibilities and the wartime gloom and organize a national tennis tournament for girls.
The tournament you will see this year has come a long way from the days when typical tennis apparel consisted of long full skirts, blouses, long shapeless sweaters, white silk stockings and tennis shoes. This tournament which rose out of youthful pluck and audacity in 1918, is now a wise and graceful 81 years old. You can expect a lot of changes over 81 years (originally the tournament was the Girls 18 & Under National Tournament). The Grass Court Championships is now a tournament for both boys and girls. It draws exceptional U.S. players while attracting aspiring juniors from countries around the world.
In early years, this tournament was won by America's greatest women players. Helen Wills came east at the age of 14 and won the title twice, in 1921 and 1922, going on to win the U.S. Singles Championship 7 times and Wimbledon a record 8 times. Helen Hull Jacobs won here as a junior in 1924 and 1925 and went on to 4 Singles victories and a Wimbledon win in 1936. Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly won this tournament in 1949 and 1950. In the following four years she won 3 successive Women's Singles Championships at Forest Hills and 3 successive Wimbledon championships. Her ability, sportsmanship and competitive spirit inspired the establishment of the Brinker Tennis Foundation which, on the final day of play here, awards The Maureen Connolly Brinker Friendship Award to the boy possessing "Little Mo" Connolly's qualities.
The boys history in this tournament is very recent. In 1983, the tournament expanded so that junior boys could have an opportunity for grass court experience. (The tournament is a United States Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation qualifying event and contributes to ranking determination. It is the only USTA junior tournament on grass.) The change was welcome for both boys and the spectators who have, in the last 16 years, been treated to brilliant performances by Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Richard Reneberg, Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, Jan Michael Gambill, and Patrick McEnroe before they achieved fame and fortune as pros. It's an exciting time for both tournament and players and exemplifies the quality of competition and the spirit of friendship through sport, which this tournament has embodied for over 81 years.