Lenglen: The Last Dance

As the pros of "The Suzanne Tour" traveled North America over 1926-27, more and more, the atmosphere in which they existed resembled the tempestuous final days of a rock-and-roll band bound to break up at the close of what would be both its first and farewell tour, complete with all the requisites for a behind-the-scenes tell-all, including a largely absentee manager trying to squeeze out every cent of profit while already focusing on his *next* gig, and a "lead singer" becoming more and more demanding, threatening to quit on a regular basis, while "the rest" of the entourage becomes increasingly suspicious, angered, annoyed and simply exhausted by it all.

As predicted by many, while it was a short-term intriguing novelty, C.C. Pyle's Suzanne Lenglen-led North American tour of pro tennis stars didn't have legs. Big early crowds dwindled as the months wore on, as did the level of play of its star, who pined for home even while knowing that the promise and comfort of the lifestyle that formerly would have drawn her back to Europe was largely no more.

When the tour was over, one by one, each of Lenglen's grand plans for capitalizing on her past fame on the court and recapturing her faded glory were struck down. While still a celebrity, she was no longer The Goddess in all her glory. For the rest of her days, of which there would sadly be far fewer than one would have preferred, Lenglen could only watch helplessly from the sidelines -- and usually not even from *that* close -- as the amateur career of the likes of Helen Wills benefited the most from the removal of La Divine from the tennis scene.

Once ahead of her time, the unquenchable celebrity of Lenglen soon became a fuzzy memory from the recent past.


And then she was gone.




"The Match of the Century" (Feb.16, 1926 - Lenglen vs. Wills)
Image is Everything (icon, fashion, image)
The Goddess Does New York (1921 U.S. vs. Mallory)
All Things Small and Great (childhood)A Star is (Belatedly) Born (1919 Wimbledon)Storm Clouds on the Riviera (early 1926)Jaundiced Jubilee (1926 Wimbledon)The Suzanne Tour (pro)

** ** ** ** ** **

[1] - from The Goddess and the American Girl, by Larry Engelmann. 1988
[2] - from "The Lady In The White Silk Dress," by Sara Pileggi; Sports Illustrated September 13, 1982
[3] - from "Suzanne Lenglen and the First Pro Tour," by Ray Bowers; TennisServer.com, 1999
[4] - from "The Incomparable Life and Mysterious Death of Suzanne Lenglen," by Jon Wertheim and Jacob Feldman; Sports Illustred May 30, 2019
[5] - from The Bud Collins History of Tennis; 2nd edition, 2008


** ** ** ** ** **

Opening night of "The Suzanne Tour" at Madison Square Garden in New York City proved to be a financial and publicity success for C.C. Pyle's band of tennis pros, even if the product on the court was a far ways from also being an artistic achievement of the highest order.

Thing is, that Saturday evening would remain the highlight of the promoter's four-month experiment, the creation of which had ended the legendary amateur career of Suzanne Lenglen, the most celebrated and groundbreaking female athlete of her time. The longer the tour lasted, the more difficult it would become for the *star* who'd given up the most to lead it, while Lenglen's exhaustion and pique, as always, would ultimately wear down everyone around her. She earned "her 'diva' reputation [by] charming groups on one hand, then creating personal tension with others. But, always, she was 100% 'Lenglen,' as no one else could hope to be." [2]

On Sunday evening, the tour pulled in half the gate at MSG as it had the night before, then headed off across North America with the pattern for what would follow having already been unofficially established.

"A few days before each engagement, generous stories appeared in the local sports pages telling about the forthcoming matches. The players were photographed and interviewed soon after they arrived in each new city. The accounts of the matches by the local reporters were often detailed and perceptive." [3]

"Nearly all observers judged the evening's entertainment favorably, impressed by the often enthusiastic audiences, the high quality of play, the wonderful effort by crowd-favorite Mary [Browne]. Most writers disliked the circus-like atmosphere but also reported that the crowds didn't seem to mind. Many commented that meaningful competition was absent, and, interestingly, several wrote that few customers would pay again merely to watch the same players." [3]

S. Wallis Merrihew, editor of American Lawn Tennis, in his "The Rubicon is Crossed" editorial following the New York matches, stated his steadfast belief that the pros would never be reinstated as amateurs. "They have made their bed. Lie on it they must, however hard it may become or however scant the covering it contains."

As the tour went on the road, Lenglen took less time adding personal attendants than Pyle had when it came to adding pros to the tour's roster of talent. She quickly brought aboard William T. O'Brien as a personal masseur, and Ann Kinsolving as her press agent.

"It was a strenuous tour," says Kinsolving. "We always traveled by train, often at night. There were no proper sleeping cars in the European style, only Pullman berths, each separated from the next by tightly drawn curtains. There was only one real compartment at the end of the carriage with proper washing facilities. This was reserved for Suzanne. She suffered from insomnia. One night she decided to switch all the pairs of shoes that had been put outside the couchettes for cleaning. Next morning there was pandemonium." [2]

Lenglen routinely defied prohibition laws and enjoyed French wines, both with dinner and after matches, and insisted that the alcohol and her penchant for cigarettes didn't adversely affect her tennis.

"She took her meals in her bedroom, as she found American food inedible," said Kinsolving. "She drank French wines and made great salads, with beetroot, green peppers and Gruyere cheese. At breakfast, late in the morning, her bed became the center of a sort of royal levee. She would be massaged by O'Brien in front of anybody. Her telephone was by her bed. Once she answered a friend's call, 'I'm in the hands of an Irishman.' " [2]

"Meanwhile, Lenglen was charming the socks off the press wherever she went. Her interviews were frequently conducted over breakfast in her hotel suite, where her costume ranged from black silk pajamas to a white satin negligee." [2]

A late edition to the roster, teaching pro Harvey Snodgrass, was impressed by Lenglen's expertise but surprised by her fiery temper. "She really was a contradiction," he said. "Her game was grace and speed, soft shots, well-placed; she was a very well-conditioned athlete. But she was always upset, flaring mad. Sometimes it was hard to understand how the two could be connected. She had the worst temper I've ever seen."

Snodgrass, somewhat echoing what would come to be known as Pyle's own reasoning, later admitted that the addition of Helen Wills to the tour would have proven disastrous. The 21-year old Californian would have recovered more quickly from each of her matches with Lenglen, had they occurred. Wills hit hard every point, and took little time between points, a combination that would have eventually worn down Lenglen. If The Goddess had been on her game she would have won their early match-ups, he believed, but in a week or two the numbers would have been even, and later in the tour he was convinced that Wills would have been winning every night.

Of course, that was assuming that Lenglen would have still been on the tour in the closing weeks had things played out in such a way, for history tells us she would have seen the writing on the wall and likely been back in France long before such an embarrassing series of moments would have taken place.

Pyle eventually revealed why including Wills on the tour would have been a mistake: "I realized even before I had her turn professional that if she (Lenglen) were defeated by an American girl she would terminate her tour and return home to her beloved France -- heartbroken. She would have to listen to the equivalent of 'I told you so' in French.'"

After New York, the tour remained an object of curiosity. 3500 showed up in Toronto, where Lenglen was hit in the face by a hard shot from Snodgrass in mixed doubles, then 5000 in Baltimore, 8000 in Boston, 1500 in Cincinnati and 3000 in Philadelphia. Lenglen continued to easily defeat Browne, who was still looking for her first career win over the French woman, or even a close loss, as the band played on in Montreal, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

In Philadelphia, Lenglen told a reporter, "I'm so happy. It is fun being a pro—no worry, no terrorizing fright because I might lose a game, no harrowing criticism. Oh, it's much better!" Yet privately she flared with anger when the detested Tilden showed up for the matches at the Sesqui Auditorium, where the court was laid over a hockey rink and the temperatures were polar. "Ce pédéraste (a French term for a homosexual) comes especially to see me in this igloo!" she growled to Kinsolving. [2]


BROWNE and LENGLEN
[While] Lenglen's dominance over Browne remained unbroken, crowds in every city took Mary's determined play to heart. Everyone admired the way she fought for every point, and lively applause followed her many remarkable gets and the occasional points and games that she won. People wondered whether the heroine could last the full four months. [3]

After a time, Browne began to noticeably wear out. She had to work extra hard for the few games she got against Lenglen, then was often too tired to perform well in the concluding mixed doubles match. Pyle sought, but never got, another female pro to alleviate some of Browne's pressure, but he *did* wish the matches to be closer contests. Not just Lenglen/Browne, but also the singles matches involving the tour's dominant male, Vincent Richards, who was expected to soon be named the U.S. men's #1 for the completed '26 season. Since Pyle could never ask Lenglen to give away points for additional drama, he chose to offer Browne extra money for the more games she won, and did the same with Snodgrass vs. Richards.

The exhausting nature of the tour played on The Goddess' nerves, and she became more and more irritable and unfriendly. In Chicago, she'd reached her limit.

In front of the 6500 individuals who'd come out to see the show, including French Consular officials and members of French societies, Lenglen's anger flared during pre-match festivities when a picture session concluded but one photographer continued to take photos. Lenglen screamed and cursed at him, leading a Coliseum official to try and have him removed. A French official joined in, and Lenglen took a swipe at the photographer. The crowd enjoyed the "performance," but Lenglen was predictably unnerved by it all. She dropped the opening five games of in 1st set vs. Browne, then after eventually winning the match argued with Pyle after and said she wanted to go home.

Her desire to return to France became a recurring problem with the other pros, with whom she rarely socialized, spending most of her time with Mama.

"She would get all dolled up every night and then fight and argue with everybody," Snodgrass said. "She was always throwing everything out of her dressing room screaming that she wanted to go home. She was a real case, believe me."

Once, Lenglen complained to Pyle in the middle of a match that she wasn't feeling well. She said she was having her period and wanted to stop. "Pyle replied that the women he had known only complained when they did *not* have their periods. Suzanne laughed and went on with the match." [1]

Pyle passed off the obvious tension as part of "the show."

"The whole problem was to keep them hating her," he said. "Suzanne is charming when she wants to be, and we had to repress that side of her nature. Every now and then she would go pleasant on us, and we would have to jog her a little, and her make faces at Miss Browne, or get unpopular with the local aristocracy by refusing to meet them. But I will say for Miss Lenglen that she kept her unpopularity campaign going nicely with very little jogging." [1]

While it had its problems, and ticket sales declined as the months went by, the tour was not the abject failure that many with a vested interest in it becoming just that had predicted at the start. It proved that the game could travel, often to places in North America where it was far from an established entertainment for spectators or athletic pastime for the physically active to play.

To his credit, the conservative Merrihew warmed to the growing evidence. He acknowledged that the tour was obtaining considerable success. "There is not the slightest doubt," he wrote, "that these exhibitions have filled a want." Whereas tennis officialdom had given no help at Madison Square Garden, he noted, gradually the tennis fraternity around the country had come forward, volunteering as linesmen, for example. Merrihew printed a letter from a Denver enthusiast: "I had never before seen tennis of this grade, and two minutes after they started playing I was unconscious whether they were pros, amateurs, or royalty! I didn't care. I was simply carried away by the wonderful tennis; that was all." [3]

As the tour reached the West Coast, the Victoria Tennis Club refused to pay its $5000 guarantee so Pyle bypassed it and took the troupe to Seattle. In Portland, Browne's results picked up as Lenglen became more emotionally and physically brittle. In a close 1st set, the two women were knotted at 9-9 and Browne got within two points of winning the set, before Lenglen won it 11-9. Before the 2nd set, Lenglen walked off court to the dressing room and collapsed. A taxi returned her to her hotel. She announced that she was suffering from a cold and could not continue. Snodgrass said later that, after the match, Lenglen has placed all her dressing room belongings in the hallway and told Pyle that she was finished with both him and the tour. But he convinced her to stay.

Others had issues with Pyle, too, including Snodgrass. "I found him to be dishonest. He was really just a bunch of bullshit, a con artist, always talking about big things. but he wasn't even with us half the time." The players suspected that the tour might not make enough to pay all of them. Snodgrass was ultimately paid just $9000 of his $15,000 contract and had to sue Pyle to get the rest.

As the group crossed into California -- where the Los Angeles area was a particular hotbed for tennis, and interest was piqued in the San Francisco bay area that Wills called home -- the overall success of the tour hung in the balance. Though L.A. was supposed to serve as a glorious end to the tour, Pyle continued to add cities to the schedule, likely hoping to eke out a personal financial goal. He knew he needed a content Lenglen for it happen.

"In spite of the disappointing returns on his investment, he treated the Lenglen entourage to a 10-day holiday at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego in December. Suzanne was photographed shaking hands with Jockey Tod Sloan at the nearby Caliente race track and doing calisthenics on the beach at Coronado, clad in "a black wool tank suit of meager proportions." [2]

Prior to the tour's arrival, the USLTA had threatened fifteen southern California amateur officials accused of aiding Pyle, triggering a response from the L.A. Times, which noted that while the "tennis monarchs" of the East had ridiculed Pyle at the start, as the tour had moved forward, the leading U.S. tennis organization was now in the position of sinking to threatening local amateurs in order to try to damage it. The fact was that the local players and fans on the West Coast felt that the appearance of the pros was the biggest boon the sport had ever seen in the area.

Because of all this, Pyle expected big gates during the California leg of the schedule.

Pyle also held out hope that he'd be able to set up a match between Lenglen and Wills. But the USLTA's strict amateur rules (well, except for the overlooking of Wills' "additional income") prevented it, as no amateur would be allowed to play a pro for a prize without losing their status, and no exhibition would be allowed for which a promoter or anyone else received *anything* at all. Wills' father said that he'd allow his daughter to play *only* if there would be no gate receipts.

Seeing no point in the match if there were no proceeds, Pyle saw no reason to pursue the issue further. Lenglen and Wills would never play again.

But that didn't mean that the mention of one didn't automatically bring the other into the conversation in 1926.

Members of the California press curious about Wills' conqueror watched Lenglen's every move, and even noted that she was not a "dainty eater" as had previously been reported. Quite the opposite, in fact. Once, while Pyle entertained reporters, Lenglen was seen devouring not only her own lunch but Pyle's, as well, while she waited.

Meanwhile, Pyle was still in "sell" mode, announcing that the Pueblo Indian tribe had "adopted" Suzanne as a member, giving her the name "Princess Sparkling Water," a tribute to her eyes.

At the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Wills called Lenglen, but her phone was disconnected so that she could get some rest. While in the city, Lenglen gave tennis lessons to children, and answered questions on the KPO radio station, an activity she apparently enjoyed. Later she said that she might like to do more work on the radio. Lenglen made a point of saying that she exercised in the morning in her "fetching black pajamas," and brushed off questions about Browne playing closer matches against her of late by noting that, after defeating her opponent twenty-one straight times on the tour, Browne "has had twenty-one lessons from a past master in the art of tennis" so she should be expected to have better results.

5200 people, including Wills and California Lawn Tennis Association president Sumner Hardy (paying little mind to the USLTA's edict to avoid the tour), showed up to see the show in San Francisco. The move further highlighted the fact that the western tennis establishment didn't take the USLTA, ruling from the East, very seriously.

Around this time, Lenglen saw a doctor who stated that it was amazing that she hadn't yet had a physical collapse on the tour, and his opinion was that she'd been performing on "sheer nerve" for months. A long rest after the tour was advised. Said Lenglen, "I play my best tennis when I am on the verge of a breakdown. My nervous condition does not affect my game when I am in a tournament, but I have to pay the penalty after it is all over. It is when I am on edge that I can make impossible shots and drives which the tennis gallery demands."

Though clearly tired, Lenglen soldiered on through the chilly ferry ride while crossing the Bay. Later in the day, in her hotel, she told a reporter from the San Francisco Examiner how much she was enjoying the tour, that she was already in love with San Francisco, and that she would assuredly choose the West if she ever moved to America. [3]

In Oakland, Wills paid Lenglen a visit and the two talked for more than an hour. Their match in Cannes was a topic of conversation, but a potential rematch was not. Later that night, Wills was one of the 3000 who attended the exhibition.

After having seemingly reached some sort of personable détente with Wills, Lenglen was infuriated by an L.A. Times account that said that Wills, after watching her California performances, had said that Lenglen had "degenerated, pathetically, into little more than a 'mechanical doll.'"

Whether the report was accurate or not didn't matter, for Lenglen had been insulted by the very notion.

"I have done nothing but boost Helen Wills since I defeated her at Cannes nine months ago," The Goddess blasted. "Being catty is far from my policy. But when Miss Wills plainly makes capital of her newspaper connections at my expense, I may be pardoned for declaring that it is my opinion that the world would not have heard of Helen Wills had it not been for her being pitted against Suzanne Lenglen as the logical contender for the world's championship."


Next came Los Angeles, Browne's hometown. Interest was high, especially after the close nature of their recent matches, since the time seemed perfect for Browne to finally get her first win over Lenglen.

Watching Lenglen practice, Helen Smithers (L.A. Times) wrote that "the flying French demoiselle jumps, lunges and whiles. Americans want action and she provides it. La Lenglen has the spring of a panther. She never saves energy; she wastes it. Her one object is to provide action and excellent tennis. She is that rare combination, a great player and a great showman. Some athletes are great performers but lack personality, while others teem with personality, but lack expert talent."


The exhibition was a sellout. 9000 (the third highest total, behind NYC and Cleveland, in the 34-city tour) were in attendance, 300 in seats having been added to fulfill the high number of ticket requests. Courtside celebrities included the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd, Marion Davies and others.

Lenglen responded quite well to the attention.

Perhaps sparked by the large group, or the spotlight created by the presence of so many celebrities, or the whispers that Browne might finally post a win, or maybe the apparent criticism of Wills, The Goddess broke out of her recent "slump" and crushed her opponent once again, winning 6-0/6-1. She apparently won the 1st in "Golden Set" fashion, without dropping a single point. Pyle raked in the money hand over fist.

On a high note, "The Suzanne Tour" headed east. But it did so without Pyle. Having made his important killing in California, his mind turned elsewhere, to a "bigger fish" -- a new professional football league that he'd formed -- that might prove to be a far bigger financial success.

** ** ** **
Riding his "original" cash cow, running back Red Grange (who'd become the first true star of the fledgling NFL), Pyle had gone toe to toe with the Chicago Bears owner, "Papa Bear" George Halas in '26.

As the nation's first sports agent, essentially the "original Jerry Maguire," Pyle demanded that Halas "show him the money." Pyle said that *he* owned Grange's contract and sought a large salary increase for the player as well as a one-third ownership in the team.

When that didn't work, Pyle tried to leverage Grange's financial worth to the NFL by attempting to get his own NFL team in New York City (to play at Yankee Stadium), for which Grange would play, and threatened to start his own competing league if he didn't get his way. But New York Giants owner Tim Mara, who'd been saved from financial disaster in his first year by the money made from Grange's single appearance in a exhibition (which drew 73,000 and made football a big story in NYC), had the exclusive league rights to the city. The NFL blinked and offered Pyle a team in Brooklyn, but he already had a deal to play at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and turned down the league's offer.


Pyle then founded the (original) American Football League with his new New York Yankees (of which Grange was a co-owner and player) as the top club. The league lasted just one year, but Pyle was given a team (also called the Yankees) in the NFL in '27. That team, too, folded following the '29 season.


If one looks closely, they can see many parallels, or nearly so, that exist between Pyle's Yankees/Grange saga and his experience with Lenglen. From hooking up with a big personality (Grange/Lenglen) and challenging an existing entity (amateur tennis/NFL) which owed its financial stability to his client, to heading up a new experiment (pro tour/AFL) that ultimately lasted just a year but for which he made money and enhanced his own reputation while the majority of those who went in on the deal with him were largely left in his wake.

** ** ** **
With Pyle's front man William Pickens installed as the day-to-day leader of the tour, the pros were to perform in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta and Havana, Cuba before heading north in February.


Without Pyle's guiding hand to keep the many personalities (well, one *big* one) in check and put out the occasional fire, things started to spin out down the stretch. Many of the pros were still having issues with getting paid the amount they'd agreed to, while Lenglen was ill more often, complained more and pined for home even louder than before. Unlike Pyle, Pickens didn't have a "magic touch" when it came to smoothing over The Goddess' issues, as he didn't get along with her nearly as well.

At the stop in New Orleans, a weakened Richards was diagnosed with jaundice, perhaps incorrectly. Sidelined, he accompanied the troupe to Florida where he stayed while the others went to Havana. [3]

In Miami, Lenglen was introduced to her '21 U.S. Championships conqueror Molla Mallory. As one would expect, the moment shared was an icy one. Later Lenglen said that "women are not good sports and don't pretend to be. They are too temperamental. I am furious in defeat, but the public doesn't know, because I don't show it."

In Havana, with the U.S. reporters too far away to make an issue of it, an unhappy Lenglen "allowed" Browne to win a couple of sets. They'd be the only sets Browne would take from Lenglen during the entire tour.

By now, Lenglen was traveling with tall, wealthy and tanned California playboy, Baldwin M. Baldwin (yes, his real name... though he was also know as "The Sheik"), the grandson of "Lucky" Baldwin, who'd made his fortune during the Gold Rush. Wherever Lenglen went Baldwin was surely nearby, though *some* of his time was taken up with family business issues and, well, his wife and children. Baldwin's relationship with Lenglen was kept quiet, and whenever he was mentioned he was referred to in reports as her "business manager."


BALDWIN M. BALDWIN
"The Suzanne Tour" neared its end on a final northeast swing in Newark, Hartford, Brooklyn and Providence.

Lenglen sought postponements, and often got them. Hartford was pushed back to January because of "tonsillitis," while Newark was rescheduled and she ultimately played only mixed doubles. Even there, an ill (or disinterested?) Lenglen was helped from the court by O'Brien, though she and Richards still won their match vs. Browne and Kinsey because of their opponents' many double-faults. The next night, Lenglen again played only the MX.

In February, in what was advertised as a "farewell appearance" at the Twenty-third Regiment Armory in Brooklyn before handful of spectators, Lenglen again played only mixed doubles. Lenglen and Kinsey lost, with Browne outplaying a tired Goddess by a wide margin. Two days later, the rescheduled Providence exhibition closed out the tour.

Browne's contract had run out, so she left for Clevelend to open a sporting goods store. In an "historic mixed singles" match, Lenglen was to face off against Kinsey, with Lenglen being given a one-point advantage in each game. But the singles match wasn't played, and the final bit of competition in the four-plus month excursion saw Lenglen & Richards fall to Kinsey & Snodgrass.

Pyle, rejoining the players in New York when the tour had ended, boasted to the press, "Mlle. Lenglen had played to capacity or near-capacity throngs in every city she visited" and "the venture has been a financial success far beyond our expectations." But the amateur tennis establishment knew better and it rejoiced. [2]

Not only was the tour over but, unlike his symbiotic working relationship with Grange, so were Pyle's dealings with Lenglen, with whom the promoter had grown tired.

Pyle had wanted assurances from the pros that they wouldn't make any deals with other promoters if the tour was to continue. "He made it known that Richards, Snodgrass, and Browne had tentatively agreed to Pyle's terms for [a tour of] Europe if Lenglen could be signed. [3]

But Pyle not only had Goddess issues, but Baldwin (Baldwin) ones, as well.

Lenglen's companion was trying to get a piece of Pyle's action. The Californian had the money, but not the promoting skill... as would soon be shown. Baldwin and Lenglen had initially insisted on a new contract, something which Pyle would not agree to if Baldwin continued to represent her.

With Lenglen having grown suspicious of both Pyle and Pickens, and Papa wiring Suzanne with the order to not sign a new contract with anybody in the U.S because she had other offers waiting for her in Europe, The Goddess booked a trip home. Baldwin, in his role as Lenglen's exclusive manager, would soon join her with plans on arranging a world tour.

Pyle wasted no time when it came to shoring up the public perception of his role in the end of the relationship.

On February 16 in Los Angeles, Pyle announced that he was out of the pro tennis business, saying that Lenglen had asked for more money and was negotiating with other promoters so he was dropping all his association with tennis "until the players make up their minds with whom they wish to play, and realize they are not entitled to increases in pay."

Surely, the head honchos at the All-England Club smiled when they read the reports.

The next day, Pyle added, "Mlle. Lenglen and I part company with nothing but the friendliness of relations. She had a successful tour of this country and would have been equally successful in Japan had we gone through with our original schedule. Shortly after meeting Mr. Baldwin I noticed that she was getting advice contrary to what I regarded as for our mutual best interest."

Meanwhile, Pickens complained that professional players just don't seem to realize that an amateur who turned professional was worth far more money to a promoter than a professional who had already taken the plunge. The tour needed new blood. And because of that simple fact Pyle could not afford to pay increases to players who were already professionals. [1]

Merrihew said it this way in December: "A showman pure and simple has been able to give pleasure and instruction to a large number of people. The game will be none the worse, and perhaps better, for the experiment." As Merrihew and many others recognized, without meaningful competition pro tennis as mere exhibition could not long thrive. [3]

With the tour over, Paul Feret and Kinsey followed Lenglen to France, Browne soon returned home to California, as did Snograss.

In all, the tour made around $500,000. Lenglen earned $100,000: $60,000 for her participation, as well as 50% of the gate. Browne got $30,000 (+5%), and Richards $35,000.

It was later learned that Pyle had managed to write into Lenglen's contract that he'd get the lion's share of royalties for her racket, perfume, doll and clothing endorsements. Making over $100,000 on the tour, Pyle eventually confessed that he never had any intention to establish or even help the cause of professional tennis. "I was in the Suzanne Lenglen business," he said, "not the tennis business."

Lenglen left New York on February 19. She was apparently upset that she wouldn't be able to smoke on the long boat trip (it made her seasick), and remedied this disappointment by simply drinking more champagne. "I expect to have a bottle near me at all times," she demanded.

Lenglen also expressed a change of heart about the United States, saying that she now liked the country, particularly California because of the climate. "I am glad that I came to America. I am sorry to go. Everyone has been splendid to me." Lenglen noted that she had "offers" for movies but didn't accept any of them (whether it was truth, a lie or another example of her extraordinary capacity for self-delusion is officially unknown, but one could likely safely assume it to be one of the latter choices), and that she was planning a European tour, then another in South Africa and Asia. Lenglen said that she believed that she had furthered the game, revealing that after many of her matches spectators had told her that they were now going to take up tennis.

Lenglen arrived in Paris on February 26, 1927, a year and ten days after the "Match of the Century" contest against Wills in Cannes. What a year it had been.

"I have no regrets. I am proud to be a professional," The Goddess stated.

Browne, coming off winning just two sets in the 30+ matches contested between the two (accounts vary about whether Lenglen was 34-0, 36-0 or 38-0), said of her time with her traveling and playing partner: "We were together four months, and I learned more about tennis and sports in general in that short time than I had learned in all the twenty years before."

"Lenglen had unusual foot speed and a rare tennis mind, Browne explained, but what put her in a class by herself were her superior control and tactics. Lenglen seldom hit with extreme power, though she assuredly could, and she seldom moved to the net though her volleying ability was superior. Lenglen had been trained -- indeed drilled -- from girlhood not only for accuracy but also on the sequence of shots, the combinations, on understanding the likely target of her opponent's reply. Her shots always cleared the net by a good foot, Browne continued, as she maneuvered her opponent out of position without seeking immediate winners. She moved her opponent from corner to corner, occasionally shortening her drives at acute angles thus forcing up-and-back movement. Comparing Lenglen to the other women players, Browne noted that Helen Wills had 'strokes of greater severity.' But in no other department of the game, she continued, were any of the other women comparable, though several were close in natural ability. What set Lenglen apart, Browne concluded, was the intensive training that she had endured in years past." [3]

The fallout for the pros was swift and striking, as Pyle's roster of players were strictly on their own. Aside from Lenglen (w/ Feret) having been tossed from the FFT and the AELTC revoking her honorary membership, even what some of the former amateurs had done *before* they'd turned pro was now deemed to have been tainted.

Richards had expected to be the U.S. #1-ranked player after having played the entire '26 season, but the USLTA left him (along w/ Kinsey and French Championships finalist Browne) out of the rankings entirely because they were *now* considered professionals. Tilden had opposed the move, but it'd been pushed through on the basis of the argument that "meritorious conduct" throughout the year should be included alongside (or maybe more so?) than the objective *actual results* posted by the players in question.

An angry Richards pointed out that Wills, a USLTA favorite, had sold her drawing and writing based on her fame as a player yet had still maintained *her* amateur status when she should have been considered to be "professional," as well, based on the organization's strict rules. The organization never officially responded to his argument, and hid behind that fact that the final 1926 rankings *also* hadn't included Wills, who'd been left off because her appendectomy and later illness had prevented her from participating in enough events in the United States to qualify.

"The USLTA had precisely what it wanted -- enough ambivalence in its rules and regulations to apply them on a personal basis and thereby reward friends and punish enemies of the established order of amateur tennis." [3]

The New York Sun compared the actions to that of the Soviet government, which had recently denied a national chess championship title to a player who was wasn't sufficiently in favor of Bolshevism.

Already banned from amateur tennis, Browne was also barred from amateur golf, with the USGA saying that she'd "acted in a manner detrimental to the best interests of golf" by turning professional in tennis.

Following the USLTA's lead, the FFT also didn't rank Lenglen or Feret, though there seemed to be an indication that they could be reinstated if they were contrite and petitioned the organization. Feret petitioned in '27, but was refused. Feret was denied again at the end of the year. In May, Lenglen had refused to attend the Clay Court Championships at St.Cloud, saying, "I don't believe I have friends there."

In the U.S., the Western Lawn Tennis Association stopped the practice of tour expense accounts privately overpaying players, allowing them to live off the game. The Nice Club, Lenglen's home base, went out of business since it no longer had The Goddess as a draw during the winter months.

Late in '27, the FFT said that pros could have their amateur status restored three years after their application for re-entry. Lenglen, now nearly 30, felt insulted by the move. Ultimately, she never formally applied to the FFT to have her amateur status returned.

"With amateur tennis closed to her for three more years by the ruling she had nothing to gain by reentering the sport and possibly suffering defeat and then gradually declining to the status of a second rater. Suzanne would never be second rate. The French Tennis Federation could go to hell. Papa reiterated that statement in a letter to the Paris newspaper L'Auto." [1]

Eventually, Feret, the son of an FFT official, declared that he'd had a form of "temporary insanity" due to the death of his young wife in '26, leading to a "diminished mental capacity." He was reinstated in 1933 after he paid the FFT the total earnings he'd received from Pyle.

Still, the notion of professional tennis didn't die along with the close of "The Suzanne Tour" and the revenge taken against those who'd been a part of it.

At the end of Pyle's tour, Richards said that he planned to form a professional tennis association, which he made good on. In fact, he won the title in 1927, '28 and '30, then retired. Tilden had turned pro in 1930, and Vincent returned in '31 to face his countryman ten times (Tilden went 10-0), then retired again.

The idea of open tournaments remained alive. Proposals for open tennis were supported by the USLTA but were defeated by ILTF vote in 1930 and on several later occasions. [3]

Ellsworth Vines succeeded Tilden as the pro champ in a 1934 tour, then defeated Fred Perry in the 1936 and '37 tours, and narrowly lost to Don Budge in '39. Women rejoined the pro circuit in 1940 when Alice Marble made the jump. In the 1950/60's, "The Barnstormers" -- including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Andres Gimeno and Pancho Gonzalez -- formed the most successful pro tour ever and are generally considered to have pushed the idea of professional tennis to the forefront. In 1967, All-England Club chairman Herman David staged an eight-man pro tournament at the AELTC (The Wimbledon World Pro Championships) which was a huge success. He soon opened Wimbledon to all in 1968, and the other majors soon followed.

With the birth of the "Open era" in 1968, pros and amateurs were allowed to compete against one another in events. The ATP men's tour was formed in 1972, with the WTA arriving a year later with the "Original 9" (Billie Jean King, Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Dalton, Kristy Pigeon, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kerry Melville Reid, Nancy Richey, and Rosie Casals).




July 14, 1978 - Newport, Rhode Island, USA
At the annual International Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony held today in Newport, "The Goddess," Suzanne Lenglen, was once again the undeniable star as she was officially enshrined in the sport's ediface to its history.


While Lenglen's induction adds her name to a long list of fellow legends, few shined as brightly as she during her heyday in the 1920's, when she was the unquestioned greatest player of the amateur era, arguably the greatest player of all time, and challenged and established new social mores regarding female athletics, style and fashion. Her exciting play, reputation as an energetic and oft-emotional personality, and popularity quickly established Lenglen as one of the biggest worldwide celebrities of the era, as her drawing power brought new attention and fans to the sport (the overflowing crowds, aka the "Lenglen-trails-a-winding" outside the gates, led to the growth of Wimbledon into the tournament it remains today), as well as filled the coffers of every evert at which she appeared.

The surprisingly sprightly, and still effervescent, 78-year old Paris native seemed as comfortable in the spotlight this Saturday as she had during her time atop the tennis world many decades ago, delighting the crowd in her first appearance in the United States in several decades. After experiencing many health issues in her younger years, barely escaping death after long hospitalizations on several occasions, on her 40th birthday in 1939 Lenglen publicly vowed to "regain her balance" in her hideaway in the French Riviera and then never again leave the borders of her beloved France... except for special occasions.

This weekend was surely one of those.

Lenglen was the proverbial "belle of the ball" at the Hall's week-long festivities, posing for photos with fans and other tennis greats, including women's player Billie Jean King, who arrived in Newport days after falling to Chrissie Evert in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and who spoke of Lenglen having long been a personal inspiration.

But nothing topped Lenglen's acceptance speech before a rapt audience that included the likes of Helen Wills Moody-Roark, against whom Lenglen won "The Match of the Century" in Cannes in 1926.

Arriving on this hot summer day in a long fur coat, Lenglen removed her wrap to reveal -- to thunderous applause -- that she'd come prepared for the full Goddess treatment. Dressed in her signature playing attire -- red bandeau, loose white dress cut just above the calf and a golden bracelet worn above her left elbow -- Lenglen took her place behind the lectern, then pulled out a small flask (supposedly filled with brandy or cognac) and took a dainty sip. Then a larger swig.

She brought down the house, but she wasn't finished.

What followed was a French-accented speech that reminded everyone that there was, is and will be only one La Divine. With tears in her eyes and a noticeable catch in her voice, Lenglen talked of her beloved Papa, crediting him and his hard-driving tactics, for molding her talent into perfection as a child. She thanked the fans who (almost... as she made it crystal clear that she still has a vivid memory of the times when it wasn't the case) always stood by her, even when she sometimes made it difficult. And she thanked her opponents for allowing her "the opportunity to be The Great Lenglen."

Spotting Wills in the audience, she asked the Californian to stand and be applauded, offering her sometimes-rival one additional volley, "I bet you never expected me to ever willingly offer you a moment in the spotlight did you, Helen?"

Lenglen then finally publicly offered the 72-year old the "rematch" that she'd wanted fifty-two years ago, noting that she was now ready to compete again. "I think I've got a few games left in me," she said, adding, "The Goddess is always ready" before taking another sip of mystery spirit from her flask.

"Where's Martina?," Lenglen asked as she neared the end of her presentation, referencing the most recent women's major title winner, Martina Navratilova, the Czechoslovakian-born 21-year old who one week ago earned her maiden title at Lenglen's old Wimbledon stomping ground to become the new women's #1-ranked player. "She'll be here... one day," Lenglen assured the audience. "Helen, you should worry about your record," she warned. "Martina is a special one. I can tell, or I am not the one and only Suzanne Lenglen."

After thanking everyone for their time, and calling the moment "the best of her life," Lenglen began to walk off stage. But she then comically spun around and returned to the microphone to add one more thought.

"I do have one other dream that I've long wanted to share. One of these days, but not anytime soon -- as I'm far from ready to leave the earthly plain -- I'll perhaps get to stand face-to-face with (the late) Big Bill Tilden again. I'll yank him down by the shirt collar if I have to. We'll play another set, and this time I'll beat him...," she said, seemingly finally admitting publicly after all of these years that she'd actually lost to the U.S. men's star, a notable critic of Lenglen during their playing days, when they'd privately faced off during a practice session in 1921 with Tilden apparently winning 6-0.

"...by a larger margin than I did in our previous meeting," Lenglen added, putting away one final stylish point for old time's sake.

And with a wink and a signature high leg kick, she was gone... always leaving them wanting more. Still, and forever always, the one and only Goddess.

Also enshrined along with Lenglen on this day were Maria Bueno, Pierre Etchebaster, Harry Hopman, Kitty McKane Godfree and Tony Wilding.




Of course, those moments never happened.

Back in Europe in 1927 at the end of "The Suzanne Tour," Lenglen was a professional for a few more months. She attempted to put together another tour with Baldwin, and he even signed up an existing pro (Karel Koželuh) to come along. But the idea came to nothing, with Lenglen cancelling the tour in May. Lenglen then signed with British promoter Charles Cochran for a July tour of the U.K.. Cochran signed German Dora Köring, the 1912 Olympic Silver medalist, and Evelyn Dewhurst, Lenglen's final amateur opponent at Wimbledon in '26, as well as Koželuh and Kinsey.

Before heading to England for the tour, Lenglen said that she wouldn't watch any of the women's matches at Wimbledon during her visit to the country, noting that, "Women's matches never thrilled me."

Without Lenglen in the draw, Wills won her maiden Wimbledon title while losing one set in seven matches. She was still five titles behind Lenglen's total of six, but the victory officially marked the Californian as the new "favorite/favourite daughter" of both U.S. *and* European tennis.



Lenglen defeated Koring in front of just 400 people in a half-filled auditorium at Holland Park Hall in London. Cochran wanted a "novelty" to help sell the show and suggested Lenglen play against men, but she refused to play in a doubles match along with the three male players, calling it "unorthodox and stupid." Scheduled for seven stops in July, the tour ended after just six performances, with the best attendance (15,000) coming at the final stop at Old Trafford, the playing grounds of Manchester United F.C.. Lenglen went 7-0, but the tour was a financial loser.

While Lenglen was unable to play in many of the tournaments that she had helped build into what they were, Wills followed up her SW19 win by winning her fourth U.S. Championships. The next two years, Wills twice won French, Wimbledon and U.S. titles in the same season.

Come September 1928, Lenglen announced that she was through with tennis. "I shall never play tennis again, either as an amateur or as a professional," The Goddess declared. "I have completely given up the game. I do not care whether I ever see another racket."

She returned to Nice, where she created a fortress. Mama said, "She is fed up with newspaper talk about her and only wants to be left in peace."

"[Suzanne] watched herself turn into memories in the minds of her former fans. She was associated with warm afternoons in the champagne sunshine of the Riviera when a dancing youngster enthralled the crowds. She was the Goddess who had barely beaten the American Girl on the Riviera in 1926 in the greatest tennis match in history. She was the woman who dominated the game several years ago and who kept the Queen waiting at Wimbledon. She was a set of numbers in the record book, a faded photograph of a young woman in a pleated skirt and a bandeau, caught in mid-stride above the clay of some vaguely familiar tennis court somewhere several years ago. The was the greatest player who ever stepped onto the court. She was at her best when the going was good. She was Papa's girl. She was the past." [1]

Meanwhile, Baldwin was still around, and he was still married. He accompanied Suzanne and Mama on her only post-tour return trip to the U.S. in December '28. They went to visit his mother, Anita, in Arcadia, California. There were rumors of an imminent Lenglen/Baldwin marriage.



"The social call turned into a donny-brook, however. On January 15 the following four-tiered headline appeared in The L.A. Times: LENGLEN LEAVES HOSTESS' HOME; BOTH DENY ROW; TENNIS PLAYER'S WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN—HAD TICKETS FOR EAST; MRS. ANITA BALDWIN IN COLLAPSE, REPORT SON, FRENCH WOMAN'S MANAGER, ALSO QUITS CALIFORNIA HOUSE. Back to Europe Suzanne went, this time for good, with the Sheik in tow. As the party left New York, Baldwin's lawyer announced to the press that he would seek a divorce for his client in Paris." [2]

The trio returned to Paris, after Baldwin had assaulted a dockside photographer in New York. In February, Papa announced that Suzanne would marry as soon as the divorce was completed. But it never happened. In fact, the divorce never came, but Lenglen's relationship with Baldwin, whatever it actually was, lasted a few more years.

Charles Lenglen died from bronchial pneumonia on March 1, an event that many said Suzanne never fully emotionally recovered from.


PAPA, SUZANNE and MAMA
Three weeks before his death, Papa had spoken with M.Caninos, editor of Tennis et Golf. Caninos believed that Papa's only fault was "his infatuation (or blindness) before the prestige of his beloved daughter." Papa said that he regretted having given Suzanne permission to sign the contract with Pyle. He was convinced it had been a bad decision, the worst of Lenglen's career. "The great tragedy of my life" [was] approving the contract. "Had he resisted that, he said, Pyle would never have been allowed to "blemish the white ermine of Suzanne." But he had been worried at the time, he said, that because his health was failing he would not be around much longer to manage the affairs of Suzanne." [1]

"By 1930 Lenglen was at work selling sports clothes in a Parisian dress house, which was distinguished by a vest-pocket tennis court on the premises. Some society page observers exulted in print over what they saw as Lenglen's descent from queen to shopgirl, although no one seemed sure whether financial need was involved. In fact, it probably was. The family had lost the use of the villa in Nice." [2]

That same year, Lenglen invented shorts for female players called "Suzanne Shorts," which came cut just above the knee. They later became more widely known as Bermuda shorts.


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One can imagine the "new normal" for Lenglen in these years immediately following her tennis career as quite strange for a goddess. When your entire public profile and standing is based on your athletic accomplishment and the personal fame that spun out from that, where do you find yourself when the fuel that powered such a life, largely due to your own personal decisions, is suddenly absent with nothing of equal "value" present to replace it?

In the following years, Lenglen's movements were still news, it was noted when she watched tennis matches in Paris, London and on the Riviera where she'd once ruled (once "a visit [there] without an audience with Suzanne was like a visit to Rome without an audience with the Pope"[1]), while her public appearances in informal tennis matches always attracted attention.


"She remained a celebrity. When she arrived to watch matches at Wimbledon after her retirement from amateur tennis, the crowd always turned and applauded and paid her tribute by acknowledging her presence. At the Stade Roland Garros, crowds left the Centre Court matches if word spread that Suzanne Lenglen was rallying with another player on an outside court." [1]

Five-time U.S. champion Helen Jacobs recalled in her book, Gallery of Champions, a practice match she played with Lenglen in 1933 during the French Championships at Roland Garros Stadium: "Jean Borotra was playing on the stadium court and the stands were filled to capacity. The court to which Suzanne and I walked was behind the stadium, but visible from its rim. A spectator must have passed the word that 'Lenglen was playing,' for in a matter of minutes we were being followed by a procession of people far more eager to watch Suzanne than any of the tournament aspirants." [2]

If Lenglen still held out hope of meeting Wills on the court again, as it's been reported to have been the case, it was likely a grand delusion. Her one-time (almost) rival was now the dominant player in the women's game, winning six major titles (3 Wimbledon, 2 French, 1 U.S.) from 1930-33, surpassing Lenglen's career total of twelve and tying her mark of six wins at the All-England Club.

Speaking of, *they* never let her forget about her everlasting "misdeed."

"At Wimbledon it was understood that a player, even a former champion, who had become a teaching professional was no longer even entitled to sit in the friends' box with those who had not. In 1932, when Lenglen, then in retirement, returned to Wimbledon as a spectator, she and [1919 Wimbledon final opponent] Dorothea Lambert Chambers, with thirteen Wimbledon singles titles between them, were seated together, far from the center of social action. Chambers' transgression had been to become a teaching pro." [2]

With little to officially tie her to amateur tennis, Lenglen remained linked to the pros. In 1933, she traveled to London to present an award for the Professional Championships of England (to Dan Maskell). He was said to be heavier than before, wore more makeup, and did not appear particularly happy or well.

Lenglen, exceedingly high strung, served as the director of a school on the grounds of Stade Roland Garros in 1933, then in '36 opened her own state-funded tennis school for girls in Paris. Soon she was instructing adults, as well. Still, the legitimate health problems that had followed her throughout her later career years continued to grow worse.


Many believe that the constant pressure, first applied by Papa Lenglen when she was a child and continued throughout her career, had helped to erode Suzanne's physical and emotional health. Even in her mid-twenties she'd looked decades older.

"There were deep dark circles under her eyes and her skin was wrinkled and creased. The constant exposure to the sun caused her complexion to deteriorate rapidly. She found it necessary to wear ever heavier layers of powder and makeup. [Sportswriter] Al Laney noticed in the mid-1920's that she had a dull, almost sallow, colorless skin. Under the powder her face appeared puffed, her eyes were rheumy and conveyed the deep inner loneliness of a woman who had an awareness of the inadequacies of athletic genius before the tireless assaults of time." [1]


LENGLEN, 33, with figure skater SONJA HENIE (1932)
In her novel The Love Game," Lenglen's heroine Marcelle Penrose ultimately married because the character feared being alone, which had led her to throw herself into her work. She was, Lenglen wrote, "possessed by the demon of unhappiness." Work was "an anodyne for pain."

In October '34, Lenglen nearly died due to acute appendicitis, but she had her appendix removed and survived. In 1935, Wills won her seventh Wimbledon title, one more than The Goddess ever did. In 1938, Lenglen was reported to have been diagnosed with leukemia.

In May '38, Lenglen became the inaugural director of the French National Tennis School in Paris.

In June, after having attended a tennis tournament with friends, Lenglen's health took a sudden and serious downturn. She suffered from extreme fatigue on June 15, and grew weaker as a result of anemia. After going to bed one night, her conditioned worsened. Three doctors were on call to perform blood transfusions, but Lenglen's condition worsened. After a temporary improvement, it did so again.

On July 1, Lenglen was moved from a clinic to her apartment in Paris. A day later, she was so weak that additional scheduled transfusions were postponed. Special nurses stood nearby, as well as an attendant to answer the hundreds of calls from acquaintances across Europe. Lenglen was placed on a liquid diet, and her gathered friends admitted to having given up hope for a recovery. Doctors said that the following forty-eight hours would determine Lenglen's fate.

Still, the fading Goddess demanded that newspapers containing stories about the ongoing Wimbledon tournament be read to her. Just before the Wimbledon final, in which Wills faced off with Alice Marble, it was announced to the crowd that Lenglen was near death. Wills was told about the situation just before she left the dressing room. It produced a melancholy cloud that hung over a match played on a sunny day in London some nineteen years after a then 20-year old Lenglen had burst onto the international tennis scene by winning the Wimbledon crown in her first appearance in the event.

By the time Lenglen was read a day later the account of Wills' having won her record eighth Wimbledon title, breaking the mark held by Chambers that Suzanne herself had dreamed to breaking in 1927, after what she had expected to be her triumphant Jubilee Wimbledon title run of a year earlier, the former queen of tennis was unable to say more than a few words, and only then on occasion. She was conscious until the end, but didn't speak to anyone of Wills' accomplishment.

On the morning July 4, somewhat ironically on the American Independence Day, Lenglen awoke from a long sleep and whispered to Mama, "I am at the end of my tether." They were her last words. With Mama holding her hand, Lenglen went to sleep, never to wake.

Thirteen years after she'd played her final amateur match at Wimbledon, Lenglen was dead at just age 39.

Doctors declared her death due to a "general breakdown," saying she never got over the effects of pernicious anemia as she worked tirelessly for months at the children's tennis school. "The Great Lenglen lived for tennis almost to the moment of her death," they said. The French public accepted the explanation -- probably because it felt like the best way to honor and remember the woman who'd lifted the nation's spirit of national pride following World War I and was said to have been the greatest in the history of France since Joan of Arc, for her countrymen and countrywomen "applauded her struggles and triumphs because they were beautiful allegories of France's struggles and triumphs" [1] -- though the final diagnosis was likely one final overly simplistic myth to heap upon the pile that grew over the course of Lenglen's life.




The disease which is said to have killed Lenglen, even in 1938, was no longer considered incurable.

"Pernicious anemia stems from the lack of a specific protein made in the stomach that helps vitamin B12 become absorbed into the bloodstream. A B12 deficiency can cause a decrease in red blood cells, which are crucial in carrying oxygen to the heart, brain and other organs. In medical jargon pernicious means deadly. But in the 1920s, American physicians George Minot and William Murphy figured out that patients can simply be injected with B[12-rich liver extracts, rendering pernicious anemia a misnomer. Within a decade, 20,000 lives were saved in the U.S. alone.

The cure was well-known around the world by 1939. In fact, Minot and Murphy had won the Nobel Prize in Medicine five years earlier 'for their discoveries concerning liver therapy in cases of anemia.'

'There's no way they wouldn't know to give her liver or liver extracts,' says Scott Dinehart, a dermatologist (and amateur tennis historian). 'It would be like Beyoncé having pernicious anemia and not getting B12—that's not going to happen.'

Pernicious anemia usually causes a slow decline marked by fatigue and trouble with balance over several years. Lenglen fell suddenly ill three weeks before dying. Just before that, she'd conducted a tennis clinic for more than 100 young Parisians." [4]

Some have speculated that the true cause of Lenglen's death was one of the several other ailments she suffered from including sinutitis, "a ganglionic condition" and "a neglected case of the measles." And, of course, liver failure brought on by her many years of (over)consumption of alcohol, not to mention cigarettes, a character trait which to this day plays a large part in her legend. It is said that such a condition could have produced pernicious anemia-like symptoms, such as a lack of red blood cells and a susceptibility to infection.

Over the years, Lenglen had suffered from jaundice and many colds. She overate for weeks, then starved herself (some wonder if she was bulimic). And then there were the emotional fits, breakdowns and collapses. While The Goddess always played against a traditional opponent on the court, her own body and mental state were often at odds with her overwhelming success, as well.

Thus, after all these years (decades, actually), even Lenglen's demise still possesses the ability to confound and intrigue. In fact, somewhere where they're likely serving afterlife cocktails, she's probably elbowing the Tennis Gods and smiling as she raises her glass one more time to the entire notion. It was her life's work, after all.




Suzanne was to receive the Legion of Honor. On July 5, Mama Lenglen was notified that her daughter would be be posthumously given the award. A semi-state funeral was set to take place on the 6th at Notre Dame de l'Assumption Church, with a burial at St.Ouen Cementery near Paris.

"At the time of her death, the London Times called her the greatest woman tennis player of her time, and declared that she'd made Wimbledon, which she won six times and forced to expand because of her overwhelming popularity, the 'greatest tournament in the world.' The New York Times stated that she was the greatest female player who ever lived, 'a flashing, tempestuous figure vibrant with life. She never had a rival in accuracy and scientific placement.' When her contemporaries ran out of words to describe Suzanne Lenglen they always fell back on 'incomparable.' On that and that alone they could all agree. Everything else about her was cause for furious debate on both sides of the Atlantic." [2]

Of course, the NYT writer couldn't leave Wills out of the conversation, saying, "It is pitiful to think of so vivid a woman, still young, as a victim of the enervating process of anemia. But the years of [Lenglen's] triumph were gone and her laurels had passed definitely to the most challenging of her old time rivals, 'Little Miss Poker Face,' who only last week won her eighth victory at Wimbledon where Suzanne never won more than five."

Actually, Lenglen had won *six* Wimbledon titles.

"But [Suzanne] would have understood the error, believing it made on purpose by the American newsman, who forever failed to take her seriously." [1]

The NYT continued, "Whether or not she was the greatest in her field, Suzanne Lenglen was by easy odds the most colorful. She could stamp her foot harder, quarrel more violently, cough more appealingly in a deciding game and sob more rackingly than any woman she met... But when she chose to play, she played so furiously that few could face her. Perhaps she wrote her own epitaph when she said, 'I just throw dignity to the winds and think of nothing but the game.' "

Wimbledon tournament director Duncan Macaulay wrote that "it was agreed on all sides that she was the greatest woman player the game has ever known. And I have never had any reason to doubt that verdict nor do I think a greater woman player has since emerged."

"He wrote that, to make sure everyone noticed, after writing a paragraph on Helen Wills, whom he considered second to Suzanne Lenglen." [1]


Her funeral at Notre Dame de l'Assomption in Paris befitted that of a national heroine. Her old friend King Gustav V of Sweden (at 80, unable to attend) sent an emissary, as did Premier Edouard Daladier of France. Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon represented the Musketeers, and floral displays from tennis clubs filled three automobiles in the procession to the cemetery." [2]


JEAN BOROTRA
Borotra delivered the funeral oration, then represented the FFT at the graveside service. Pierre Gillou stood for the IFLT.

Lenglen was buried in the family plot, alongside Papa. Mama picked a slab of black marble as a marker that still stands out amidst granite tombstones at the site. Suzanne's autograph, in gold leaf, is engraved at head.


Burial site: Cimetiere de St. Ouen
Saint-Ouen
Departement de Seine-Saint-Denis
Île-de-France, France
Plot: Division 6, old cemetery

"From Wimbledon, Wills called Lenglen 'the greatest woman player who ever lived.' So, at one time or another, did every other prominent player who had ever been her opponent, including Mallory, Chambers and Browne. But of them all, the one who knew her best was Elizabeth Ryan. Ryan was one of the last players to beat Lenglen at singles, when she was 14. She also gave Suzanne one of her few tough matches at Wimbledon, a three-setter in 1924, after which Lenglen withdrew from the tournament. For six years Ryan was Lenglen's doubles partner, at Wimbledon and elsewhere. As a team they were never beaten. Ryan died in 1979 at the age of 87, 24 hours before Billie Jean King finally broke her longstanding record of 19 Wimbledon titles. In 1941, when Ryan was a teaching pro at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, sports-writer Bob Considine sought her out there and asked her the old question — who was the best?

'Why, Suzanne, of course,' Ryan replied. 'She owned every kind of shot, plus a genius for knowing how and when to use them. She never gave an opponent the same kind of shot to hit twice in a row. She'd make you run miles... her game was all placement and deception and steadiness. I had the best drop shot anybody ever had, but she could not only get up to it but was so fast that often she could score a placement off of it. She had a stride a foot and a half longer than any known woman who ever ran, but all those crazy leaps she used to take were done after she hit the ball. Sure, she was a poser, a ham in the theatrical sense. She had been spoiled by tremendous adulation from the time she was a kid... But she was the greatest woman player of them all. Never doubt that." [2]


Wills retired after the 1938 season, though she admitted decades later that she would have returned to Wimbledon in 1939 to face Lenglen once more had The Goddess been allowed to play. "Now that would have been something to remember," she said.


Ted Tinling -- a fashion designer, spy and author who was associated with tennis for six decades -- "attributed [Lenglen's] premature physical and emotional deterioration to Papa, who 'drove her relentlessly toward the goal of absolute supremacy, which was compulsive to both their egos. To maintain this,' Tinling wrote, 'Suzanne began very early to deprive herself of all the joys of a normal existence.' To maintain her athletic supremacy she realized, Tinling found, that there would have to be 'the total sacrifice of all natural life.' Consequently, even before she turned twenty-five, 'her face and expression had already the traces of deep emotional experiences far beyond the normal for her age.' " [1]

"And yet nearly everyone who watched her perform pirouettes on the tennis court remarked that her lack of physical beauty was largely overcome by her grace and poise of movement. There was a remarkable transformation in Suzanne when she stepped onto the court, as though the area within the chalked rectangles was an unchanged kingdom in which the ugly duckling became, for a time, a beautiful swan, or, as one writer referred to her, 'an insouciant butterfly.' "

Even Pyle, who would die at 53 of a heart attack just seven months after Lenglen's passing, spoke highly of the spell that The Goddess could naturally cast. "Why, if she were merely to rise from this chair and walk over to the door," he said, "it would be, well, it would be like a seagull leaving a wave."


Tinling added, "There was an additional titillating appeal to her movement, for when she leaped high on the court, with the sunlight behind her, her clothing became transparent and the 'naughty old gentlemen' at courtside got a delicious peak at the outlines of the body beneath the silk. Sometimes, Tinling recalled, spectators got more than a peak at the outlines. 'When she was in flowing stride,' Tinling recalled of Suzanne on the Riviera, 'it wasn't unusual for one of Suzanne's breasts to pop out.' " [1]

But the cult of The Goddess would not have been possible without the tennis. Universally, her mastery of tennis fundamentals, drilled into her as a child by Papa, were said to be what set her game apart.

"Her only weakness was that she was not a man. If she were a man, I would back her to defeat Tilden," said Browne.

In 1921, a young Rene Lacoste was in Saint-Cloud along with his parents to watch the tennis played on the Riviera. "Lacoste kept a detailed notebook in which he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of various leading players, information he used to improve his own performance. Perhaps there was something he could learn by watching Lenglen. 'At first,' Lacoste said of his initial glimpse of the French woman, 'I was disappointed, as were most of those who saw her for the first time after having heard so much about her.' He expected to see a woman execute extraordinary tennis strokes. But Suzanne did not. He found 'she played with marvelous ease the simplest strokes in the world. It was only after several games that I understood what harmony was concealed by her simplicity, what wonderful mental and physical balance was hidden by the facility of her play.' Lacoste was spellbound by her simple perfection. In his head he had a vague notion of the way the game should be played. But not until he watched Suzanne did Lacoste see the ideal made real. 'I had promised to stay a few minutes,' he recalled, 'but I remained there a long time without being able to depart, looking at this admirable spectacle with wide-open eyes.' " [1]

Wrote Wills: "The printed word can hardly convey an idea of her efficiency on the court. When you saw her play you did not know how good she was because it looked so easy. It was only from the other side of the net that you realized how really good she was. Her control and delicacy of placement will probably never be equaled."

Tilden (!!) compared Lenglen's mind to that of a chess master, and opponents noted how she controlled games, making her foes play the way *she* wanted by always seemingly to be playing a rally two or three strokes ahead of her opponent.

Lenglen could read her opponent, see their body slightly shift while she was in mid-shot, and then transform her own stroke accordingly.

"To many spectators this was the most uncanny and spectacular part of her game, a maneuver that seemed something like a sleight-of-hand or sorcery." [1]

"Willing to win is good psychology and good tennis requires good psychology," Lenglen once said. "I never for a minute permit myself to entertain doubt. Confidence is not egoism. If your mind is in doubt, your muscles will be also... when you are wavering... the nerves will not convey to the muscles the exact impulse which must be imparted."

Wrote the New York Times early in Lenglen's career: [She is] "one of the most wonderful machines that have ever been created out of a woman's body."


In an age without the internet, television or even color motion pictures, Lenglen was a worldwide celebrity. An athlete. A trendsetter. A national heroine. A constructor of her own image. A star of the highest order, and a legitimate forerunner of the silver screen celebrities that would soon follow in her wake during Hollywood's Golden Age and beyond.

"She probably did more for women's tennis than any girl who ever played it. She broke down barriers and created a vogue, reforming tennis dress, substituting acrobatics and something of the art of the ballet where decorum had been the rule. In England and on the Continent, this slim, not very pretty but fascinating French maiden was the most popular performer in sport or out of it on the post-war scene. She became the rage, almost a cult," wrote sportswriter Al Laney. [5]


I include this video because of some of the great old clips and photos, so please excuse the rather breezy relationship with details and facts being presented as "Lenglen's story." But, hey, it's only from something called *Tennis* Channel, so why would anyone expect a fully honest and truthful remembrance of a tennis legend, right? (I mean, the "Match of the Century" and Wills aren't even mentioned at all)


The short term impact of Lenglen's decision to turn pro in 1926 ultimately became a detriment to many of the career totals that mark her career's legendary status, and while she was alive cost her a great deal when it came to her unbroken position on the international landscape of sports/celebrity, after having spent her life establishing for herself a very large place indeed.

But, in the end, did The Goddess *still* win?

Of course, the biggest beneficiary of the end of Lenglen's amateur career was Wills. In all, Wills won won nineteen major titles (to Lenglen's twelve). Her eclipsing of both Lenglen and Chambers with her eighth Wimbledon crown saw her claim sole possessin of the top spot amongst women's champions in the event for the next fifty-two years until Martina Navratilova (who won her first in '78, just before Lenglen's Hall of Fame induction) claimed her ninth in 1990. It was a feat that the then 84-year old Wills was still around to witness.

Wills lived long enough to see the entire King/Court era, as well as those led by Navratilova/Evert, Graf and even the very early stages of the rise of the Williams sisters. She died in 1998 at age 92, outliving Lenglen by nearly a full sixty years.

But has Lenglen ultimately won the "rematch" between the two that never happened on the court?

Consider that while Lenglen's name, likeness and memory continue to persist, that of Wills has gone largely silent over the years.




Lenglen has a stadium, along with a bas-relief action sculpture, with her name on it at Roland Garros, as well as her name on the women's singles championship cup in the event at which only Chris Evert has won more women's singles crowns. Wills has no such honor at the U.S. Open, which she won seven times (more than any other U.S.-born woman, one more than Serena Williams... so she may have company soon), nor can I remember any sort of monument or commemoration in recent years being dedicated to her on site (something which was recently done for Althea Gibson, long after such a thing *should* have been).


Lenglen is still talked about and appreciated in the sort of ways that things are judged these days (Google Doodles dedicated to Lenglen: 2... Wills: 0). When someone dresses in the "Lenglen style," we notice. No one thinks of Wills when a player wears a visor. Heck, even the U.S.'s top sports network, ESPN, doesn't even seem to recognize that Wills hails from the United States. As I've noted the last few years, as Serena has moved up the all-time slam title list, ESPN has *continually* used a graphic that shows Wills -- *still* fourth behind only Margaret Court, Williams and Steffi Graf -- in front of the Union Jack, indicating that she was actually British rather than Californian. And, I repeat, this has been happening for *at least* three years without, apparently, anyone even noticing it (well, other than me, I guess).


Additionally, while Lenglen was ahead of her time, well, the world has (finally) almost caught up after all these nearly one hundred years.


It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to identify the vestiges of the life and career of La Divine all over the tennis landscape of today, as Lenglen created virtually every noteworthy player template that has captured the attention of the world's fans, both for good and bad.

She was a child prodigy, taught by a "tennis dad" and likely emotionally suffocated and stunted by the experience. She was a young champion who took the sport by storm, creating a cult from what had been non-tennis fans and lifting the entire game as a result. She broke ground when it came to fashion, female athletics and social mores while becoming a superstar even outside the boundaries of the game, endorsing products, writing books and even designing her own clothes. Her crowd-pleasing "flair" still lives on in the game of nearly every French player around, sometimes to their detriment, while her athletic grace and all-court game was given new life by future countrywoman such as Mauresmo, Mladenovic and Garcia. Her uncanny hand-eye coordination, point construction and in-point "magic" has lived on within the bloodstreams of players with names such as Hingis, Evert and Radwanska. The idea of ingesting "stimulants" to boost one's game isn't all *that* different from the various concoctions used now by players during changeovers, and her butting of heads with the sport's Powers That Be was an early forerunner for what would be Open tennis, the pro tours and the audacity of modern landscape-changing legends such as the "Original 9."

Not only that, but The Great Lenglen was stomping her feet, snapping at umpires and glaring at linesman *decades* before John McEnroe built his entire post-tennis career on having employed such tactics as a player. Once, Lenglen cursed a linesman for making a bad call, only to be told he was deaf. She said that it was *his vision* that she had a problem with, and asked if he blind, as well? McEnroe would have written a whole book on the incident, while Lenglen never got the chance.

In one sense, Lenglen may have even suffered the sport's first case of "burn out."

The Goddess may have left the stage, but we've yet to extinguish her lasting impact. Nearly everyone in the sport has at least *little* of La Divine in them.

While Suzanne's life was at times both triumphant and tragic, she lived a memorable one. It didn't always go as planned, or smoothly. And it ended before she was able to fashion what might have been a glorious final act (see a hint of that in the brief "What If?" above).

But ninety-four years after her death, we're still able to talk about her and have it feel somehow "current" -- and she still "alive" -- in many ways. For an athlete, a personality and a woman known as The Goddess, that's probably as great a compliment and legacy as she could have ever hoped for or imagined.

Or, knowing her (and Papa), maybe immortality was the plan all along.

Lenglen's *true* last dance has been the fact that, from beyond the grave (and behind the racket), she's managed to have the last laugh. And what a hearty one it must be.






=ALL-TIME WOMEN'S MAJOR SINGLES TITLES=
24...Margaret Smith-Court, 11-5-3-5
23...Serena Williams, 7-3-7-6
22...Steffi Graf, 4-6-7-5
19...Helen Wills-Moody, *-4-8-7
18...Martina Navratilova, 3-2-9-4
18...Chris Evert, 2-7-3-6
12...Billie Jean King, 1-1-6-4
12...SUZANNE LENGLEN, *-6-6-0
9...Monica Seles, 4-3-0-2
9...Maureen Connolly, 1-2-3-3

=ALL-TIME WIMBLEDON SINGLES TITLES=
9...Martina Navratilova
8...Helen Wills-Moody
7...Steffi Graf
7...Dorothea Lambert Chambers
7...Serena Williams
6...Blanche Bingley-Hillyard
6...Billie Jean King
6...SUZANNE LENGLEN
5...Charlotte Cooper-Sterry
5...Lottie Dod
5...Venus Williams

=ALL-TIME FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS/RG SINGLES TITLES=
7...Chris Evert
6...Steffi Graf
6...SUZANNE LENGLEN
5...Margaret Smith-Court
5...Adine Masson
4...Katie Gilou Fenwick
4...Justine Henin
4...Jeanne Matthey
4...Helen Wills-Moody


*PRO SERIES FINALS*
[UTR - AUS]
Sydney: Ellen Perez d. Alexandra Bozovic
Melbourne: Destanee Aiava d. Storm Sanders
Brisbane: Maddison Inglis d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 2: Ellen Perez d. Alexandra Bozovic
Brisbane 2: Maddison Inglis d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 3: Destanee Aiava d. Ellen Perez
Brisbane 3: Lizette Cabrera d. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz
[UK PRO SERIES - St.George Hills LTC, GBR]
1 - Emma Raducanu d. Jodie Burrage
2 - Naomi Broady d. Emily Appleton
3 - Eden Silva d. Naomi Broady
4 - Sonay Kartal d. Emily Arbuthnott
[CHALLENGE ELITE FFT - FRA]
Nice - Fiona Ferro d. Kristina Mladenovic
Cannes - Fiona Ferro d. Kristina Mladenovic
Villeneuve-Loubet - Harmony Tan d. Alize Cornet
[MAPFRE LEAGUE - ESP]
Girona - Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Amanda Carreras
Castellón - Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Cristina Bucsa
Les Franqueses del Vallès - Cristina Busca d. Marina Bassols

*SHUTDOWN EXHIBITION WINNERS*Belarus Insurance Cup (BLR): Aryna Sabalenka
UTR Pro Match (FLA USA): Alison Riske (in F), D.Collins/A.Tomljanovic (SF rained out), A.Anisimova (3rd/4th)
President's Cup (CZE): Petra Kvitova
Mima Jausovec Cup (SLO): [Team East - w/m]
UTF Invitational (UKR): Marta Kostyuk
LiveScore Cup (CZE): Karolina Pliskova
Tipsport Charity Cup (CZE): Black Team def. Pink Team
Black Team: Bartunkova,Martinec,Muchova,Ka.Pliskova,Kr.Pliskova,Vondrousova
Credit One Bank Invitational (Charleston USA): Team Peace def. Team Kindness
Team Peace: Bouchard, Brady(MVP), Dolehide, Kenin, Keys(Captain), Mattek-Sands, Navarro, Tomljanovic
German Ladies Series (GER): Laura Siegemund
Bratislava Open Challenger (SVK): Belinda Bencic
Elle Spirit Open (SUI): Iga Swiatek
Youth Kings Scholarship (KY USA): Shelby Rogers (undefeated)
Swiss Masters (SUI): Ylena In-Albon
Bett1 Aces (GER): [hard] Elina Svitolina
Bett1 Aces (GER): [grass] Anastasija Sevastova
Progress Tour (GBR): Katie Boulter
Int Crossklinik Open (SUI): Viktorija Golubic
Tipsport Elite Trophy (CZE): Pink Team def. Black Team
Pink Team: Bencic,L.Fruhvirtova,Kuzmova,Strycova,Swiatek,Voegele
Eastern European Championship (SRB): Danka Kovinic
German Ladies Series (GER): Tamara Korpatsch
Merko Cup (EST): Estonia def. Latvia [w/m]
Estonia: Kontaveit, Kanepi, Zopp, V.Ivanov
World Team Tennis (WV USA): New York Empire def. Chicago Smash [m/w]
NY: Clijsters, Melichar, Skupski, Sock, Vandeweghe
Battle of the Brits (GBR): British Bulldogs def. Union Jacks [m/w]
Ultimate Tennis Showdown (FRA): Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova


*WTT CHAMPIONS*
1974 Denver Racquets
1975 Pittsburgh Triangles
1976 New York Sets
1977 New York Apples
1978 Los Angeles Strings
1979-80 PLAY SUSPENDED
1981 Los Angeles Strings
1982 Dallas Stars
1983 Chicago Fyre
1984 San Diego Buds
1985 San Diego Buds
1986 San Antonio Racquets
1987 Charlotte Heat
1988 Charlotte Heat
1989 San Antonio Racquets
1990 Los Angeles Strings
1991 Atlanta Thunder
1992 Atlanta Thunder
1993 Wichita Advantage
1994 New Jersey Stars
1995 New Jersey Stars
1996 St.Louis Aces
1997 Sacramento Capitals
1998 Sacramento Capitals
1999 Sacramento Capitals
2000 Sacramento Capitals
2001 Philadelphia Freedoms
2002 Sacramento Capitals
2003 Delaware Smash
2004 Newport Beach Breakers
2005 New York Sportimes
2006 Philadelphia Freedoms
2007 Sacramento Capitals
2008 Kansas City Explorers
2009 Washington Kastles
2010 Kansas City Explorers
2011 Washington Kastles (undefeated)
2012 Washington Kastles (undefeated)
2013 Washington Kastles
2014 Washington Kastles
2015 Washington Kastles
2016 San Diego Aviators
2017 Orange County Breakers
2018 Springfield Lasers
2019 Springfield Lasers
2020 New York Empire
[most titles - active teams]
6 - Washington Kastles
2 - Newport Beach/Orange County Breakers, Philadelphia Freedoms, Springfield Lasers
1 - New York Empire, San Diego Aviators
0 - Chicago Smash, Orlando Storm, Vegas Rollers
[most titles - defunct teams]
6 - Sacramento Capitals
3 - Dallas/New Jersey Stars, Denver/San Antonio Racquets, Los Angeles Strings
2 - Atlanta Thunder, Charlotte Heat, Kansas City Explorers, San Diego Buds
1 - Chicago Fyre, Delaware Smash, New York Apples, New York Sets, New York Sportimes, Pittsburgh Triangles, St.Louis Aces, Wichita Advantage
[RECENT REGULAR SEASON FEMALE MVPs; *-won title]
2013 Martina Hingis, Washington(*)
2014 Daniela Hantuchova, San Diego
2015 (co) Anastasia Rodionova, Washington(*) & Anabel Medina-Garrigues, California
2016 Nicole Gibbs, Orange County
2017 Andreja Klepac, Orange County(*)
2018 Taylor Townsend, Philadelphia
2019 Raquel Atawo, Philadelphia
2020 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Chicago

A fun fact: Podoroska was very much in-form before the break. She won 14 straight matches to start the season, cutting her ranking from #258 to #172.

As the Pan Am gold medalist, she would've needed to be in the Top 300 before 6/8/20 to get a Tokyo spot in the before times.

— Victoria Chiesa (@vrcsports) August 1, 2020

#WTT2020: If you thought the end of the epic #WTTChampionship match between the @nyempiretennis and the @ChicagoSmashWTT was intense enough... wait until you experience the final point from the coach's perspective. #WTTAllAccess pic.twitter.com/mJaswTP79C

— World TeamTennis (@WorldTeamTennis) August 2, 2020

#WTTChampionship: Start spreading the news! The Empire has struck back in and epic Supertiebreaker win! Congratulations to the #WTT2020 Champion @nyempiretennis ?? who've earned the coveted #KingTrophy ?? as well as a share of $1 million in prize money! #EveryPointCounts pic.twitter.com/OX4xiUDldR

— World TeamTennis (@WorldTeamTennis) August 2, 2020

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Unreal finish to the week ???? love my team ?? BULLDOGS FOR LIFE ???????? #battleofthebrits ??: @gettysport

A post shared by Harriet Dart (@harriet_dart) on Aug 2, 2020 at 3:10pm PDT

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Here are your winner! Well done team British Bulldogs! It's been an amazing week. Well done both teams!! #lta #britishtennis #backthebrits #battleofthebrits #winner #atp #tennis

A post shared by British Tennis (@britishtennisupdates) on Aug 2, 2020 at 12:39pm PDT

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Concrete jungle where dreams are made of ???? Your UTS2 champions - @nastia_pav & @alexzverev123!

A post shared by UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@ultimate_tennis_showdown) on Aug 2, 2020 at 3:10pm PDT

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Pro Cup with the girls ???? @swiss_tennis Merci!

A post shared by Jil Teichmann (@jilteich) on Jul 28, 2020 at 9:37am PDT

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Happy Swiss day! ???? Was fun to compete in the Pro Cup in Biel ?? Playing against Patty was like turning back the time 20 years ago. #supporttheswiss #swissfedcupteam

A post shared by Martina Hingis (@martinahingis80) on Aug 2, 2020 at 6:47pm PDT

Exhibition victory for Estonia ??????

Anett Kontaveit and @KanepiKaia went unbeaten in front of home fans at the #MerkoCup --> https://t.co/zy8e5doYdM pic.twitter.com/KOgIXSMiDe

— wta (@WTA) August 1, 2020

Pro tennis's late-season Asian swing is all but wiped out as Tokyo's WTA event, Toray Pan Pacific Open, announces it won't be held in 2020. Chinese tournaments all canceled last week. Hard to imagine Seoul WTA event will happen. A tough year gets tougherhttps://t.co/ZgtVy1g5Ih pic.twitter.com/v1VEWZZOez

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) July 28, 2020

A State of Disaster has been declared in Victoria, with authorities to impose Stage Four restrictions on metropolitan Melbourne after 671 new coronavirus infections were announced on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/20Zfx9uj7C

— SBS News (@SBSNews) August 2, 2020

“I love both events, so it was a difficult decision but there are still significant risks involved due to COVID-19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position."@ashbarty is out of @CincyTennis and the @usopen.https://t.co/hJVhzvtyEN

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 30, 2020

Will keep happening until they adopt a bubble for tournaments. Until then players are travelling the world so this is bound to happen ??????? https://t.co/Qqi1dSiI1D

— Tara Moore (@TaraMoore92) August 1, 2020

#WTT2020: Congratulations to @ChicagoSmashWTT ?? star @matteksands for being named 2020 Female MVP!

Watch BMS and her team battle the @OrlandoStormWTT Saturday, 5 PM ET on @CBSSportsNet. pic.twitter.com/XPLlNwMh8x

— World TeamTennis (@WorldTeamTennis) August 1, 2020

It’s official. pic.twitter.com/nlGAwI43BE

— Marcos Zugasti (@marcos_z) August 2, 2020

Big coaching news as @AngeliqueKerber has parted ways with Dieter Kindlmann to re-unite with @TorbenBeltz.

Torben helped Angie to two Grand Slams and reaching the No. 1 ranking. pic.twitter.com/LQB9SduanS

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 27, 2020

Coaching news: Johanna Konta and Thomas Hogstedt are on a trial run, after Konta and Dimitri Zavialoff part ways https://t.co/hrP48ZWjhw pic.twitter.com/vtvjdxoYgz

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) July 27, 2020

So, Konta makes a coaching change mere days before the restart? I'm shocked... *shocked*, I say. Yeah, not really. Kinda par for the course with her, isn't it?

Victoria Azarenka turns 31 today! ????

?? 2-time Australian Open champ
??20 singles titles
??51 weeks at World No.1

Happy birthday, @vika7 ?? pic.twitter.com/trF2ZAZCEZ

— Tennis24.com (@Tennis24_com) July 31, 2020

Happy #InternationalFriendshipDay ??

Tag your bestie ?? pic.twitter.com/bmsvARMRDv

— wta (@WTA) July 30, 2020

Well she did ??????

— Sans Paramore (@sansparamore1) August 1, 2020

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Kubus jest juz z nami??????????? dziekuje za wszystkie dotychczasowe wiadomosci i gratulacje????#mamabyc #szczesliwirodzice #milosc #rodzinawkomplecie Jacob is already with us??????????? #mummy #happyparents #love #family

A post shared by Agnieszka Radwanska (@aradwanska) on Jul 27, 2020 at 12:17pm PDT

I’ve lost it pic.twitter.com/3HOx0EUZyr

— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) August 2, 2020

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Clay, mountains and sun?? (the last one is not making me really happy to be honest)?? ?????, ???? ? ???????? (?? ?????? ?? ?? ????????) #DD #TennisIsBack #Palermo @palermoladiesopen

A post shared by Daria Kasatkina?? (@kasatkina) on Jul 31, 2020 at 5:36am PDT

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In case you missed it during @worldteamtennis broadcast?????? #BeAnEleVen - NEVER peak ???????????? @elevenbyvenus

A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams) on Jul 30, 2020 at 8:08pm PDT

?? freedom is a state of mind ?? pic.twitter.com/foOda4qezT

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) August 2, 2020

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I asked for a natural look. I guess they’re a little rusty ??

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Jul 28, 2020 at 3:33pm PDT

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How is your weekend? Doing just fine over here ??

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Aug 1, 2020 at 12:45pm PDT

Yes, ALL THIS was just THIS week alone... and there's still THREE months until Election Day. Buckle Up.

An hour before Dr. Fauci threw the first pitch at the Yankees - Nationals game, Trump stood in the briefing room and declared that he, too, had been invited to throw out his own opening pitch. There was one problem: Mr. Trump had not actually been invited.https://t.co/Cgr3f1bphT

— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) July 28, 2020

Trump again says Russia bounty story was "fake issue." It wasn't. He says it "never reached my desk." It was in his PDB. He says "intelligence - they didn't think it was real." They did. And he says "if it reached my desk, I would have done something about it." It did, he didn't. https://t.co/WGlogJUD7Q

— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) July 29, 2020

"I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her," President Trump says of the video he retweeted where a woman claims masks don't work & there's a cure for Covid-19. Instead of explaining the contradiction given he's endorsed masks, Trump left the room. pic.twitter.com/k8jKdrI1oz

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 28, 2020

Putting this chyron in the record books. pic.twitter.com/cQc1x8w1Fd

— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) July 28, 2020

In Australia, with a spike to 13 COVID deaths a day, the government declares a disaster and imposes emergency restrictions in Melbourne. In the U.S., with a surge to 1,200 COVID deaths a day, the president goes golfing.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 2, 2020

OMG: Now Trump is floating the idea of DELAYING THE ELECTION, which only an Act of Congress can do. So he’s saying he’ll claim the results of the undelayed election we’re bound to have on November 3 are FRAUDULENT regardless of the electoral votes Congress certifies on January 6! https://t.co/c8OLOx83Lo

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 30, 2020

This aged well. https://t.co/6EEHEvAaP1

— Brian Hance (@BrianHance) July 30, 2020

CNN banner gets it right, right away: "TRUMP FLOATS DELAYING ELECTION DESPITE LACK OF AUTHORITY TO DO SO" pic.twitter.com/MELvo1c7US

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 30, 2020

This, in many ways, is the quintessential Trump tweet: the paranoia, the ignorance, the self-obsession, the shallowness. But also, critically, that impenetrable armor of self protection. He's not unpopular on Twitter because he's unpopular, it's because Twitter is out to get him. https://t.co/GZduMn3AcU

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) July 28, 2020

On Friday Trump was in Tampa, FL and made a speech before a “crowd” of his supporters......Yikes!

I wonder whose head will roll for this one? ?? pic.twitter.com/Yd4Q9cbmlX

— Cat {?92 Days to Go?} (@yeahunoeme) August 1, 2020

The most ridiculous take on almost anything anyone has ever had a "take" on...

If masks were necessary for our survival as a species we would have evolved one by now. We haven’t. We have noses and mouths. We have airways. It is not natural for people to go around with face masks on in their general life. And no amount of govt propaganda can change that. https://t.co/3xFIs7ATMS

— Neil Clark (@NeilClark66) July 30, 2020

So since we weren't born with rubber gloves, all surgical procedures should be performed with bare hands. And without soap.
Then there's...

So masks...cause the coronavirus? See also: Up is down. Right is wrong. And 2+2 = 5. https://t.co/dJVwQUbcRV

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) July 29, 2020

This is actually pretty good, even with essentially a Chicago Bear who's been here about fifteen minutes narrarating, but the awkward line to puff up Dan Snyder sort of ruins the whole vibe.

The next 100 years start NOW. pic.twitter.com/5eAsHyRnOG

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) July 29, 2020

??????? always 10 steps behind ATP https://t.co/dIQdPkzLKE

— Tara Moore (@TaraMoore92) August 1, 2020

Name a movie you’ve watched more than five times. No explanations.

— Elizabeth Law (@ElawReads) July 31, 2020

Braveheart
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (I think)
Die Hard
Goodfellas
Grease (probably)
Jaws
Planet of the Apes (original)
Pulp Fiction
Rear Window
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (maybe)
The Shining
Trading Places
The Wizard of Oz

I am very pleased to have a poem published in @tinyseedjournal. I invite you to read “The Bees and I” https://t.co/1wbVqcTeoo #poetry #bees #WritingCommunity

— Diane Elayne Dees (@WomenWhoServe) July 31, 2020

So Mary Carillo, you might just be the biggest win of my career.....?? https://t.co/UZ7LglM00z

— Tracy Austin (@thetracyaustin) August 2, 2020

Name an actor you knew was destined for greatness the first time you saw them. Example: Willem Dafoe - Streets Of Fire pic.twitter.com/Z6gpDXMJ3l

— Hal Hickel (@halhickel) August 1, 2020

Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding)
Alan Cumming (Circle of Friends)
Claire Danes (My So-Called Life)(TV)
Leonardo DiCaprio (This Boy's Life)
Kirsten Dunst (Interview with a Vampire)
Joseph Gordon Levitt (The Powers That Be)(TV)
Samuel L. Jackson (Jungle Fever)
Tea Leoni (The Naked Truth)(TV)
David Hyde Pierce (The Powers That Be)(TV)
Brad Pitt (Thelma & Louise)
Natalie Portman (The Professional)
Mae Whitman (Chicago Hope)(TV)
Evan Rachel Wood (Once & Again)(TV)

Tatiana Golovin: 'Tennis doesn’t want balance – it has to be your only baby' | Tumaini Carayol https://t.co/HNjGvuotyQ

— The Guardian (@guardian) August 2, 2020

can we talk about the editing in this Nike commercial holy crap pic.twitter.com/VuWj6u5PaW

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) July 30, 2020

Happy birthday to an adored Aussie great ???? https://t.co/jZUPt6ZGu3

— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 31, 2020

You’re on the beach and spot this! What’s your next move?!???? ?? (IG-howiseedatworld , ghost3dee) pic.twitter.com/v3VuGByWHw

— WORLDSTARHIPHOP (@WORLDSTAR) August 2, 2020

today in 1983, madonna released her first album pic.twitter.com/p1u7OUnmGx

— (?) (@actofprayer) July 27, 2020

37 years ago today, @Madonna released her self-titled debut album.

The LP kicked off her monumental career and is often credited for setting the standard of dance-pop for the next decades. It spawned hits including “Holiday” & “Borderline” and is certified 5x PLATINUM in the US. pic.twitter.com/NtVYuIL1X1

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 27, 2020

Borderline also... Loved that album , played it every day during Canadian Open!!!!! https://t.co/hASQX76DAD

— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) July 27, 2020

Yep.

'Better Call Saul' fans are furious that Rhea Seehorn wasn't nominated for an Emmy... again https://t.co/l1jFinehwP pic.twitter.com/RcwFCc1DBk

— UPROXX (@UPROXX) July 28, 2020

I’m fascinated by the rules of this game pic.twitter.com/JIIzJKvGOD

— btw there's still a pandemic ?? (@ziyatong) July 31, 2020

Learn how Marija Cicak went from playing tennis at an early age to pursuing a career in officiating ??

Interview with an umpire --> https://t.co/NsmipMbNmV pic.twitter.com/EOMNf9Dg67

— wta (@WTA) July 27, 2020

Just one photo pic.twitter.com/G45O4JOoIx

— Nature is Lit?? (@NaturelsLit) August 1, 2020

I want to be as cool as the person who made this sign pic.twitter.com/nnaErVsEbr

— Tom D'Angora #BlackLivesMatter (@TomDangora) August 2, 2020

Be safe.
All for now.