insightsports

I love tennis! I love playing tennis and I love watching tennis. As a member of the U.S. Tennis Association I particpate in several leagues each year, singles and doubles, men’s and mixed. I play at least four times a week and can’t seem to get enough. Last weekend I played in a “Wooden Racquet” tournament at my club. Everyone showed up in tennis whites and played with 50-year-old racquets. It was a blast. I have some pristine Jack Kramer racquets in my collection, but opted for a Tad Davis Blackstreak racquet from the 1950s. I also brought along my 1919 Wilson Wilding racquet that is in unbelievably good condition for a racquet that is 90 years old. It still has its original gut strings and wrap. By the way, although it is called a Wilson, it was manufactured by Wilson Western Sporting Goods Company. Wilson dropped the Western name in 1931. The “Wilding” refers to Tony Wilding, a New Zealander who was the No. 1 player in the world in the early 1910s, winning several Wimbledon singles and doubles titles. After winning Wimbledon in 1914, Wilding went to war. He was killed in action in France in 1915. What a waste of a life. It would be interesting to see how today’s players—people like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams—would fare with these racquets. It could make for a very interesting French Open.

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