[Djo-Coeur]

Classic Victorian style portrait of a girl, sometime before the year 1900. Classic Victorian because the new art that was photography was still greatly influenced by many centuries of painted portraits. Back then, at the photographer's studio there usually were many painted backdrops and accessories to choose from depending on the desired composition and end result.
When no flash powder was used, it meant the exposure time indoor was one second or more. So that was a limiting factor for the number of possible poses, and it was best not to smile because any movement of the face would cause a blur. The price of a similar portrait was probably pretty expensive but not as much as if the photographer had to bring all his heavy gear to your home, not to mention that the flash powder had a strong persistent smell and was a huge fire hazard.

Original monochrome picture HERE

Althea Gibson, shows Jackie Robinson her backhand grip (Feb 1951)
This was at an indoor exhibition. Gibson apparently played a short mixed doubles match with Robinson as her partner.

Original monochrome picture HERE

Betty Ann Stuart shows off the "Watch it" (Wimbledon 1979)
I'm not sure what was behind the "Watch it" except her cheeks.
I guess it was a sarcastic way to make fun of all the superficial attention given to the female player's underwear in the past.
I bet it never occurred to her that "Watch it" sounds exactly like "What Sh**".

Note: I usually discard grainy images like this because too often it's full of JPEG artifacts, but not here. It's looking like the grain from a 35ml film at 400 ISO or more (at that time it was called ASA until 1987). Black & and white films were widely used at sports event since that was how it was published in the newspapers. It was also much faster and cheaper to process than color negatives.

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Geez, I've spent way too much time on this one. More than 12 hours in total I think over 5 days. But I though it was worth the effort. It was possible to restore it only because the subject is well defined and in focus, even though the rest of the picture is pretty bad. I had to patch everything but the subject with samples from external pictures found on Google Images. Her sweater was probably black, however red makes much nicer.

I'm guessing this was from the 1920s.

Link to full size picture HERE

 

[AwonderfulKiwi]

...
Betty Ann Stuart shows off the "Watch it" (Wimbledon 1979)
I'm not sure what was behind the "Watch it" except her cheeks.
I guess it was a sarcastic way to make fun of all the superficial attention given to the female player's underwear in the past.
I bet it never occurred to her that "Watch it" sounds exactly like "What Sh**".

View attachment 177215

She almost appears topless as well!

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Susan (Sue) Barker, born 19 April 1956, is an English television presenter and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career, she won fifteen WTA Tour singles titles, including one Grand Slam singles title at the 1976 French Open. She reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3.

After winning the French Open, Barker felt that it would be the first of a number of Grand Slam titles that she would win, but she would not reach another Grand Slam final in her career. Navratilova and Evert would claim 30 Slams in the next 11 years, until Graf came along.
Barker retired in 1984 after a Q1 loss at the Australian Open, which in those days, was held during the first 2 weeks of December.

Original monochrome picture HERE

This one is from circa 1980
Original picture HERE

 

[AwonderfulKiwi]

Susan (Sue) Barker, born 19 April 1956, is an English television presenter and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career, she won fifteen WTA Tour singles titles, including one Grand Slam singles title at the 1976 French Open. She reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3.
...

Don't forget that for four years she had the most famous boyfriend of any tennis player - Harry Rodger Webb (better known as Cliff Richard).

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Suzanne Lenglen, Wimbledon 1925. She won the title that year easily, dropping only a handful of games during the whole tournament. The next and last time she would play at Wimbledon (the 50th aniversary of the event) would be an incredible mess.

She was originally supposed to play a doubles match against Ryan at 4:30 PM, followed by her second singles match of the day. However, her singles match was moved to 2:00 PM before the doubles match to accommodate the royal family who planned to be in attendance. Lenglen was not informed of the change until the next morning. She did not want to play the singles before her more important doubles, and did not want to play at 2:00 PM because she had a doctor's appointment at the time. Lenglen asked her regular mixed doubles partner Jacques Brugnon to tell the tournament referee to reschedule the singles match. He never received the message. By the time Lenglen arrived on the grounds at 3:30 PM, Queen Mary and the rest of the crowd were waiting over an hour. After Wimbledon officials confronted her in anger, she refused to play either match.

Neither the officials, nor Lenglen's opponents wanted her defaulted. As a result, the club adhered to Lenglen's wishes and rescheduled both matches the following day, with the doubles first. Nonetheless, Lenglen and Vlasto were defeated by Ryan and her partner Mary Browne in three sets, despite having three match points when they were ahead 7–6 in the second set. The crowd who had typically supported Lenglen were against her, in part as a result of a fabricated story in the newspaper that Lenglen had angered Queen Mary. With the long duration of the match, the singles was again delayed until the following day. Although Lenglen defeated Evelyn Dewhurst in the match, she lost four games, far more than anyone expected. She played and won her opening mixed doubles match before withdrawing from both singles and mixed doubles due to a shoulder injury. This was Lenglen's last amateur tournament.

Lenglen retired from the amateur tour at the end of 1926. She was widely criticized for her decision to turn professional. Once the tour began, the French Tennis Federation expelled her and Féret while the All England Lawn Tennis Club revoked her membership. Lenglen in turn criticized amateur tennis.

She commented her turning pro in these words: "In my whole lifetime I have not earned $5,000 – not one cent of that by my specialty, my life study – tennis... I am twenty-seven and not wealthy – should I embark on any other career and leave the one for which I have what people call genius? Or should I smile at the prospect of actual poverty and continue to earn a fortune – for whom? Under these absurd and antiquated amateur rulings, only a wealthy person can compete, and the fact of the matter is that only wealthy people do compete. Is that fair? Does it advance the sport? Does it make tennis more popular – or does it tend to suppress and hinder an enormous amount of tennis talent lying dormant in the bodies of young men and women whose names are not in the social register?"

Her 1926-27 Pro tour of the U.S. was a financial success. Lenglen earned a fortune, receiving half of the revenue from ticket sales. In total, she earned $100,000, more than the $70,000 that Babe Ruth earned in 1927 as the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball. The average attendance was just over 4000 at the 34 venues where it was recorded. $100,000 in 1927 would be equivalent to $1.5 Million in 2020.

Original monochrome picture HERE

1950s beauty (I mean beauty for that era's looks) in a rare studio action shot.

 

[Rollo]

Love the Lenglen photo! She rarely wore the same color bandeau twice in a row.

 

[Djo-Coeur]

For this one time only, a post about one of Tennis' close relative, Badminton (because I couldn't find any Goodminton pictures)
Apparently the origines of Badminton can be traced to ancient Greece, China, and India, and it is closely related to the old children's game battledore and shuttlecock. As a leisurely activity for common people, it had some huge advantages over tennis, Badminton being far more accessible and easier to play, even for first-timers. No need to be in great shape or to pay a fortune for a court as large as a tennis court. All you need is a net and a backyard, never mind what surface it is. On the downside, it's unplayable if it's a bit windy. That's why it has to be played indoor at the competitive levels. Tennis was faster and more spectacular for the crowds, thus it became much more popular.
___

Lana Turner (Julia Jean Turner; 1921 – 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States, and one of MGM's biggest stars, with her films earning the studio more than $50 million during her 18-year contract with them. Turner is frequently cited as a popular culture icon of Hollywood glamour and a screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema.

Her discovery occured when she skipped a high school typing class and bought a Coca-Cola at the Top Hat Malt Shop of Sunset Boulevard. While in the shop, she was spotted by William R. Wilkerson, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. Wilkerson was attracted by her beauty and physique, and asked her if she was interested in appearing in films, to which she responded: "I'll have to ask my mother first". Sixteen years old Turner made her feature film debut in LeRoy's They Won't Forget (1937), a crime drama in which she played a teenage murder victim. Though Turner only appeared on screen for a few minutes, her lovely looks made a lasting impression. The film earned her the nickname of the "Sweater Girl" for her form-fitting attire, which accentuated her bust. Turner always detested the nickname but it stuck with her until she got old. Video of her first scene HERE

Intense media scrutiny surrounded the actress in 1958 when her teenage daughter Cheryl Crane stabbed Turner's lover, L.A. mobster Johnny Stompanato, to death in their home during a domestic struggle after Turner returned from the Oscars gala. During the fight Stompanato had threatened to kill Turner and her daughter, who overheard everything in the other room. More than 100 reporters and journalists attended the April 12, 1958 inquest, described by attendees as "near-riotous." After four hours of testimony and approximately 25 minutes of deliberation, the jury deemed the killing a justifiable homicide. Stompanato's son later alleged that Turner had killed his father, and that her daughter had taken the blame. As a matter of fact no fingerprints were found on the knife. Turner's career and popularity weren't affected by the murder. Her next film Imitation of Life was among the year's biggest hits, and the biggest of Turner's career; by opting to own 50% of the film's earnings rather than receiving a salary, she earned more than two million dollars (in 2020 that would be 18 millions).

Original monochrome picture from 1940 HERE

Beautiful portrait of a busty model of the 1950's. The bras of that era were so bad lol. It seemed to be as hard as a rock.

Original monochrome picture HERE

Margarita Carmen "Rita" Hayworth, born Cansino from an Irish mother and a Spanish father in 1918. She was an American actress and dancer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II. In 1949, Hayworth's lips were voted best in the world by the Artists League of America. She had a modeling contract with Max Factor to promote its Tru-Color lipsticks and Pan-Stik make-up. She and Ginger Rogers were undoubtedly the best female dancers of Hollywood's Golden age. In 1999, Hayworth was acknowledged as one of the top-25 greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood cinema in the American Film Institute's survey, AFI's 100 Years Stars.

She married Orson Wells in 1943. During the entire period of their marriage, he showed no interest in establishing a home. When she suggested purchasing a home, he told her he didn't want the responsibility and that he never should have married in the first place, because it interfered with his freedom and his way of life. Despite this, Hayworth called Welles the "great love of her life". In 1947, she was granted a divorce that became final the following year. The next year Hayworth left her film career to marry Prince Aly Khan, a son of billionaire Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Hayworth once said she might convert to Islam, but never did. She divorced from him in 1953 on the grounds of extreme mental cruelty. Hayworth fled to Nevada to establish legal residence to qualify for a divorce. She stayed at Lake Tahoe with their daughter, saying there was a threat the child would be kidnapped. During the custody fight over their daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, the prince said he wanted her to be raised as a Muslim; Hayworth wanted the child to be raised as a Christian. She rejected his offer of $1 million if she would rear Yasmin as a Muslim from age seven.

Not a colorization, but a restoration of the nicest picture showing Rita Hayworth holding a racket. There are many pics of her posing on a court or with a tennis racket, but none are anywhere near as nice as this one.

Original unrestored picture HERE
Possibly circa 1950

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy, Minnie Riperton and Linda Ronstadt, October 1976.
That was at a charity event called "The First Rock 'n' Roll Tennis Festival" at the Los Angeles tennis club.
Olivia and Helen won the doubles match vs. Minnie and Linda.
There are a few color pictures of that event, so it was possible for me to know the real colors to use for most items and surfaces.

Original monochrome picture HERE

This is a restoration of a very nice but faded color photo from 1939 of Alice Marble.
A color photograph was a novelty in 39. Germany's Agfacolor made that possible in 36.
The studio setup as background was so lame though that it had to be changed to make this presentable.

Original picture HERE

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Helen Wills Circa 1928.
Possibly the nicest picture of Wills in action during a tournament. An important tournament no doubt, because there are many cameramen. In that era they filmed parts of the important matches for the newsreels to be played in the theaters.
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the late 1960s. Typically presented in a cinema they were about 45 minutes long. Newsreels were a source of current affairs, information, and entertainment for millions of moviegoers. The admission price ranged from 10 cents in the silent era, to 25 cents in the 1930s.

Original monochrome picture HERE

Restoration of a beautiful picture from 1960.
She's probably Eastern European. I'd guess Russian or Czechoslovakian.

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Restored color picture of Gussie Moran (1949).
That was a few weeks before the Wimbledon laced panties incident that boosted her fame.

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Kay Stammers was actually a sort of pre-WW II sex symbol. She notably beat Helen Wills Moody (1935 in Beckenham if memory serves) and was a girlfriend of future President Jack Kennedy.

Now I believe you that Kay Stammers was a hottie. She had the prettiest baby face at 21 years old in 1935.
It's no wonder John F. Casanova was attracted to her.
Kay was praised for her original hairstyles and glamorous clothes. She often entered the court wearing a real fur coat. There were no shaming for wearing furs back then.
She designed some of the clothes she wore in competition. Perhaps this outfit was one of her creations.

Note: I tried my best to find a room (as a replacement background) with features and items looking contemporary to the year 1935.

Original monochrome picture HERE

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Julie Heldman (born December 8, 1945) is a retired American tennis player who won 22 women's singles titles. Heldman was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Gladys Heldman, the founder, editor, and publisher of World Tennis magazine and the founder of the women's pro tour in 1970. Her older sister, Carrie, was also a competitive tennis player; she later became a musical performer playing bass under the name Trixie Merkin (performing topless sometimes).
The year this picture was shot In 1965, 19 years old Julie Heldman reached the Italian championships semi-finals, won the Canadian National women's singles title, and was the finalist in the US National Clay Courts.
In 1970, Heldman's mother, Gladys, established the women's pro tour at the suggestion of Larry King and the sponsorship of Joe Cullman and Virginia Slims. Gladys ran the tour for its first three years. Julie Heldman was one of the Original 9 players who competed in the Houston event, and she played on the tour until she retired in 1975. After Heldman ended her playing career, she worked as a television commentator and journalist, with CBS, NBC, PBS, and HBO at the US Open and Wimbledon, 1973–78. She was the first woman to cover a men's tennis event (the 1976 Avis Challenge Cup).

Note: I admire the Pro photographers for finding so often the best point of view.
Original monochrome picture from 1965 HERE

Fall 1973, a few weeks after The Battle of the Sexes match. Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, made a cameo appearance in an episode of the popular 70s sitcom The Odd Couple.
The title of the Episode was The Pig Who Came to Dinner.
Riggs actually has a major role in the episode and is a pretty good actor. Billie Jean, not so much.
The episode is actually very funny. I laughed out loud a few times.
If you'd like to watch or download the episode (it's not on Youtube) I uploaded it to Mega.nz. Link -------> HERE

Original monochrome picture HERE

 

[Djo-Coeur]

June 17th 1961, Australian Margaret Court (then Smith) in action on her way to beating Christine Truman in the final at the Kent Championships at Beckenham.
Did she get to that ball? It seems like she didn't but maybe it went out.

On that day she was still 18 and she had already two Australian Open Titles to her resume. She kept winning her home Slam seven times in a row until 1966 at age 23. As to prove that it was no fluke nor because of a weak opposition, she also won during that same time period, 2 Roland Garros, 1 Wimbledon and 2 Us Open Titles. Some would argue that those Slams were won before the open era, but she had no trouble winning Slams in the open era as well (the open era started at RG in 68). She won as many as 8 Slam Titles in the 3 years span of 69 to 71, including all 4 Slams of 1970 (Calendar Slam).

Is she the greatest of all time? I guess that question should never be asked because it's impossible to compare different eras, but one thing is for sure, she dominated her era overwhelmingly, as mush as Serena did in her own era, until 2017.

Original monochrome picture HERE

The beautiful Kay Stammers and Sarah Palfrey (then Fabyan) at Wimbledon, July 6th 1939, just a few weeks before Nazi Germany invaded Polland and Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.
This picture was shot before their Semi-Final match. Kay defeated Sarah Palfrey Fabyan for the first time. Rain delays had the tarps on and off four times in a taunt encounter spread out for over four and a half hours. Stammers [6] d. Fabyan [8] 7-5 2-6 6-3 SOURCE -----> Wimbledon Results
In the next and final round Alice Marble was so impressive that critics spoke of her in the same class as Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills. She crushed Kay Stammers 6-2 6-0. Marble also won the doubles and mixed doubles titles, just like her mixed doubles partner Bobby Riggs. Tennis lore has it that Riggs bet on himself to win the triple and made a fortune.

Note: This is a restoration and recolorization of the original color picture. The colors of the original were like 80% faded away.
Original picture HERE

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Billie Jean King (July 1973) posing with the three checks she was given after she won all three Titles at Wimbledon.
The amounts she earned were: £3,000 as Singles Champion, £300 as Doubles Champion and £250 as Mixed Doubles Champion.
That doesn't seem like an adequate amount though, even for that era. It would be equivalent to $56,820 in 2020. Not life changing by any means compared to the the amount won at the US Open 2019 (3,8 millions). Of course, the TV networks and sponsors in those days could not spend a fortune on tennis like they can in our present era, and to get equal prize money at all the Slams would require a few decades of hard fought negotiations for the women.

Before 1973, women were paid significantly less than men at the majors. The 1973 edition of the US Open was the first Grand Slam event to offer female players financial parity with their male counterparts, $25,000 each for the men’s and women’s singles champions, Australians John Newcombe and Margaret Court (her 24th Slam Title).
It took 28 years for the Australian Open to follow suit, offering both genders equal prize money in 2001. The 2006 edition of the French Open saw women claim the same amount as men, while Wimbledon was the last Slam to do so, in 2007. --- Source: Stories of the Open Era: At long last, equal prize money at the majors

 

[AwonderfulKiwi]

Billie Jean King (July 1973) posing with the three checks she was given after she won all three Titles at Wimbledon.
The amounts she earned were: £3,000,000 as Singles Champion, £300 as Doubles Champion and £250 as Mixed Doubles Champion.

I don't think so!

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Oooops
Edited

 

[Rollo]

I never though Billie Jean particularly attractive (though she has aged beautifully IMO), but she had a times a cute elfin quality that your last photo captures Djo-Coeur.

And hearts for posting a colorized pic of Sarah Palfrey!

 

[Djo-Coeur]

Elisabeth (Betty) Batt (1916-2003), was a British tennis player active from 1934 to 1950. The solely Grand Slam tournament among the four majors, she participated at regularly, was the Championships in Wimbledon. She entered first time in 1935 and her last Wimbledon appearance dated back in 1950. Her best result was reaching the quarterfinal in 1946 partnered with Molly Lincoln. They were defeated by Louise Brough and Margaret Osborne who were crowned as champion in ladies' doubles that year. Betty was a member of the Wightman Cup team in 1946.
The Wightman Cup was an annual team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. The American teams were champions 51 times and lost only 10 times. An outrageous domination that, after a few decades, made the event irrelevant. Wightman Cup - Wikipedia ----- Picture of the Wightman Cup ------------> HERE

Original monochrome picture from 1937 HERE

This second picture of Betty Batt is from 1934 when was still a junior at 18 years old. She was easily recognizable by the knitted wool bonnet she was always wearing on the courts.
The little boy looks like he wants to sell those rackets to her, or perhaps he thinks tennis players need a caddie.

Original monochrome picture HERE

 

[Djo-Coeur]

The beautiful Helena Anliot (1973) at 17 years old when she was the girlfriend of Björn Borg.
Surely one of the prettiest face and smile in the history of women's tennis. She always wore a bandanna when competing.

She was the female Swedish #1 in the mid 70's. She played Mixed Doubles once with Borg at Wimbledon in 73 reaching the second round vs Ilie Năstase and Rosie Casals.
Her career was cut short when she got glandular fever (mono) in 77. She tried to come back after she recovered but the complications from the illness had made it too difficult. She retired in 1980 at 24 years old.

Original monochrome picture HERE

Note: I used Topaz Gigapixel to enlarge and sharpen the smaller B&W original. That software is useful on some pictures. I used it on many of the recent pictures I posted here in the passed 8 months. Sometimes however it screws up the resulting image if it's not able to deal with the type of artifact and grain or if the original is way too bad. It's always a good thing to work on a large picture in Photoshop. I like the size at 2000px X 3000px.