Guys, I wanted to report that I recently took a trip up to Newport and visited the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It's got a very impressive museum and about 8 grass tennis courts including the Center court.
The museum is a shrine to the history of tennis and inductees into the Hall of Fame. All of the HOF members get plaques with their bios that described their playing style and court demeanor. There is also a TV monitor in the second room playing a continuous loop of acceptance speeches by HOF members. I briefly watched the one by Maria Conchita Alonso.
There are numerous game worn jerseys, racquets and balls. Daniil Medvedev donated the racket he used to win the 2021 US Open, and Emma Radacanu donated her entire outfit. There is also a tennis ball from the longest rally in tennis history, a 14 hour rally encompassing over 25,000 returns, which was played in 2008 in North Haven, CT. The ball is noticeably smaller and looks shaved compared to a regulation ball situated next to it for demonstrative purposes.
Until I visited the museum, I was not aware that the regulation tennis ball was white in color until some time in the 1960s when it was changed to yellow. This was due to the advent of color TV and the desire for viewers of tennis events to be able to see the ball clearly as it was hit back and forth.
I spent almost 2 hours viewing all the exhibits. They have a few exhibits showing the evolution of rackets over time. The ones from the early 20th century have long, thick handles and small racquet heads. The forerunner to the modern racket emerged in the 1930s and it looks somewhat similar to modern rackets.
They also had some of the infamous "Spaghetti Rackets" invented in 1971 and briefly allowed on tour in the 1970s until being banned in 1978. These racquets were very tightly strung so that massive topspin could be created. After losing to a lesser player in 1977 who was using a Spaghetti Racquet, Ilie Nastase (who is also an inductee into the HOF) vowed he would never again play anyone using the racquet, and demanded the ATP ban the racket. He promptly showed up at his next match with Spaghetti Racquets and won the match. However the ATP did ban the rackets in 1978. More on these racquets here:
In the 1970s an earnest young gardener from Bavaria invents a mysterious tennis racket.
www.lovetennisblog.com
In the final room of the tour there is a series of exhibits on the greatest rivalries in tennis, the greatest comebacks in tennis and the great games in tennis, as well as victories with national pride historical significance. They call the Navratilova - Evert rivalry the greatest one I think mainly due to its longevity, but I think in later years that rivalry became one sided in favor of Navratilova.
My only annoyance was that I thought John McEnroe's plaque was somewhat understated. There are lesser players than he in the HOF who have glowing descriptions and I kind of felt that whomever wrote the McEnroe plaque was only giving grudging praise and likely hated him.
The Tennis Hall of Fame is located in downtown Newport and was a short walk from my hotel. It's on Bellevue Avenue across the street from a shopping mall and in an area lined with restaurants and bars. The Newport Art Museum is also close by.
I recommend a trip there for all tennis fans!