Original 9, Hewitt in Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021
(AP Photo/Mic Smith, File)Billie Jean King and the other members of the Original 9 who laid the groundwork for the women’s professional tour are the first group elected together to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, joining Lleyton Hewitt and Dennis Van der Meer in the Class of 2021. In results announced Wednesday, Hewitt was the only one of five nominees in the Player Category who was voted in. “I guess you could say we were women’s tennis suffragettes, in a way," Pigeon said. On Sept. 23, 1970, they all signed $1 contracts with World Tennis Magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to participate in the first women-only tennis tournament. 3, that women would finally be able to make a living playing professional tennis.
Wawrinka routs Murray in Slam champ matchup at French Open
Murray and Wawrinka met in the 2017 semifinals in Paris and neither has been quite the same since. “To me, also.”But 2015 French Open champion Wawrinka’s road back from two procedures on his knee has been less arduous than Murray’s journey. VENUS DONE FOR 2020Venus Williams finished 2020 with an 0-3 record in Grand Slam matches, adding a first-round exit at the French Open to those she had at the Australian Open and U.S. Open. So I’m looking forward to that.”She is a seven-time major champion and was the 2002 runner-up at the French Open to her younger sister, Serena. The 20-year-old American’s father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open and was the runner-up at the 1992 French Open; his mother, Regina, reached the top 30 in the WTA rankings.
Original 9, Hewitt, Raymond among nominees for tennis Hall
NEWPORT, R.I. – Billie Jean King and the other members of the Original 9 who laid the groundwork for the women’s professional tennis tour are the first group nominated together for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They join Jonas Bjorkman, Sergi Brugera, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lleyton Hewitt, Lisa Raymond and the late Dennis Van der Meer on the ballot announced Monday for the Hall’s Class of 2021. That group and Van der Meer, who advocated for a universal teaching method in tennis, were nominated in the Contributor Category. Van der Meer died last year. The full ballot now goes to the official voting group — which includes tennis journalists, historians and Hall of Fame members — and fans can vote online in the Player Category from Oct. 1-25.