Wightman Cup

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.

History U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's. In 1920, she donated a sterling silver vase to the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) as a prize for an international team competition. Initial efforts to involve teams from all over the world, and in particular France with Suzanne Lenglen, proved unsuccessful due to financial constraints.

The USLTA decided to invite Great Britain to challenge for the prize. Each match consisted of seven 'rubbers': five singles rubbers and two doubles. The top two players from each team would face each other in singles, with the matches then reversed. A third singles player from each team would play each other once. Two doubles teams would compete, but no player could play more than one doubles match. The cup always ended with the doubles match played between the two top pairs from each team.

The inaugural competition was played on 11 and 13 August 1923 in the newly constructed stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The matches were played in even years in Britain and in odd years in the U.S. The U.S. matches were played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York from the first year, 1923, through 1947, and the British matches were played at Wimbledon from the first year, 1924, through 1972.

The competition was a two-day event until 1967 when the U.S. event was held over three days in order to generate more revenue. A record 16,000 spectators attended that year. Until 1960, all editions of the Wightman Cup were played on grass courts: in later years also clay courts, cement and synthetic carpet were used. In 1978, the competition moved indoors to the Royal Albert Hall,. was sponsored for the first time, and was called the Carnation Wightman Cup.

The BBC provided broadcast coverage of the competition from 1936 until 1987, although the final broadcast was limited to BBC Radio; the last televised competition in the UK was 1986.

The competition was continued through 1989, with the USTA and the Lawn Tennis Association jointly announcing on February 20, 1990, that the competition would be suspended indefinitely, citing low interest following years of American domination."No Contest: Wightman Cup Is Canceled", Washington Post, February 21, 1990

Results Total wins: 51–10 Guinness Tennis Book of World Records YearLocation Winner Score 1923 Forest Hills, New York City 7–0 1924Time magazine, June 30, 1924. Wimbledon, London 6–1 1925Time magazine, August 24, 1925. Forest Hills, New York City 4–3 1926New York Times, June 19, 1926. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1927Time magazine, August 22, 1927. Forest Hills, New York City 5–2 1928Time magazine, June 25, 1928. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1929Time magazine, August 19, 1929. Forest Hills, New York City 4–3 1930Time magazine, June 23, 1930. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1931Time magazine, August 17, 1931. Forest Hills, New York City 5–2 1932Time magazine, June 20, 1932. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1933Time magazine, August 13, 1933. Forest Hills, New York City 4–3 1934Time magazine, June 25, 1934. Wimbledon, London 5–2 1935Time magazine, August 26, 1935. Forest Hills, New York City 4–3 1936Time magazine, June 22, 1936. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1937Time magazine, August 30, 1937. Forest Hills, New York City 6–1 1938Time magazine, June 20, 1938. Wimbledon, London 5–2 1939Time magazine, September 4, 1939. Forest Hills, New York City 5–2 1940–45Time magazine, June 24, 1940Time magazine, September 2, 1946 "For the first time since 1938, the top five U.S. women players...headed for England to play Britain's top women in Wightman Cup competition." 1946Time magazine, June 24, 1946. Wimbledon, London 7–0 1947Time magazine, August 25, 1947. Forest Hills, New York City 7–0 1948 Wimbledon, London 6–1 1949Time magazine, September 19, 1949. Haverford, Pennsylvania 7–0 1950 Wimbledon, London 7–0 1951 Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 6–1 1952 Wimbledon, London 7–0 1953Time magazine, August 10, 1953. Rye, New York 7–0 1954 Wimbledon, London 6–0 1955 Rye, New York 6–1 1956 Wimbledon, London 5–2 1957 Edgeworth, Pennsylvania 6–1 1958Time magazine, June 23, 1958. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1959 Edgeworth, Pennsylvania 6–1 1960Time magazine, June 20, 1960. Wimbledon, London 4–3 1961Time magazine, September 1, 1961. Chicago, Illinois 6–1 1962 Wimbledon, London 4–3 1963 Cleveland, Ohio 6–1 1964New York Times, June 15, 1964. Wimbledon, London 5–2 1965New York Times, August 10, 1965. Cleveland, Ohio 5–2 1966 Wimbledon, London 4–3 1967 Cleveland, Ohio 6–1 1968 Wimbledon, London 4–3 1969 Cleveland, Ohio 5–2 1970 Wimbledon, London 4–3 1971 Cleveland, Ohio 4–3 1972 Wimbledon, London 5–2 1973 Brookline, Massachusetts 5–2 1974 Queensferry, Wales 6–1 1975Washington Post, November 14, 1976. "...to bring the Wightman Cup back to the United States for the first time since 1973." Cleveland, Ohio 5–2 1976Washington Post, November 14, 1976. Crystal Palace, London 5–2 1977 Oakland, California 7–0 1978International Herald Tribune, April 25, 1995. "...discontinued in 1990 after the Americans won their 11th straight." Royal Albert Hall, London 4–3 1979 West Palm Beach, Florida 7–0 1980. Royal Albert Hall, London 5–2 1981 Chicago 7–0 1982 Royal Albert Hall, London 6–1 1983 Williamsburg, Virginia 6–1 1984 Royal Albert Hall, London 5–2 1985 Williamsburg, Virginia 7–0 1986 Royal Albert Hall, London 7–0 1987 Williamsburg, Virginia 5–2 1988 Royal Albert Hall, London 7–0 1989 Williamsburg, Virginia 7–0

Wightman Cup

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