Strange But True: They Minded Their Manners

When the first Wimbledon tournament was held in 1877, the players had a very strict code of ethics. It wasn’t important who won, as long as the tennis match was fair. That meant nobody had to work very hard or move around too much.

The ball was served underhand. The receiver didn’t attempt a hard return; he simply looped it back over the net. A backhand return of serve was seldom attempted. Causing an opponent to run after a ball was considered unfair, ungentlemanly. One tried to hit the ball where his opponent could reach it. Tennis, after all, was a polite game, a bit of exercise. Rushing the net was poor form. When someone did fail to return the ball, he would exhibit excellent sportsmanship and call out, “I say, jolly good stroke, old top.”

Twenty-two players entered that first Wimbledon. One was a man named Spencer Gore. He had no patience with the kind of foolishness practiced by the others. To him, the basic idea of tennis was to win the game, to keep his opponents from returning the ball.

Gore disposed of the opposition in a businesslike manner. He didn’t do anything as crude or caddish as smash the ball hard. He would have been considered a blighter, an oaf, a boor. He did rush the net and volley before the ball could bounce. His gentle taps were placed so that opponents could not reach them. The losers accepted defeat gracefully, but then tried to have the no-bounce volley outlawed. But the rules dictated that such volleys were permitted, and there were no changes in spite of the protests.