International Tennis Hall of Fame
The Newport Casino, home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
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| Established | 1880 1954 (Hall of fame and museum) |
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| Location | Newport, Rhode Island |
| Coordinates | 41°28′58″N 71°18′30″W / 41.482774°N 71.308243°W |
| Type | Professional sports hall of fame |
| Founder | James J. Van Alen |
| Director | Christopher E. Clouser (chairman) |
| President | Stan Smith |
| Website | tennisfame.com/ |
Coordinates: 41°28′58″N 71°18′30″W / 41.482774°N 71.308243°W
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis (or real tennis) facility.
The hall of fame and museum are located in the Newport Casino, which was commissioned in 1880 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. as an exclusive resort for the rich and wealthy, and was designed by Charles McKim along with Stanford White, who did the interiors. By the 1950s, the retreat was struggling financially and was in danger of being demolished for modern retail space.
The United States Lawn Tennis Association had held its first championships at the Newport Casino in 1881, an event that would continue through 1914, by which time tennis had become the key attraction at the resort. In 1954, Jimmy Van Alen established the Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in the Casino. The combination of tennis matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved. It is an example of Victorian Shingle Style architecture.
Van Alen intended the facility to be "a shrine to the ideals of the game", and was elected president of the hall in 1957. The International Tennis Hall of Fame was officially sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association on its foundation in 1954, and recognized by the International Tennis Federation in 1986. The first Hall of Fame members were inducted in 1955; as of 2010, there are 218 inductees from 19 countries.
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