Goodbye Newport, Hello Forest Hills?
Learn about the decision to move the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Championships from the Newport Casino to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York in 1915.
The most important matter that will come before the annual meeting of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association …will be the proposal to remove the Championship from The Casino, Newport, to the West Side Tennis Club, New York.” – opening statement of the January 15, 1915, issue of American Lawn Tennis
Invitational Lawn Tennis Tournament Men's Singles Panoramic Photograph (1915) by Alman & Co. International Tennis Hall of Fame
Tennis at the Newport Casino
The decision surrounding the moving of the U.S. National Championships from the Newport Casino (home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame), where the event was played since 1881, occupied the debate and majority of tennis news in the early months of 1915.
Merion Cricket Club, Haverford, Pennsylvania (1938) International Tennis Hall of Fame
Merion Cricket Club
In 1911, a proposal at the USNLTA Annual Meeting to remove the Championships from Newport was rejected (90 to 65). At the time, there was no other club clamoring to take on the national event; the Merion Cricket Club would have only taken it if the proposal passed.
1915 was a different story. A Tennis Players’ Committee was formed, of which eight members were in the New York City metropolitan area. They sent out a proposal signed by 125 players to all the tennis clubs in the United States that were members of the USNLTA.
This proposal outlined the logical reasons to move the National Championships to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, the primary one being that New York City is “the center of tennis in the East.”
It also clearly presented that the West Side Tennis Club is a new facility and has “twenty-seven fine grass courts better than the average at Newport.”
This proposal urged each club to send delegates (or a proxy) to the USNLTA Annual Meeting for the vote.
“Is New York or is Newport the best fitted and fairest for the greatest number of tennis players?” – American Lawn Tennis, February 15, 1915
Such a rich tradition
Obviously, the faction supporting the Newport Casino for the 1915 Championships countered with a proposal of their own.
The issues of tradition, significant outlays by the Newport Casino to improve infrastructure, the wish for more input from across the country to be consulted about a strategic plan for the future of the event, and the rushed timing were the focus of the pro-Newport faction.
At the annual meeting on February 5th held at the Waldorf-Astoria, the debate over the fate of the U.S. National Championships location began at 4:50pm. Adjourning for dinner at 7pm, the meeting and debate reconvened at 8:50pm and continued past 11pm.
“The Championships issue and the vigorous campaigns conducted by the advocates of New York and Newport, respectively, resulted in bringing out the biggest vote ever cast at an annual meeting.” – American Lawn Tennis, February 15, 1915
Collage about the West Side Tennis Club vs. Newport Casino debate (1915) by International Tennis Hall of Fame Staff International Tennis Hall of Fame
A selection of the arguements made by the delegates.
There were strong opinions expressed for both sides
The meeting adjourned just before 1am. The final vote as to the location of the 1915 Championships was 129 for New York and 119 for Newport.
Postcard of West Side Tennis Club and the U.S. National Championships by Tomlin Art Company International Tennis Hall of Fame
Tennis at Forest Hills
The U.S. National Championships, and the later US Open (1968-present) would be played at the West Side Tennis Club through 1977, when the event then moved to Flushing Meadows, New York beginning in 1978.
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