In 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge, on vacation in Bermuda, discovered the game of lawn tennis. The game, played in England at least since 1793, was introduced into Bermuda and other British colonies by British officials and their wives.
Outerbridge bought equipment for the game in Bermuda and brought it home to Staten Island, where she introduce the game to her friends. Her brother was director of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, and, seeing the growing popularity of this game, he added a lawn tennis court.
The United States National Lawn Tennis Association formed in 1884, recognizing the growth of the game with a national championship tournament in men's singles and doubles. A women's singles tournament was added in 1887 and women's doubles in 1890.
Lawn tennis was popular among the well-to-do, who played avidly in their leisure time for health, competition and entertainment. Tennis, like golf, was part of a culture of exclusive private sports clubs for wealthy men and their wives and children. Jews, African Americans and recent immigrants were usually excluded. By the mid-twentieth century, some Jewish clubs had formed and an all-black American Tennis Association extended opportunities for tournament competition to African American tennis players.
One side effect of all this athletic activity by the wealthy was that it prompted the educated leaders of many settlement houses and later public programs to emphasize the health and mental benefits for children in poor neighborhoods. Althea Gibson is an example of a beneficiary of such efforts.
