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it's vintage
June 21, 2013

Ladies Looking Glamorous Posing With Tennis Racquets

By Sally Holmes

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Photo: Corbis

On Monday, the best tennis players from around the world will converge to compete in Wimbledon. Top seeds like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will bring their best to the courts in the 136th year of the tournament. Tennis fashion has evolved since women first started competing in the games in 1884: Gone are the tea-time-appropriate ankle-skimming skirts, long-sleeve blouses, and wide-brimmed sun hats, replaced by butt-skimming custom tennis skirts, bathing-suit-like tops, and sleek visors that optimize a playerโ€™s game and keep her looking photo-ready. To get in the tennis spirit, take a look back at some vintage shots of ladies looking a bit more demure with their tennis racquets, from Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win Wimbledon, to actress Joan Crawford, who surely never broke a sweat on a tennis court.

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1 / 25 Photos
Woodrow Wilson's daughter Jessie, circa 1910s  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Joan Marsh, thirties  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1940  Photo: American Stock/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Joan Frey, 1925  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1934  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Ruth Roland, 1930  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Circa forties Bettmann/Corbis Photo: Philip Gendreau/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Claudette Colbert, twenties  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Circa 1900  Photo: DaZo Vintage Stock Photos/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Nancy Richey, 1961  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Eileen Percy, circa 1920 John Springer Collection/Corbis Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1955  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Circa forties  Photo: Philip Gendreau/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1952  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Helen Wills, 1925  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Joan Crawford, 1928  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Nancy Chaffee Kiner  Photo: ยฉ Copyright 2013 Corbis
1939  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Helen Wills Moody, 1954  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Ginger Rogers, 1940  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Katharine Hepburn, 1940  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1948  Photo: Camerique/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Althea Gibson, 1957  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1938  Photo: Lusha Nelson/ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1938  Photo: ยฉ Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
1 / 25

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  • wimbledon
  • tennis
  • it's vintage
  • slideshow

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