Historical Significance
The sport of tennis first took off in 1873 in England, and since then has grown to popularity all over the United States (Gillmeister, 1998). It first started off as a game for every day leisure, and now has developed into an Olympic sport with well know athletes, and four big grand slam tournaments that take place all over the world (Grimsley & Heldman, 1971). In particular, women’s tennis gained popularity in the late 1890’s in the United States and has developed a large history and significance behind it. (Gillmeister, 1998). When women were first introduced into the world of competitive tennis, it caused much dispute; however, they brought a since of style and entertainment to the game that the men did not have (King & Starr, 1988). Since then, women’s tennis has grown due to the “pace of the play, the increasing speed of balls in rallies, and accuracy in shot placement” (Krolak, 2013). More specifically, collegiate women’s tennis has played a huge role in the progression of the sport, and paved a path for women to compete at the highest level. Subsequently, youth is now ruling women’s tennis and women’s tennis players are starting to play tennis at a younger age, and dominating the world of collegiate tennis (Galenson, 1995).
This domination of the youth can been see within the women’s tennis program at Trinity University. The program started developing around the early 1960’s and due to its quick success, the program took off and came to quickly be one of the best in the nation (Trinty Athletics). Many of the women that came to play at Trinity were either competing on the tour, or were top players in their country that had outstanding rankings (Trinity Athletics). This was especially true for the women’s tennis team during the time of 1981-1985. They were comprised of incredible young talent, ability, an unstoppable drive to win, continued success, and provided the women’s program with great history and accomplishments to be remembered today.