Twenty-eight of the best tennis players in the world will be in town for the Infosys Hall of Fame Open at the Newport Casino July 16-23. Number 15 Tommy Paul, the defending champion Maxime Cressy, and four-time winner John Isner will be among them. So will American Christopher Eubanks. Ranked Number 43, he stunned fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon on Monday and pushed third-seeded Daniil Medvedev to five sets before losing in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The eight seeded guests at this annual lawn party are ranked in the Top 70 on the ATP Tour. They include Americans Paul, Cressy, Eubanks, and Mackenzie McDonald; Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino and Ugo Humbert; and Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.
This is your chance to see the only grass-court tournament in North America. Newport’s turf — in some years only slightly better than a well-tended backyard lawn — is as good as the grass at Wimbledon now. Four years ago workers dug up and replaced the old sod. Complaints about bad bounces stopped. Take a bow, grounds superintendent Jon Bengtson.
The Hall of Fame tournament has survived since 1976 while more prominent events — the U.S. Pro at Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Mass., and the Volvo International at sites in New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut — have died. Here’s how.
The Newport Casino is intimate. Ambience counts here. Enter through the arched portal on Bellevue Avenue, and you will feel as though you stepped back to America’s Gilded Age. The shingled buildings, trimmed in dark forest green, look much as they did in the 1880s.
“The place never looked better. It’s like the Land of Oz back here,” tournament director Brewer Rowe told me.
Here you can get closer to the athletes than at most sports venues. Stand beside the low chain link fence separating the red brick walkway from the side courts and you will be 10 feet from the baseline, so close you will see the sweat on the players’ brows as they crush the ball.
In a stadium box seat, you will feel close enough to call the lines.
Even 20 rows up at the top of the South Grandstand — where you will have an aerial view of the Museum, Horseshoe Piazza, Indoor Tennis Club, Casino Theatre, Court Tennis Building, Practice Courts, Stadium Court — you won’t need binoculars.
And after months in Europe, players enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in Newport. As they return to the locker room after a match, they stop and sign programs, hats, balls, shirts.
The Newport Casino is historic. James Gordon Bennett, Jr., flamboyant publisher of the New York Herald, built the Casino in 1880 after the Newport Reading Room revoked his guest privileges. As the story goes, Bennett wagered that his friend, Captain Henry “Sugar” Candy, would not ride his horse on the Reading Room front porch. Candy did. Members didn’t think it was funny.
The Casino was a social club for Newport’s elite, never a gambling house. Tennis and other sports were important in America’s first playground. The U.S. Lawn Tennis Association held its first national championships here in 1881, and then every year until 1914, when it moved the tournament to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, Queens, to accommodate larger crowds. The Newport Casino Invitational from 1915 to 1967 attracted top international players prepping for the U.S. Nationals. Many stayed in rooms on the second and third floors.
Pro tours arrived in the 1970s. First, the women’s Virginia Slims and then the men’s Grand Prix. The Hall of Fame tournament began as an exhibition in 1976 and joined the Grand Prix in 1977.
Many of the greatest players in tennis have played Newport in tournaments and exhibitions. John McEnroe led the U.S. to a 3-0 Davis Cup victory over Spain in 1991.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum is important. The history of tennis unfolds on the second floor of the Casino. The 262 Hall of Fame players, officials and contributors from 27 countries. Court tennis in Europe and England. Lawn tennis. The Grand Slam. Davis Cup. Federation Cup. Olympics. Trophies. Medals. Balls. Racquets. Shoes, dresses and shorts. They are all here in a display so stunning you would never believe the museum’s gems in the 1970s sparkled in old department store showcases salvaged by Bob Day, the executive director at the time.
Wheelchair superstars Esther Vergeer of the Netherlands and American Rick Draney will be inducted on Saturday of Enshrinement Weekend.
Rowe said the Hall of Fame helps the tournament. Perhaps. Many players are not aware of what is on the second floor until they get here, or, in some cases, are inducted.
The Hall of Fame Open remains relevant. This is the 47th year for the Hall of Fame tournament. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of COVID. Few events on the ATP Tour can boast of such a long run at the same site. The $604,000 in prize money puts Newport on the third rung of the ATP Tour ladder. Over the decades the tournament has enjoyed steady support from sponsors, the ATP Tour, the U.S. Tennis Association, the International Tennis Federation and tennis fans.
“We are the only professional event in New England now, men or women, and we have a rabid fan base that wants to see pro tennis,” Rowe said.
Players who thrive on grass will usually show up for one last serve and volley before the hard courts march to the U.S. Open. This is Isner’s 11th visit to Newport.
In the end, a tournament on the East Coast, on grass, in the City by the Sea, is a winning combination.
Bonus! You can play! When the pros leave town after the July 23 championship match, you can play on the same grass, even on the same court where Richard Sears of Boston won the first U.S. National Championship in 1881. The Newport Casino courts are open to the public for a fee.
Mike Szostak can be reached at mszostak@thepublicsradio.org.
