Introducing the Wightman Cup

Fiend at Court Unplugged

The opening line from her biography page at the International Tennis Hall of Fame sums it up nicely: “Few in women’s tennis history had a more distinguished and productive career than Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.” She was an outstanding player who also made significant off-court contributions to the game. Her leadership ultimately led to an international women’s team competition modeled after the Davis Cup.

Wightman purchased a large silver vase to be used at the trophy for a women’s competition and presented it to the USLTA at the annual meeting in February of 1920. The USLTA accepted her gift and set about trying to make Wightman’s vision a reality.

Following that meeting, the New York Times ran a brief announcement for the proposed “Wightman Cup” competition. That announcement indicated that the format would be the same as the men’s Davis Cup competition with the exception that the women would best of three rather than five. The USLTA sent invitations to compete in the event to the other country associations.

The proposed travel logistics are a relic of a bygone era. The teams of the countries that accepted the challenge were required to be in the United States by June 1, and the competition date was set for August 23. If you are ever looking for an illustration that tennis used to be a sport for the idle rich, that’s a pretty good example.

Alas, the competition didn’t happen in 1920. It was discussed at a meeting of the International Tennis Federation in Paris where it was determined that it was wise to restrict international travel. The USLTA responded with hope that the competition could start the following year. It took a while longer than that, but Wightman’s vision eventually came to fruition in 1923.

With the exception of a brief hiatus during World War II, the Wightman Cup was continuously competed until it was disbanded in 1989. That is a long run for a competition that most of my tennis contemporaries seem to be only vaguely aware of at best.

As previously mentioned, the cup itself was actually a large silver vase. When handed over to the winning team, fresh cut flowers were frequently a part of the presentation ceremony. The following embedded picture from Getty Images is a nice close up that shows the beauty and the elegance.

Embed from Getty Images

I spent an embarrassing amount of time casting about the internet trying to figure out what happened to the Wightman Cup after the competition was disbanded in 1989. Since the United States won the last time it was contested, it was reasonable to believe that it is in the United States. As a last ditch effort I emailed the International Tennis Hall of Fame inquiring about the whereabouts.

The response from Doug Stark, the Musem Director, was swift and to the point: The Wightman Cup is currently on display at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The vase is on loan to the museum from the USTA. (In retrospect, where else would it be?)

It’s just ne more reason I need to get up to Newport to check out the International Hall of Fame for myself.