Fiend at Court Unplugged
The “lace on Gussie Moran’s panties” is a metaphorical expression that originated from tennis. It indicates that something is a distraction from more important issues of concern. Gussie’s famous panties are an indelible part of the history of Wimbledon and the All England Tennis Club. It is the perfect story to examine in the midst of the current fortnight.
Gertrude “Gussie” Moran was an American Tennis player who competed in the post World War II era. She reached #4 in the United States rankings and once played in a Wimbledon doubles final. It is unfortunate that she is best known for the lace on her panties, because she was also a very good tennis player. She may have been better suited for another era. Jack Kramer once observed that “Gussie was the Anna Kournikova of her time.”
In 1949, Moran had petitioned the All England Club for permission to wear a colorful look in that year’s tournament. That request was denied by the tournament committee. As a result, Moran turned to Ted Tinling for ideas and assistance for properly expressing her flair. It was a natural partnership. Tinling, a former player and dress designer, wrote a weekly tennis fashion column in British Lawn Tennis magazine while Moran did the same job for American Lawn Tennis.
The conventional on-court attire at the time for women was knee-length skirts. Tinling’s design for Moran featured a much shorter skirt that still appeared to be prim and proper when Moran walked on court. However, as soon as she started playing, her lace-trimmed panties became visible. Photographers scrambled to secure the best position to document the look for posterity.
The spectacle of male photographers splayed out on the ground to photograph a players panties… offended the sensibilities of the Wimbledon tournament committee. It is debatable whether the fault of that specter resided with Gussie’s attire or the gaggle of photographers prostrating themselves for the perfect shot.
The All England Tennis club accused Moran of bringing “vulgarity and sin into tennis.” The episode ultimately cost Ted Tinling his long running job as the player liaison at Wimbledon. However, in his memoir “Ted Tinling: Sixty Years in Tennis” he relished his role in the affair. In fact, it was so integral to his life story he devotes an entire chapter to the topic.
Gussie’s panties are frequently used in the context of women’s tennis when a controversy over gender equity emerges. In fact they were referenced in the iconic letter that Alice Marble wrote in 1950 to the USLTA lobbying for Althea Gibson to be invited to play the United States Nationals. Marble indicated that the public had become more interested in whether Gibson would be permitted to play that tournament rather than her opinion on Gussie’s panties. One controversy had overtaken another.
“Who cares about the lace on Gussie Moran’s panties?” As it turns out… almost everyone of her era.
- Alice Marble and Althea Gibson Letters.
- Gussie Moran: Tennis player who shocked Wimbledon with her controversial clothing, Paul Newman, The Independent, 20 January 2013.
- A Brief History of Tennis Fashion Controversies, Katherine Cusumano, W Magazine, 27 August 2018.
