Yeah, yeah. We all know that. It's been said, conservatively, about a million times over the last one hundred years. After all, near the height of her powers, a New York Times writer called Lenglen "one of the most wonderful machines that have ever been created out of a woman's body," and that was one of the least flowery descriptions of The Goddess in full flight during the era.
Actually, I wasn't talking about the notions of her legend that get the most play, namely Lenglen's star power, everlasting fame, national icon status in France, fashion trendsetting choices and groundbreaking words and actions that upended many long-held social mores -- both within and outside tennis' white lines -- that were overwhelmingly prevalent in the 1920's. I was referring to what came *before* the legend truly took hold, when Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was still just an athletic child who'd been born in Compiègne in northern France in 1899.
For that antebellum period is where La Divine was incubated, and all her brilliance and eccentricity honed and perfected both for her own good as well as bad, prior to being set loose upon an unsuspecting world.
Before anyone had thought to associate such things with the sport of tennis, young Suzanne was both a teen tennis prodigy *and* a witting test subject in an experiment involving training techniques in an on-court "laboratory," with her father Charles acting in the role of a "mad scientist" who often emotionally tortured his prized daughter in order to help him achieve the high society status he craved. She was a near-mythic figure in the sport in Europe even before most had ever seen her strike a ball, and a must-see talent and entertainer who caused curious spectators to line up to watch her virtually from Day 1. Soon she became known not only as the best player in the world, but also a "diva" with a penchant for unnecessary dramatics and a habit of claiming illness in times of stress, not simply because it got her attention but because such actions had been her emotional "trap door" avenue of escape since she was a child.
It all combined to make Lenglen unforgettable, but at what cost? For she was but a comet who streaked across the sporting and cultural landscape, celebrated worldwide at age 20 but dead before 40, leaving behind a phenomenally groundbreaking career and life often unfortunately checkered by clumsily controversial incidents that served to batter what was already a fragile self-confidence that she'd expertly countered with an overly confident public persona.
Lenglen was The Goddess, but also Suzanne... and even more of a groundbreaking figure than most probably realize.
As with all things Lenglen, history has had to sift through various descriptions presented through rose-colored glasses, not to mention multiple self-serving versions of the truth put forth by the famiily and meant to enhance Suzanne's "legend," to piece together a reasonably accurate depiction of her private life and tennis times.
" He was Suzanne's father, teacher, trainer, adviser, coach, agent, manager, protector, mentor, and at times even tormentor. " [1 - from The Goddess and the American Girl, by Larry Engelmann. 1988]
Likely stoking the aforementioned otherworldly legend, Papa Lenglen was known to have put forth the idea that his daughter's rise was foretold by the premonition of a medium he encountered in a 1912 vaudeville performance in Nice, France. When Charles asked if his then 13-year old daughter one day would become the champion of France, he was told that she'd be "better than that."
Truth is, though he was blessed with a magnificent slab of clay to work with, Papa's unconventional efforts *did* manage to forge a masterpiece from the ground up.
A successful businessman, Charles sold a portion of his inheritance from his father at a large profit, allowing him to move along with his wife Anais and the couple's only child, Suzanne, to a villa in Oise, outside Compiègne. The family lived a life of leisure, dividing time between the new home and a vacation villa in Nice.
Physically taking after her heavyset father, Suzanne was a large-boned and strong girl, with great coordination. By age 8, she was already an accomplished cyclist and swimmer, and outperformed boys her own age in running, jumping and throwing balls. She excelled in the sport of diabolo, which involved a spinning top balanced on a string held between two sticks. The top would be thrown high and caught, or played back-and-forth between two people in a form of tennis. Suzanne was so good that crowds would form in Nice to watch her play in the street. She'd arrive to applause. Unlike some of the stories that formed after people had seen her tennis career play out, though, Suzanne did *not* partake in ballet classes, and only had one dance class of any kind (classic Greek) during her school years.
Soon, Papa had the seed of an idea that would eventually grow into something much, much more.
With a "restless passion for fame" [1], Charles yearned to be part of the select sporting groups on the French Riviera scene. Though he (and Mama Lenglen) had only a casual relationship with tennis, Papa saw how the best male and female players who came to the southeast coast were treated as if they were aristocrats. He envied their reception.
It was with this in mind that Charles Lenglen proceeded to become what very well may be described as the first "tennis dad." Many of the tactics he ultimately employed might today lead to him being accused of abusing Suzanne. Not physically (other than through intense training), but most assuredly emotionally, as he personally steered the effort both behind and in the front of the scene, right down to being an overwhelming courtside presence during Suzanne's amateur career, as well as through much of her adult life until his poor health prevented it.
Charles took it upon himself to watch and study the games of the very players who visited the Riviera, where the tennis circuit brought numerous events to France during the winter. He studied the players' tactics, strokes and maneuvers, trying to learn as much detail as he possibly could. Soon his interest became Suzanne's, who wanted to learn how to play. In June 1910, Papa got the 11-year old her first tennis racket -- a cheap model purchased at a local toy store -- and outlined a court on the villa's lawn. the more Suzanne played the more she enjoyed the sport, and the better she got. Soon Charles bought her a more expensive racket that was both lighter and better balanced for a child her size. He provided her with a backboard to hit balls against, complete with cracks and warps that created odd bounces that honed Suzanne's reflexes and anticipation skills.
Being her father's daughter, Suzanne took to it naturally, perhaps seeing it as a way to collect his love and attention.
" Suzanne thrashed away energetically at the board, memorizing its surface geography and eventually mastering it so she could play steadily against the board, smacking back the ball again and again and again to precisely the same spot. " [1]
A family friend who owned a clay court, and had more knowledge of the sport than Charles, allowed Suzanne to play on it and soon suggested he enter her in a tournament for her age group. He did, and she won four matches and finished second.
Soon, much like Richard Williams would a quarter of a century later in Compton, California with his daughters Venus and Serena, Papa Lenglen decided that he would become Suzanne's coach. Setting off on what would be an uncharted path, Charles sought to build a women's tennis champion like none ever before seen out of her and Anais' athletically gifted young daughter.
At the time, few personal coaches existed in Europe and most players learned through watching and imitating the stokes of current players. Initially, Papa followed the same path, watching the top Englishwomen of the day play against one another.
He later wrote in a U.S. newspaper: "The play of the English ladies consisted mostly of long rapid drives placed accurately along the lines and impressed me by its great regularity and calm, reasoned placing." [2 - from Sports Illustrated, "The Lady In The White Silk Dress" by Sara Pileggi; Sept.13, 1982]
The baseline game was what would at the time be viewed as the sort of "civilized" game expected to be played by females. It took great patience and precision, but was also quite staid and boring. He immediately recognized that such a style was not for his daughter, for it was "unsuited for a girl so filled with enthusiasm and energy." [1]
So Papa turned to the men's matches for inspiration, and was flabbergasted by the "remarkable superiority" of their methods. "Why, then, should not women adopt the masculine method?," he later mused, as "It seemed to me that with a well-directed course of training any woman could be taught the game as it was played by the men, although naturally she would be unable to play with the same degree of force." [1]
Charles recorded which men had the best groundstrokes, styles and strategies of the all-court game, and then taught Suzanne how to hit the best shot of each player, combining one's forehand with another's backhand or serve to create a mix-and-match player -- a virtual Frankenstein's creation in a cotton skirt -- out of his daughter, who would possess a perfect combination of skills.
It was a brilliant idea, as long as Suzanne managed to hold up her end of the deal, and one likely never enacted before simply because of the conventional views regarding gender of the era. His actions, and Suzanne's abilities, would come to revolutionize the women's game, as well as alter the course of the role and acceptance of female athletes in "polite society," *and*s finally give Papa Lenglen the opportunity to enjoy the status he so craved.
" Old assumptions concerning the physical strength, ability, fragility, speed, and expertise of women had never really been tested, Papa believed. Need anatomy actually be destiny? What were the real limitations for a woman athlete? ... There was no real feminine model he could hold up as an inspiration for Suzanne, no woman who stood high above the common crowd of competitors in sport. Papa only had a dream to guide him in his efforts. He dreamed of something new in women's sports -- the perfect union of athletics and art. He dreamed of a woman who was the master of every stroke and tactic of the men's all-court game, but a woman who played that game better than any man and who played it with the effortless physical grace and ease of an accomplished dancer. " [1]
Suzanne was admitted to the Nice Tennis Club, where Charles was already a member, in 1910. Children were not allowed on the club's courts, but Suzanne was allowed limited access on Thursdays and Sundays.
Father and daughter's practice sessions quickly became a curiosity ("hmmm... paging, Dr. Bartoli?") and garnered notice, as Suzanne would be made to practice a single stroke from a set position for hours. She had to master the mechanics of the shot, by Charles' estimation, before the sessions could move forward toward control and placement drills. There, Papa would place a handkerchief on the court as a target for Suzanne. In short order, she'd be able to hit any ball to the precise spot. Charles would then fold the handkerchief and offer it as a new, smaller target. Then he'd fold it again. Eventually, he'd use only a coin.
" To the delight and disbelief of observers, Suzanne was soon capable of striking a coin anywhere on the court. On occasion she could hit a coin five times in a row while moving about the court and keeping the ball in play. " [1]
Papa would divide the court into a series of chess board-like squares and instruct Suzanne to strike the squares in sequence from different positions on the court. She'd repeat the drill over and over, firing up to 300 shots in a row without a break. Photographer Jacques Henri Lartique is said to have remarked, 'Father Lenglen is very severe and it is easy to see he would really like his daughter to be a boy."
At a time when female athletes rarely trained extensively, Charles worked Suzanne hard. Believing in the importance of footwork and speed, Papa had his daughter run wind sprints and jump rope every day. She also swam. She could jump over the net from a standing position while keeping her feet together (later, in 1919, she'd be the French high jump champion).
U.S. champion Molla Mallory, ever the ray of sunshine, remained a disbeliever in such possibilities for a successful female player, saying, "I held that too serious training took more out of a girl nervously than she gained physically."
On the Riviera, father and daughter would watch matches, discuss them afterward, then head back to the training court likely armed with new knowledge about what to work on.
" Ted Tinling, who in his youth lived for several years on the Riviera, reports in his memoir, Love and Faults, that 'Voulez-vous jouer avec ma fille?" (Will you play with my daughter?) became a familiar phrase at the courts along the Cote d'Azur. As time passed, however, and Suzanne's successes mounted, the number of notable players not only willing but also eager to play with Charles Lenglen's little girl grew rapidly. ' [2]
Suzanne was the first known female to routinely train with and play against men.
Club pro Joseph Negro, armed with a spice-and-spin game that astounded onlookers, was even brought aboard to work with the teenager. Negro, a French player born in Italy, is thought to be the inspiration for a character in Vladimir Nabokov's The Original of Laura, as the author had played tennis with Negro in the 1960's. Nabokov described him as "a semi-lame swarthy old man who comes to life on court like cactus breaking into blossom."
Papa's drills and rules were unrelenting and uncompromising.
When a particular shot troubled Suzanne, she might work days or even weeks on it, analyzing and practicing it until it was perfected. When she couldn't place her backhand return down the line and instead began to hit backhands crosscourt, avoiding and playing around the troubling stroke, Papa refused to let such a thing go on. For his daughter could not just *learn* the shots, but had to *perfect* them.
The teenager was brought to tears by the process, and threw multiple tantrums. But she *did* perfect the shot, and it eventually became her "favorite." She used it to save a match point en route to her first Wimbledon title.
Yet even while he often worked his daughter to exhaustion, Charles alternated between proudly touting the work they put in to lauding his daughter's "natural genius" as the true secret to success. He said that he practiced Suzanne for just one hour a day out of respect for her physical and emotional health, even while the stories of their long sessions in Nice were legendary.
When it suited the purposes of the moment, Papa seemed to want it both ways: Suzanne was to be both a champion born, as well as made. [1]
But the physical nature of young Suzanne's training wasn't the most troubling aspect of Charles' plan.
" Many of those who watched Suzanne's practice sessions expressed dismay at the way Papa and Mama Lenglen callously utilized emotion to keep their daughter practicing and working and running hour after hour and day after day. When Suzanne did well, when she learned a stroke or maneuver quickly and correctly, Papa and Mama were happy and proud and expressed their approval and affection loudly. When Suzanne had trouble with a shot or was slow on getting into position or made unforced errors, Papa and Mama were quick to express impatience and disgust with unrestrained volume. In the early days of her training, Suzanne's mistakes were punished by Papa's withholding a treat from her, such as jam with her tea. She was rewarded with treats also, just as a trainer might reward a dancing dog or a horn-playing seal. Papa quickly discovered much more severe and emotionally destructive ways to motivate his little girl. He assaulted and battered the child's self-esteem, ridiculed her in front on spectators, and reduced her to tears and hysterics. Following pandemics of deprecation he embraced and comforted her and sent her back onto the court for another try at winning his love by doing exactly what was expected of her. When Suzanne erred, Mama too openly expressed her dissatisfaction, hissing, 'Stupid girl! Keep your eye on the ball!' " [1]
" Love -- the offering or the withholding of it -- became the whip Papa snapped. Papa stressed the importance of practice and perfection. Suzanne was not working for herself alone, but for the family. When she failed, she failed Papa or Mama. When she failed, she did not deserve their love and affection nor should she expect it. And so Papa advised, directed, teased, criticized, cajoled, denounced, decried, praised and condemned his little girl without ever seeming to be really aware of the pulverizing emotional effect of his methods. His critical, unforgiving eye followed her every move, missing no mistake. And while Suzanne's tennis skills flowered, her emotional growth was stunted. She became athletically formidable and emotionally tattered." [1]
Such tactics -- and other *more* abusive methods -- would later be wielded far more lethally by far "worse" tennis parents than Charles Lenglen over the following century, from the likes of Jim Pierce to Stefano Capriati and Damir Dokic. But the production-via-threat that the Lenglen family employed, often playing out in public during some of her most famous matches, surely established a template that the sport still struggles to escape today as young, often female, athletes are placed in the position of being both the child *and* the family breadwinner subjected to overwhelming pressure to succeed by domineering parents who are often chasing fame or seeking to live vicariously through the success of their child.
Suzanne forged a successful path in tennis, but far more crashed and burned under similar circumstances without ever having reached the sort of goal that would have made it even a *question* whether or not it was all worth it.
As it was, even with all her victories, a wavering self-confidence plagued Lenglen throughout her career. While she was known to deplore losing, it was as much or more a product of an abject *fear* of failure -- instilled in her by Charles when she was a child -- as it was a disgust with the thought of not winning. Over the course of her career, Suzanne covered her internal questions with overtly self-confident words in public. But much of it was an act, a prolonged performance outside the lines that hid her fragility from the adoring masses. The Goddess could not appear as human as all the rest. If she did, *everyone* would know that she wasn't invincible.
" Just beneath the surface of her certitude was a fear of failing that stemmed not from reality but from childhood conditioning. The person who doubted Suzanne the most was Suzanne. At any moment she might become the terrified child clutching for the daddy who might not be there. Her emotional structure was neither strong nor resilient, but a crystal web easily fractured." [1]
Both as a child and throughout her amateur career, Suzanne's only "way out" was often illness. Or "illness." Either way, a temporary break from the punishing, grinding routine that Papa had created for her. The more dramatic the better. It was then that she'd be rewarded with affection from Papa and Mama that wasn't connected to her/their quest for perfection. Poor health was her "trap door," safety valve, best friend, and light at the end of a sometimes dark, exhausting tunnel.
As she got older (Lenglen would die young, at 39, with so many ailments over the course of her life that it's still hard to pinpoint exactly what it was that caused her death) it became difficult to distinguish between true bad health -- of which she had much -- and a case of The Goddess dialing up the emotional drama to either play to the crowd, or make her eventual victory all the more, well, dramatic. Even when she was *the* dominant force in the sport over most of the 1920's, Lenglen's career timeline was clumsily dotted with sometimes eye-rolling in-match moments that made it appear as if she was setting up an excuse to quit, searching for an exit to avoid the "disaster" of an outright loss, or was moments away from becoming an emotional mess.
Nearly every time, though, she pulled herself together and her talent won out in the end. After World War I, she never lost a completed singles match, and only once fell (via default, vs. Mallory in '21 in the "cough and quit" defeat in her U.S. National Championships debut) in slam play. But even her great talent ultimately couldn't outrun the embarrassing controversy that ultimately ended her amateur career in 1926.
But before all that was to play out, Lenglen had to first *become* La Divine.
After much preparation, Papa slowly began to unveil Suzanne in competition in local events. In 1913 at Picardy, she swept the singles and doubles titles. One opponent had initially refused to play the 14-year old because she acted like, well, a *child* off the court, running over the lawns while attracting birds and imitating their calls. In 1913, she won the Nice Tennis Club championship and was sent as the club's representative to Italy for the Bordighera Club tournament. Those in attendance were shocked that the small child, with long dark curls down her back, was the "Lenglen" listed to play, not Mama, who'd accompanied her daughter to the event. But then they saw Suzanne play, and win matches. After that, all was understood.
" By the end of 1913, English travelers were returning from the Riviera with incredible stories about the young tennis thaumaturge (magician) they had watched shellac veteran players on the French and Italian clay. " [1]
In 1914, 15-year old Suzanne lost to some of the best women's players in the world on clay, notably U.S. star Elizabeth Ryan in the Monte Carlo semis, and Wimbledon's homegrown champion Dorothea Lambert Chambers in the South of France Championship. But she would rebound to defeat Ryan in April in the Cannes final (Ryan would go on to become Suzanne's most common doubles partner, winning six Wimbledon titles together and never losing as a duo after having first played together as early as 1913) as well as win a three-set final over Ruth Winch after having complained to Papa that she was too exhausted to continue. Charles refused to allow her to quit, and noted that her opponent was also tired.
"Then it is not good tennis, it is courage that will win this match," she is said to have responded (or Papa delighted in telling people, at least, as he sought to bolster the narrative that she was a born champion). Suzanne won the title.
Playing in her first French Championships (the "French-only" forerunner of what would later be known as "Roland Garros"), Lenglen won the six-player competition to meet defending champ Marguerite Broquedis in the Challenge Round. Suzanne fell, but took the match to three sets. It was to be the last time in her amateur career that she lost a completed singles match. She picked up her first title in the event, winning the mixed doubles with Max Decugis. The teenager then made her debut at the World Hard Court (clay) Championships in Saint-Cloud outside Paris, where she reached the final and defeated 17-year old Germaine Golding for her first major title. She also won the doubles.
Still far smaller than her opponents, the sight of Suzanne gliding across the court during matches, then skipping her way to Papa after winning, delighted the crowds. Barely 15, Suzanne was already the talk of the sport in Europe before most anyone had even *seen* the teenager actually play. She was an instant "mythic" figure on the continent. One who arrived on the scene with great notice and an attendant curiosity that the sport would see repeated decades later by the likes of Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Coco Gauff and others.
In France, her popularity had already earned her a nickname: "Bébé Peugot". Some viewed her as the reincarnation of 15-year old Lady Margot, a 15th century figure who played a primitive form of the sport and who'd traveled to the royal court of Scotland and defeated many male opponents. [1]
Suzanne was expected to next go to Wimbledon to compete on the grass against the very best female players in the world. But Papa said no. He didn't believe that she was ready for the fast lawns, especially after having already seen his daughter lose to the bigger and more powerful Chambers, 36, on clay on the Riviera earlier that year. He feared another loss would destroy Suzanne's self-confidence and that she wouldn't recover.
As anticipated, Chambers won her seventh career Wimbledon Ladies title that summer. Three and a half weeks later, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajavo, and by August World War I had engulfed Europe. All major tennis events were cancelled in the heart of the continent from 1915-18.
While Suzanne would miss out on winning numerous major titles, the Lenglens made the most of the situation. They later said that even the invading German soldiers admired their daughter, recounting a story in which the girl had wandered into the street in Oise when an enemy officer stopped and saluted her. Recognizing her, he sent her home for her own safety. [1]
The family buried Suzanne's trophies, then retreated to the villa on the Riviera until the war was over. Nice was less affected by the war, and soldiers traveled there from around the world when they were given an opportunity to go on leave. Many of them were professional tennis players. They participated in exhibitions in Cannes for the Red Cross. Suzanne both watched and played.
Seeking to portray Suzanne as having been especially patriotic during the stretch, the Lenglens said that she rarely played tennis (a dozen times total) over the course of the four years of warfare and instead knitted socks and rolled bandages for soldiers. Those in the Riviera, though, said that Papa trained Suzanne even *more* vigorously.
Many who saw her for the first time during this period "were impressed and carried back stories of 'the Riviera darling who danced her way through matches, who kept the ball in play indefinitely until her opponent made an error, the little girl who understood all the fine points of the game, whose mind comprehended every nuance of strategy and tactics, who was court-wise as no other woman, who hit the ball and covered the court like a man, and whose father was always at courtside encouraging, beseeching, cajoling, and criticizing her.' " [1] Some said that the teen could beat some Top 10 U.S. men.
"I was a hard taskmaster, and although my advice was always well intentioned, my criticisms were at times severe, and occasionally intemperate," Papa Lenglen would later say.
In 1929, after years of bad health, Charles died. It was said to have crushed Suzanne.
But before then, Papa Lenglen was able to see his dream delivered to him by his astounding daughter who, though sometimes a troubled genius, would *indeed* change the landscape of women's tennis forever, combining athleticism with entertainment like no one before her, and maybe no once since, either.
World War I ended in November 1918. Come 1919, after having spent four additional years preparing to inhabit the role of a lifetime, Suzanne would be ready for her long awaited close-up. If Papa Lenglen had created a "monster," she would prove to be an instantly glorious one.
The time away from the scene only made her arrival that much more anticipated, as Europe sought to emerge from the haze of war and open its collective wings to new experiences. Meanwhile, the hope was that "out of the carnage and waste of the war might now arise a powerful and glorious phoenix who could embody the soaring spirit that was France itself." [1]
France needed a new hero, and Papa's Lenglen's daughter was about to step into the breach.
*LENGLEN - PRE-WWI SINGLES FINALS (all on clay in FRA)*
May 1913 - Picardy [Compiegne]: def. L.Marcot
June 1913 - Lille: def. Beatrice Butler 6–1/6–1
July 1913 - Chantilly: lost to Jeanne Matthey 5–7/1–6
July 1913 - Compiegne: lost to Jeanne Matthey (default)
August 1913 - Wimeraux: def. Blanche Colston 4–6/9–7/3–2 ret.
September 1913 - Le Touquet: def. Blanche Colston 6–0/2–6/6–1
January 1914 - Cannes New Year: def. M.Ward 6–0/6–0
January 1914 - Cannes Carlton Club: def. Ruth Winch 7–5/3–6/6–1
April 1914 - Cannes Carlton Club II: def. Elizabeth Ryan 6–3/3–6/6–2
May 1914 - French Chsp [Paris]: lost to Marguerite Broquedis 7–5/4–6/3–6
June 1914 - World HC Chsp [Paris]: def. Germaine Golding 6–2/6–1
June 1914 - Lille: def. Beatrice Butler 6–0/6–0
June 1914 - Amiens: def. Mlle. Vienne 6–2/6–0
July 1914 - Compiegne: lost to Suzanne Amblard (default)
Today would have been Day 1 of the 2020 French Open. It is also Suzanne Lenglen’s birthday. A 6x #Wimbledon champ, “The Goddess” attacked the net & played w/aggression & flair. She was also an early feminist & advocate for fair pay for athletes. #HistoryMatters #RememberHerName pic.twitter.com/9WLxGRW7dU
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) May 24, 2020
The (Re)Open continues...
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 22, 2020
Live tennis is returning to Charleston. ??
Catch @Madison_Keys, @SofiaKenin, @Bandreescu_, @vika7, and more at the Credit One Bank Invitational, beginning June 23 on Tennis Channel. pic.twitter.com/3nGLoYybII
The 2021 Australian swing is now "definitely more likely to go ahead than not.“ according to Craig Tiley.
— Jimmie48 Photography ?? (@JJlovesTennis) May 28, 2020
While just a few weeks ago, a fanless AO was the best-case scenario, plans have moved towards allowing crowds as well as Covid-19 eases in Australiahttps://t.co/s42HPGBRwd
WTT is excited to announce we will play our entire 45th season at @The_Greenbrier in, West Virginia. All 66 matches will be televised or live-streamed on @CBS, @CBSSportsNet, @TennisChannel, @ESPN+ & https://t.co/c7ZUINY7vo! #WTT2020 #EveryPointCounts https://t.co/17TBt4gAkB
— World TeamTennis (@WorldTeamTennis) May 26, 2020
An amazing day and photo shoot in NYC back in early February! Thank you to @hauteliving for our first cover together, out now! #HappilyEverAfter@hauteliving pic.twitter.com/DIHmq8cMmS
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) May 26, 2020
Kvitova, waits out rain delay, beats Muchova in the exhibition event final. pic.twitter.com/RGEoHrq2u7
— Ashish ???? (@tennis_gifs) May 28, 2020
Juchuuuuuuu ????
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) May 28, 2020
I missed this feeling!@TAGHeuer @Nikecourt @WilsonTennis pic.twitter.com/imY0Mhq9GW
I got to wear my @rolandgarros dress after all!
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) May 26, 2020
It felt so great to be back on court today, even if in Prague instead of Paris ??@Nikecourt @tenniswarehouse pic.twitter.com/srprYDyCTk
@dasha_tofu Omg loooool
? original sound - chloespeers5
I blew it! ?????? #GameOn pic.twitter.com/6o42bJCmQc
— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) May 28, 2020
"I don't think we could have a better hero in our country for young kids." Wayne Gretzky on fellow ???? @Bandreescu_
— wta (@WTA) May 22, 2020
On this week's #TennisUnited @VasekPospisil sat down with sports legends @WayneGretzky and @SteveNash
Watch their full interview ---> https://t.co/9G8MCIGhGt pic.twitter.com/6p2bT2wWjg
a lot of people asked me to do this so here ya go #wipeitdownchallenge pic.twitter.com/G85DBUuVoi
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 27, 2020
Don’t let anyone take your croissant ?? this week ?? pic.twitter.com/i5mpIj6ZiP
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) May 26, 2020
Here’s a memory-jogging tweet thread on conspiracies Trump has previously or currently endorsed: https://t.co/yQb6bGesmN
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) May 27, 2020
Twitter fact checks two of his tweets after more than a decade of spewing racism, insanity and bullying and he threatens to shut down social media. Two tweets. If you don’t think this guy would be the most brutal dictator ever, you’re not paying attention. @realDonaldTrump
— NoelCaslerComedy (@CaslerNoel) May 28, 2020
This is what happened when a malignant narcissist is cornered and held accountable for the first time ever.
— Angry Staffer (@AngrierWHStaff) May 27, 2020
Twitter fact checked him once and he’s ranting about regulation and executive orders.
Think how many lives could have been spared if he took COVID-19 that seriously.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2019 Washington Nationals World Series Championship Ring.@Jostens // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/TqPTnEIFsa
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 24, 2020
A look around the ring: pic.twitter.com/GSVSuwzDFV
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) May 24, 2020
"I don't know if we have to stop doubles completely, but to get less money and give that money to qualification and others, that could be the solution."—M.B.
— TENNIS (@Tennis) May 28, 2020
Marion Bartoli's latest take is clear, candid—and a sweeping generalization, writes @iammattfitz: https://t.co/QhgsZA3RAH
Thoughts on Marion’s comments about doubles, my first thread
— Gaby Dabrowski (@GabyDabrowski) May 28, 2020
1. I’m a little bit in shock but I’ll do my best to address everything said.
2. Marion is suggesting to take money away from those who earn on average less than 19% of what a singles player makes? Does she realize that
It s with an immense joy and a lot of emotion they we announce you the coming of our baby. We are soooooooo excited and thrilled to be parents and we can't wait to be 3 in the Bartoli - Boumediene family??????????????
— Marion bartoli (@bartoli_marion) May 28, 2020
@yahya_boumediene#bebe #pregnant pic.twitter.com/IrEQZh2ece
GREEDY GATOR: This hungry alligator tried to snap up some sea turtles off a wall-mounted plaque on the front porch of a Florida home. https://t.co/tHz99ez4gH pic.twitter.com/4Jotm5iVCb
— ABC News (@ABC) May 28, 2020
"In 'normal' times, the French Open would begin this weekend." Un moment triste https://t.co/caZ21yH7hN #RolandGarros
— Diane Elayne Dees (@WomenWhoServe) May 23, 2020
This is brutal. pic.twitter.com/uyfrBoqHcz
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) May 23, 2020
After you defeat the early book nooks, you face the final boss pic.twitter.com/ck1YWud50C
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) May 28, 2020
New to the #volunpeer community or just need a refresh on TC instructions and resources? Check out our TIPS page for info - including details on how to track your #volunpeer participation ?? https://t.co/FjZCERFvxd. #MuseumsFromHome #WeLearnTogether pic.twitter.com/0AhtgNEF98
— Smithsonian Transcription Center (@TranscribeSI) March 31, 2020
.@junkballjul of the Original 9 loves the @InteBNLdItalia ???? and reveals who's game she likes to watch today ?? pic.twitter.com/Lzc0j27rlD
— wta (@WTA) May 22, 2020
Not all heroes wear capes!
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 24, 2020
Thank you Naude! ???? pic.twitter.com/CLE29qmg6O
Staten Islanders with masks drive out non-mask wearing person in grocery store. #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/iPQwk7lD9y
— McAuley (@McauleyHolmes) May 25, 2020
This is Kevin. He puts his frisbee in the way so his human is forced to throw it for him. 14/10 downright genius tactics pic.twitter.com/NrBg6wNHGX
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) May 26, 2020
A writer headed to the fridge after revising one (1) sentence pic.twitter.com/mw4yUWCyjz
— Meredith Ireland (@MeredithIreland) May 21, 2020
2020 pic.twitter.com/GRO45gDivC
— aaron. ??? (@_fluoreszent) May 23, 2020
All for now.
