LENGLEN and C.C. PYLE
At an admittedly "old" 27, in the midst of the most trying year of her career and life, The Goddess was largely directed by the emotions that had been instilled in her during all those childhood marathon practice sessions with Papa, including the desire to be loved, to be valued, and the desperate reactions in response to any sudden deficit of either.
Factor in Lenglen's belief that the just completed Jubilee Wimbledon had cast her as the victim of widespread betrayal -- by the club empire she'd helped build, by the British press she'd fed with stories associated with her talent and fame, by the fans she'd entertained and been idolized by for nearly a decade and, by extension, amateur tennis as a whole -- and La Divine found herself alone and shockingly abandoned on a proverbially deserted island during the summer of 1926.
In any other year, the possibility of what happened next would have been dismissed out of hand -- and *had* been, in fact -- as a legitimate option. But not after the dark clouds that '26 had produced and still hovered over the Lenglen psyche and her previously rock-solid reputation as the best player in the world.
Not one to wilt away, in typical Goddess style, Lenglen proved once more to be the "go big or go home" purveyor of her time.
Lenglen's decision to follow the previously untraveled and murky path of a professional, one likely fueled by equal parts immediate gratification (financial, for sure, but also with what turned out to be a "hollow" promise of more intangible gains) and a bald wish for retribution, would once again show her to be well ahead of her time.
But the short term gains were an ephemeral monetary success, while the move changed everything for Lenglen's career and life in the spotlight. And not in a good way.
Image is Everything (icon, fashion, image)
The Goddess Does New York (1921 U.S. vs. Mallory)
All Things Small and Great (childhood)
[1] - from The Goddess and the American Girl, by Larry Engelmann. 1988
By 1926, Suzanne Lenglen had already comfortably assumed the mantle of being "the first to..." quite often during her successful career as a tennis champion and worldwide celebrity so, on its face, becoming the maiden top amateur star to turn pro and head up a barnstorming tour simply added another item to a long list.
Lenglen's status both within and outside the game easily cast her as an athlete with the sort of brilliant "intangibles" that made her the perfect draw to fill such a role, but she was also the one player who may have been least suited to the grueling, nomadic existence of a pro, which called upon her to perform each and every night with little "at stake," and with the sport's establishment rooting against her all the way while, in retaliation for her "abandonment" of amateur tennis, being prepared to forever exile her from the privileged lifestyle she'd earned -- personally made possible, truly -- as the top player in the world.
But while The Goddess was once again "ahead of her time," this time she was *too* far ahead. So much so that the male barnstormers of the pre-Open era 1960's (Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and others) are more accurately identified as the true groundbreakers whose actions ultimately led to a change in tennis as it had previously been known, while Lenglen's professional tale in many ways was an unfortunate, often unworthy swan song for an individual who'd truly revolutionized the game, as well as fashion and many aspects of 1920's society.
Fittingly, it took a virtual perfect storm of calamities, stresses, misunderstandings and schemes to make it happen in 1926.
For months, Lenglen's most trying season had been playing out in Europe. It all started with the drawn out Riviera lead-in to the "Match of the Century" vs. Helen Wills, followed by the resulting post-victory devaluation of The Goddess' longtime standing in comparison to the bright future of the "fresh new product" from California. It then concluded with the disastrous Jubilee Wimbledon during which a miscommunication gave the impression that Lenglen had "stood up" royalty, bringing down the force of loyalty "to Queen and country" that turned both the press and fans against the tournament's greatest champion, while the All-England Club successfully pulled off a power play that "put her in her place."
At the same time, in the United States, a scheme that played out in two parts, before and after the Jubilee embarrassment, was being undertaken that would change the life and the career trajectory of La Divine forever.
Having weathered (or not) more storms than she could count, Lenglen could feel her crown slipping away. In her oft-agitated state, she likely often felt that it already had.
The seed for what would eventually be dubbed "The Suzanne Tour" was planted in February in the aftermath of the "Match of the Century" coverage, as American newspaperman Damon Runyon could see an opportunity waiting to be seized by some enterprising U.S. promoter to cast a "villainous" Lenglen (as she'd often been portrayed, especially in the U.S., when linked with Wills) as the lead in a moneymaking, you-have-to-come-out-and-see-her nationwide tour.
"Runyon didn't know at the moment who was profiting most from [Lenglen's activities -- the [Riviera] club and casino owners or the tennis equipment manufacturers or the Lenglen family or all of those groups. But surely, he said, someone in this country ought to be savvy enough to transform Suzanne's notoriety into some good hard Yankee dollars." [1]
In a February meeting of men at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel, Runyon made his opinions known, suggesting promoter William Hickman Pickens commercialize and "exhibit" The Goddess as he had other odd and exotic carnival-like acts (in 1915, he'd promoted the world's first "indoor flight" by an airplane). Pickens, a front man for promoter extraordinaire Charles "C.C." Pyle, was convinced that the idea was a potentially lucrative one, and asked Runyon to tell Pyle all about Lenglen.
Runyon's idea had opened the hen house door to the ultimate fox.
The 43-year old Pyle was all about money and how to make it. While "C.C." was his actual initials, they'd also come to stand for "Cold Cash" and "Cash and Carry."
Pyle was "a legend in his own time. If he had never been born, Mark Twain would have invented him, and W.C. Fields would have played him in the movies. If the era of ballyhoo, bombast and boosterism, Pyle was king. He was the booster's booster, the promoter's promoter, the huckster's huckster who mastered the barker's art of chewing more than he bit off. He was as close as the decade of the 1920's would ever come to combining the talents of P.T. Barnum, Don King, Colonel Tom Parker, and Oral Roberts. He was a dreamer and a preacher, a door-to-door salesman in the age of the mass media who used the press and the radio to pound on every door in the country at the same time. Had he picked a slogan to convey his business philosophy, it would have been, 'You ain't seen nothin' yet.'" [1]
The son of a Methodist minister, Pyle conned those in the city and rural towns, convincing both to pay money to see whatever he put in front of them. "He was a public relations genius who believed that lying was a fine art and that the only man who told the truth was one who lacked imagination." [1]
Pyle had recently made headlines in 1925 by signing college football star Red Grange to a $100,000 pro contract to play for the five-year old NFL's Chicago Bears. The contract amount would not be surpassed in the sport for another forty years, when Alabama quarterback Joe Namath signed with the upstart AFL in 1965. The signing created much controversy, as college football ruled the era and playing the sport for money was considered "unworthy," and Grange was accused of denigrating himself by signing with a "flim-flam" man such as Pyle. Alumni organizations and universities denounced any other athletes who followed the same path.
According to Pyle, "Publicity means only one thing. Controversy!" He loved it. He'd come to specialize in promoting personalities. Himself, then Grange. Lenglen seemed a natural target.
Pyle and Runyon met in Chicago, with Runyon declaring that Lenglen could be the biggest showbiz attraction in the country, and turning what some thought was the idea's detriment -- the U.S. fans' dislike/hate for Lenglen following the '21 U.S. Championships "cough and quit" match vs. Molla Mallory, and with her budding rivalry with Wills -- was actually a selling point. Pyle immediately took to the idea, seeing the "hate" as something he could work with outside of the tennis aspect of the potential show.
"The fact that people hated her was enough for me. People will pay to see anybody they hate," admitted Pyle later.
Of course, considering that Lenglen truly loved to be loved by the masses, and in fact expected as much as such feelings virtually provided the air she breathed, Pyle immediately realized that this aspect of the idea was not something intended for her ears. In fact, Lenglen's potential loss of an easy path to what she held dear would indeed be a hurdle for any deal.
Lenglen once talked about the crowds that fawned over her in the streets and tennis galleries, as well as the wealthy who kept her company. "She believed that some were in love with her, others were 'content with good friendship, while a large percentage were attracted by the reflected glory which comes to them from the association with so famous a personage. They like the limelight even when not directed full upon themselves.' She wrote somewhat wistfully that she distributed her attention and smiles 'with royal impartiality.' 'It is what is expected by the public,' she believed, and so she had to make some return for the flattery and the adulation showered upon her." [1]
Pyle's most grand scheme, if all went well, would destroy the system of amateur tennis, revolutionizing it and all other amateur sports. For her part, Lenglen would need to represent "liberty and justice for all athletes." As long as Pyle could make money in the process.
After meeting with Pyle, Pickens was sent to France to sign Lenglen, believing the price could be as high as $15,000. Stopping off in New York, Pickens was discouraged by USLTA secretary Edward Moss, who warned that the organization would never sanction a pro promoter for events (Pyle had requested as much), and said that if Lenglen signed a contract for tennis in the U.S. she would have to be managed by the USLTA while she was there. In truth, secret negotiations were under way at the time between the USLTA and the French tennis federation (FFT) for a possible U.S. tour for Lenglen and a French team, a deal which would include her return to the U.S. National Championships and France's inclusion in the Wightman Cup. The entire deal depended on Lenglen's availability to participate.
Lenglen heard rumors of possible deals through the press, and didn't like it. "I play for my own pleasure and am completely free to do so when and where I desire. This is merely another one of the canards launched by the so-called sports writers in the United States who seem to take pleasure in inventing all kinds of unpleasant and untrue things about me." She said she had no desire to go to a country and play tennis "where many people deliberately malign and misinterpret by very nervous Latin temperament. I will never play in the United States again." Also, she said she didn't like the climate. [1]
Pickens heard similar notions about Lenglen's unavailability, finding "that every Frenchman he met claimed to know Suzanne Lenglen very well and to understand her thinking well enough to predict precisely what she would do when confronted with the chance to become a professional tennis player." [1] Boxer Georges Carpentier, a friend of the Lenglen family, said Suzanne would never leave amateur tennis because it was too profitable for her. Once he got to France, Pickens heard similar opinions. French journalists said Lenglen would never sign, and the L'Echo des Sports editor was shocked by Pickens' gall to even approach The Goddess with such an idea.
In Nice, reports on the front page of the Paris edition of the New York Herald said that Pyle had disptached Pickens to sign Lenglen for $200,000. A furious Papa Lenglen called the trip "unethical" and the FFT issued a statement (signed by Lenglen herself) saying that there was "not the remotest" chance Suzanne would sign.
Pickens called the Lenglen Villa Ariem home, and Papa hung up on him. Riviera newsman Don Skene told Pickens of Charles Lenglen's poor health, and said that he should go directly to Suzanne. After watching Lenglen's exhibition match in Monte Carlo, Pickens said "her skill, grace and rhythmic movements on the court were amazing. I figured that she would be a sure-fire in America and from that moment I never permitted myself to nurse a doubt about her signing the books." Suzanne left immediately after the match in a limo set for Nice, with Pickens right behind her. Once Pickens reached the destination, though, he was told that Suzanne had left for Italy on a short vacation with Lady Wavertree.
News reports now said that Lenglen would sign for $250,000 for tennis, $100,000 for movies, and would (somehow) maintain her amateur standing.
Papa still refused to meet Pickens, but Mama *was* interested, taking a call from Pickens and, acting in a role that she declared to be her daughter's "business manager," said that he could talk to Suzanne when she returned at the end of the week.
Pickens first impression of Lenglen was pure La Divine: "She was dressed in negligee, reclining on a chaise lounge and holding a Pomeranian in her arms." She said that she would represent herself in the meeting. "I could see that she was no schoolgirl tennis star who could be salved with one of those what-you-owe-the-sport arguments." [1]
Pickens' initial sales pitch didn't bring up the notion of selling the U.S. fans' dislike of Lenglen. In fact, he did the opposite, offering up all the additional fame and adulation available to her on a possible U.S. tour. The Goddess, after all, was about the Goddess. In 1921, he said, Lenglen hadn't seen the "real America," just the "tennis cliques of Long Island." Real Americans would be interested in paying to see her play. Also, Pyle was "a gentleman" and wouldn't criticize her. Americans would love her, he assured Suzanne.
"I talked of everything but professional tennis and smeared plenty of icing on the beautiful birthday cake I was baking by offering her a substantial cash bonus with an absolute guarantee of the entire amount to be named in the contract," Pickens said.
Pickens avoided talk of leaving her amateur status behind, focusing on the lie that Pyle had a plan to protect her amateur standing. He noted Pyle's desire to represent Lenglen in all pursuits except tennis, saying that she'd tour the U.S. not as a simple tennis player but as a "great artiste" appearing in "her own movie" shown all over the world, while her newspaper articles were syndicated and sold on the international market. Also, Pyle would handle the sale and marketing of Lenglen's novel The Love Game (and future books), and even intended to put her on stage as the star of a musical comedy.
"Then, in a sobering aside, Lenglen suggested that her features 'were not suited for such work.' Pickens told her that dentists could work wonders. Everything would be all right. Pickens played to Suzanne's monumental vanity and buffeted her ego with gentle breezes of flattery. Her resistance crumbled. She was fascinated, utterly fascinated by herself. She could become a film star. She would become a film star, Pickens said. She could not help but become a film star. The world demanded it. She might become the new Renee Adorce.'" [1]
Lenglen mentioned that she'd been offered $200,000 in the past and, though he questioned the feasibility of the amount (and figured Pyle would cut it in half), Pickens went with it in order to reach a deal that offered The Goddess all she could dream of: money, fame *and* the ability to play on the Riviera, and in Paris and Wimbledon as an amateur. Suzanne signed an agreement, Pickens kissed her and Mama's hands, and they all toasted to a career as an "international artistic celebrity."
Pickens called Pyle with the news of the dollar amount and all the "extras" he'd offered to sweeten the deal. He was confident that she could be a tennis attraction, but was less so about the rest, and questioned that she'd ultimately give up her amateur status for the promise of anything else, believing her fringe benefits (especially on the Riviera) would prove to be too good to leave behind.
Almost immediately, Lenglen called Pickens and said she'd changed her mind and wanted to go over the deal. She met him at his hotel with American Major Charles Willen, her manager during the "Match of the Century." Willen wanted to see the contract, but Pickens lied and said it was being copied and not immediately available for inspection. Lenglen assured Pickens that Willen had the authority to negotiate on her behalf. Willen said he had plans for a Lenglen U.S. tour himself, and wouldn't let Pickens trick her into a bad deal. The back and forth produced a new contract that require Pyle to come to France in August to conclude the financial aspects of the deal with Lenglen and Willen. Still, Pickens talked around Lenglen's "professionalism," while also noting that Suzanne's "outside success" would depend on her playing tennis.
Pickens had crafted a masterpiece of a sales pitch, convincing the world's top player to sign a contract by turning her head (in the direction of mirrors that essentially reflected her own image) with "shiny objects" while managing to avoid the proverbial pink elephant in the room concerning what she'd be giving up to get so many potential prizes: her amateur status and all the glory, standing and lifestyle that went with it. Pretty much, everything that *defined* The Goddess.
Pickens didn't honestly believe the deal would ever be completed. Then the Jubilee Wimbledon happened, and suddenly the wildly improbable was possible.
Charles had once told his daughter that, "Of glory and the price, the higher up the scale you go, the harder your work becomes, the more difficult for you to retain your place. When you are champion, you have become the legitimate prey for those beneath you. Your weakness will be grossly exaggerated. The hour of your failure may be eagerly looked forward to. The slightest variation in your play will be interpreted as a signal of your decline. Do not permit yourself to be carried away by congratulations or flatteries or eulogies. Receive calmly the applause of the public. They will undoubtedly forget you on the morrow. All this is ephemeral. When the day comes that you will go down to defeat, you will taste the bitterness of your own disillusionment, but glory is often worth the price one pays." [1]
The words had proven prophetic during the 1926 season, and Lenglen's Wimbledon disaster led to a nervous collapse, seclusion and a desire for revenge against the AELTC (and maybe amateur tennis in general). She cancelled all her tennis appearances (blaming an attack of neuritis), and angrily lamented the fact that the English crowds that had been her lifeblood had turned on her, cutting the lifeline that had often resurrected her from despair in the past.
The door was open for Pyle and Co.
At the Lenglen mountain retreat, Suzanne complained to all around her about what had been done to her, but she realized that nothing had changed. She was still under the thumb of the tennis establishment ever after all she'd done. Turning her back on the U.S. in 1921 was easy, but she couldn't be The Great Lenglen without tennis, or Wimbledon. Her fame was tied to tennis, and her tennis was married to the importance of the world's biggest tournament, even as she found the idea of crawling back to the club officials who'd betrayed her a sickening prospect. If she left tennis, her fame went with it, and she'd be forced to watch "lesser" players take her place on the court.
In this new atmosphere of La Divine despair, Pyle arrived in France in July with a plan that told Lenglen that she could be her *own* boss, with the promise of becoming an even *bigger* star. As Lenglen's season had gotten worse and worse, Pyle's luck had spiked. Now his target would listen.
Taking no chances, Pyle didn't come alone when he met with Lenglen in August. With him was attorney William Hayward, who'd been awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government for his World War I service. From a wealthy New York family, Hayward had put together the 15th New York National Guards, known as the 369th Infantry, an all-black unit with both black and white officers. A showman, Hayward had led his troops up Broadway after the war while a regimental band played "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey."
When the two men arrived at the Lenglen summer cottage in Pourville for negotiations, Suzanne was impressed by the large Pyle's physical presence. He preached while the choir of one -- Hayward -- dutifully backed him up. Suzanne scurried back and forth from the porch with the two men to inside with Papa, Mama and her uncle, discussing her options.
"'Pyle did some of his greatest manipulating,' Pickens said later. Suzanne could make a lot of money touring America, making stage appearances and writing articles and books, Pyle said. But the real money, he insisted, was in tennis -- professional tennis. Should Suzanne abandon amateur tennis and become and out-and-out professional -- playing for money -- then her tour could be a triumphant procession, enriching her and everyone associated with it." [1]
Pyle recognized that Lenglen's greatest fear, and the biggest obstacle to a deal, was the loss of friends and social position without her tennis allowing her to remain "important."
"In very good English," Pyle later said, "she painted for me a vivid picture of her desolation should it come about that by turning professional she had lost social prestige."
"You are not always going to be the star you are today," he told her. "You won't always be sitting on top of the world. If your social standing and friends are such that you'll lose them by turning professional you can console yourself with the thought that the money you'll get will be worth a hundred times more than the things you'll lose." "Money never hurts anyone's social standing, anyway. And by turning professional you can insure yourself enough to enable you to live in comfort all the rest of your life. Ten years from now if you go into a smart hotel and order an elaborate luncheon, you won't be able to pay for it by reminding the head waiter that in 1926 you were an amateur tennis star."
Even more genius than he realized, Pyle's words inadvertently echoed some of Papa's own past warnings that had likely played on Suzanne's mind throughout her tumultuous year. The "Cash and Carry" deal making skills were on full display. The money Lenglen would earn would "make up" for her lost standing in society, Pyle said, and it'd allow her to make her own standing apart from tennis titles.
"Suzanne responded to each of Pyle's points with a soft, thoughtful, 'I see.'" [1]
Pyle left the contract and headed back to Paris, then met with Willen the following day. That night Pyle dined with Lenglen at the Florida Cafe in Paris. They talked and danced but -- genius -- Pyle never brought up the contract. A few days later, he and Hayward returned to Pourville with several thousand U.S. dollars in hand.
Pyle's closing pitch hit The Goddess right where it'd affect her the most -- at her vanity and burning feeling of betrayal.
Pyle told Lenglen she could "stand the tennis world on its head by providing the specter of a tennis future liberated from the traditional aristocratic male-dominated associations and clubs." They could join forces and "jerk tennis out of the hands of the ruling lords of the sport, and democratize it. Her action might mean that in the future money from tournaments would go to the players who produced the revenue rather than to the clubs and the associations. Suzanne could control her own destiny and make a fortune doing it. She did not have to return to Wimbledon. She could *transcend* Wimbledon *and* the English and French and American Lawn Tennis Associations. She could step out from under the male domination of amateur tennis. And she could show the way for others to do the same. This was better than vengeance. This could be the total annihilation of the forces that had humiliated her at Forest Hills and Wimbledon." [1]
How could she *not* say yes? It was like Pyle was reading The Goddess' mind, and verbalizing her innermost dreams of smiting those who'd done her wrong.
A new contract was drawn up and signed by all the Lenglens, then Pyle, Hayward and Willen. Pyle took the contract, and left the money.
With the stroke of a pen -- or, well, several -- the amateur tennis career of Suzanne Lenglen, birthed on the Riviera, certified in London and glorified around the globe, was over. It was replaced by the beginning of something new that gave her an escape hatch from a year that had seemed like *the end*, or a preview of it.
The promises of a new revolution, new fame and a new start were surely intoxicating.
"He promised to transcend time and make her the star that she once was and to work with her rather than over her on the tour. She was now to be pretty much the master of her own fate." "Pyle was the right man at the right time with the right contract and with cold cash." [1]
The contract was set to start with an exhibition at Madison Square Garden in New York in the fall, followed by a cross country jaunt to approximately forty cities in the U.S. and Canada, as well as Havana. Lenglen was to star in a movie and endorse tennis rackets, perfume and clothing. Pyle promised to get Suzanne's teeth fixed, as well... "for the movies," he told reporters.
As he promised, and as The Goddess wished, Pyle praised her. He noted her grace, saying he had danced "in my clumsy way" with her in Paris.
"I have tried to be a real amateur," Lenglen told Pyle. "Now I'm going to be a real professional. I have given my life to tennis so far, and I feel I am entitled to derive something from the game now." To her friends, she admitted, "I was just a boob (poire) to do this for nothing." [1]
To the criticism and controversy the signing ignited, Pyle said that he was only commercializing tennis, as the national associations were already doing. Players must sneak money on the side under the current system, while a pro tour would allow them to make money doing what they do best. He insisted that the tour would stimulate interest in game in the U.S., that more tennis will be played than ever before as a result, and that eventually "open" tournaments in which pros and amateurs competed side by side, as was the case in golf, would become a reality. Such a future would instill democracy in the sport, and remove its longtime aristocratic structure.
Lenglen made it official, releasing a statement: "To whom it may concern: I have just signed a contract with Charles C. Pyle of America for a four months' tour of exhibition tennis. My engagement will start in America on October 1, 1926."
The financial terms of the deal weren't mentioned by either Lenglen or Pyle. It was leaked that she'd be paid $200,000. The "news" was printed, and though it was in error Pyle didn't bother to make a correction. To recognize how "eye-popping" the total was, it should be noted that baseball great Babe Ruth -- who'd quipped when it was mentioned he was paid more than the President, "I had a better year." -- had a salary of between $70,000 and $80,000 at the time.
While he was at it, Pyle did what he did best. He promoted. Whether anything he said was true didn't really matter much. He said that Lenglen would face Mallory (she wouldn't), and would "take part" in several films (she didn't) that were being prepared specifically for her. He also said that Lenglen would tour with other pros, though he had none signed at the time.
The national tennis associations denounced the move, declaring that Lenglen wouldn't make it as a pro because there was no one for her to play against in the U.S.. No other American players would turn pro, and neither would any ranked English players. They accused Lenglen of "abandoning tennis," as *amateur* tennis was essentially the *only* tennis at the time, for luxury.
Pyle loved it all. Controversy = free publicity.
From France, The Goddess spoke. "The nightmare is over," she said. "Some believe I am tied up hand and foot by becoming a professional. To me it is an escape from bondage and slavery. No one can order me about any longer to play tournaments for the benefit of the club owners. I got great fun out of tennis for a few years after the war, but lately it had become too exacting." She promised "Fireworks!" in the U.S., as "with nothing to lose and nothing to gain I will take chances on shots I never dared to take before when each point loomed up as big as the Eiffel Tower and the match depended on it." She said that after the winter tour she'd embark on a world tour, and expected others to follow her example.
Asked who the best amateur in the world now was, Lenglen immediately said, "By all means, Miss Wills." Papa said of the Californian: "She is the best player in the world just now." Whether he meant to or not, he didn't specify that Wills was the best *amateur* player now that Suzanne was a pro.
Again, some accused Lenglen of running from a rematch with Wills.
Bill Tilden, who said he would never turn pro, said that Lenglen's decision wasn't unexpected since her "sickness complex" would prevent her from lasting through any amateur tournament. He suggested that she'd actually turned pro in April, and that a pro tour would only be a success in the U.S. if the top six male and female players were involved.
Casino owners who'd paid the way for the Lenglens felt betrayed.
In perhaps the most swift and cutting rebuke, clothing style immediately changed on the Riviera. Female players stopped wearing Lenglen's signature bandeau. Instead, they began to sport visors, a look favored by none other than Helen Wills.
Lenglen *was* encouraged by the big crowd waiting for her when she arrived in St.Moritz on vacation. Children serenaded her and presented flowers, and she was taken to her hotel in a four-horse carriage as the crowd ran alongside. Her arrival overshadowed that of the Swiss president, who'd arrived at the same moment.
But the St.Moritz tournament, which Lenglen had played almost annually since her arrival on the tennis scene, cancelled her entry after having initially approved it, saying that she could only appear in an exhibition vs. another pro. The Italian authorities pulled the Italian team from the event at just the notion of a pro being there, while the Germans did the same. The tournament was ruined.
An angry Lenglen announced that she was quitting *all* European tennis tournaments if the persecution didn't stop. Her entry in the Lido tournament in Italy a few weeks later was soon rejected, as well. Meanwhile, the South African Lawn Tennis Union, which had invited Lenglen to play in the country for the first time ever, suddenly disinvited The Goddess, saying she was "out of court" after signing to be a professional.
Interestingly, part of the original South African invite was the inclusion of a promise of lavish services for the entire Lenglen family, but the new line of thinking skipped over any mention of the outright hypocrisy of being "outraged" that Lenglen was being *publicly* paid for her participation in the U.S. matches.
Still, the question remained about just *who* Lenglen would play on the tour. Pros in the U.S. and Europe were exclusively teachers, and considered far inferior to the amateur competitors. Wills said that she wouldn't turn pro, and that she wouldn't play Lenglen unless she could do so without losing her amateur status. Mallory said the same, and revealed that she'd never talked to Pyle. Elizabeth Ryan said that she would think about it if the offer was high enough. But Pyle felt that Ryan was too boring to sell, and no offer would be forthcoming.
The USLTA breathed a sigh of relief about Wills, even while looking the other way while she was allowed to sell drawings and write while maintaining her amateur status. Still, Wills stated that she *wouldn't* reject a pro offer out of hand should "a fortune" be dropped into her lap. Later, it was learned that Pyle *had* approached Clarence Wills, Helen's father, with a $100,000 offer to turn pro and play Lenglen. Mr. Wills had rejected the offer, and never told his daughter about it.
Pyle never told Lenglen of the offer, either, because he knew how it would play in the mind of The Goddess. He didn't want Lenglen playing Wills, or Mallory, night after night in what would surely eventually cause the tour to implode. For the same reason, he hadn't wanted Tilden around, for the prospect of U.S. crowds cheering on any of the three -- especially the man Lenglen hated the most -- in matches against Lenglen would be a disaster waiting to happen. He wanted a respectable but beatable opponent for Lenglen on the tour. It was her tour, and they were her crowds. It was what she'd agreed to.
After the likes of Lenglen's countrymen Henri Cochet, Rene Lacoste and Jean Borotra said no, Pyle finally signed French #4 Paul Feret, the (depressed) son of the FFT vice president and newly widowed after the death of his 19-year old bride of just four months. While he had just two players under contract, and no opponent for Lenglen, Pyle announced that the "Suzanne Lenglen North American Tour" would start on October 9 at Madison Square Garden.
Suzanne Lenglen North American Tour official program
Finally, on September 6, veteran player Mary Browne became the first U.S. player to join the tour. The U.S. #6, the 35-year old was the '26 French Championships finalist, where she'd lost 1 & love to Lenglen, as well as Lenglen's 1st Round opponent at Wimbledon. A U.S. national champion as far back as 1912, she reached the '21 final in the event in Lenglen's only appearance (losing to Mallory) and the semis in '24 (falling vs. Wills). A superb athlete, as an amateur and novice at the sport, Browne had upset national golf champion Glenna Collett (her only loss in 1924) in one of the biggest upsets in sports during the era.
Browne, the U.S. captain of the reigning Wightman Cup champions, had been first contacted by Pyle before the most recent U.S. Championships, then received an offer the night before she was to meet Ryan in the semifinals. She later said she's felt "contaminated" during the match and imagined that people where whispering behind her back that she was considering going pro. She lost to Ryan, and expected Pyle to then forego the offer, and felt relieved. But he instead offered her a contract for forty exhibitions, which she accepted as what she termed a "business necessity," while also hoping to "take the hypocrisy out of American lawn tennis."
Browne had never beaten Lenglen in singles in her long pro career.
MARY BROWNE
Browne admitted to wavering on going pro after having spent twenty years playing tennis for no money. Despite being a top player, she'd never been involved in the under-the-table deals that many top players received. Sometimes associations and clubs paid her expenses for events, but not always, and when they did they never covered all her financial needs. Thus she's spent more money out of her own pocket, many times over, to play events during her career than Pyle's contract offered her.
"I am still Miss Browne and therefore obliged to take a husbandly view of opportunities," she noted.
Browne acknowledged that tennis was changing, and it could be seen in the crowds, which featured "the masses rather than the classes."
"They were boisterous and had favorites and villains. They wanted a new idol installed and then were just as eager to see their new idol tumbled. Suzanne Lenglen had been responsible, largely, for this change in the game. She brought people out to the matches who knew little about the game but who wanted an afternoon of colorful entertainment. Suzanne gave that to them. 'She has a vital personality which makes a mighty appeal to the mob.'" [1]
Browne noted that she'd been around tennis longer than either Lenglen or Tilden (she won her first U.S. national title eight years before his first). "I felt that tennis could spare me and let me, without hard feeling, earn some money." "Sports is not really a pastime in America. It is an industry, and industry must have its wage earners. After all, what does it matter whether you are an amateur or a professional as long as you play the game?"
Lenglen left Paris for the U.S. on September 22, having spent her free time the previous three weeks in dress shops rather than practicing. When asked of her current level of tennis, she said, "I don't know. I haven't played for months. You should see that black and white evening dress of mine. It's a masterpiece."
As Lenglen left on the ocean liner Paris a day later, no member of the FFT was there to see her off. She brought with her a dozen trunks, twenty hat boxes and no Papa (who was still ill). Mama and a personal maid came along, as well as a ukulele, which Lenglen had just taken up. She received a first class cabin, one of the best, and Pyle had fresh flowers and champagne sent to Lenglen's room each day. During the voyage, she auctioned off twenty-five of the new Suzanne Lenglen dolls.
On September 29 in New York, Lenglen was greeted by twenty-five reporters, twelve photographers and zero USLTA officials. Despite her past battles, she was cordial to the U.S. press in attendance. Posing for photos with Grange, there was a suggestion that they'd made a great couple. Everyone laughed, with Lenglen laughing the loudest.
"One reporter noted that her laughter was so sincere that she carried everyone else along with her." [1]
RED GRANGE, C.C. PYLE and LENGLEN
At the gala dinner party on the Paris the next night, Pyle announced that Vincent Richards, the "Golden Boy of American Tennis," was joining the tour. Days before the start of the tour, Pyle finally had his pro quartet.
VINCENT RICHARDS, MARY BROWNE, LENGLEN and PAUL FERET
23 years old and with a wife and new baby, Richards was the U.S. #3 behind Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston (the latter had been offered $50,000 by Pyle, but aging and injury-plagued he figured he wouldn't be able to make it through the tour) as well as the heart of the U.S. Davis Cup squad. He'd beaten Tilden three times in '26 and expected to be the U.S. #1 for the just completed season. His contract stated that at the end of his four-month term, he had the option of signing for another two.
Pyle soon added teaching pro Harvey Snodgrass (U.S. #6 in '25) and Howard Kinsey (U.S. #6 in '26) to his roster. The New Yorker described Pyle after his successful raid of the amateur ranks as the "cannibal king who devours amateurs as the Minotaur gulped Athenian youths."
U.S. #1 Tilden had *not* been approached, and he was upset about it. So he created his own reality.
BILL TILDEN
Later, Tilden told reporters that on the eve of Night 1 of the tour Pyle had come to his hotel in New York and asked him to join, saying the promoter had been "shocked" when he told him no. Tilden informed Pyle that it was his duty to play for the U.S. in 1927 and win the Davis Cup and take back the U.S. Championship (Lacoste had just ended Tilden's six-year reign). Even if were ready to consider going pro, Tilden told reporters, he told Pyle that he would not accept *his* offer. Saying that Pyle had offered him $25,000, Tilden said that he'd have to *double* it for it to even be considered, to which Pyle responded that he'd soon return. When he did, he presented a $50,000 deal for six months, to which Tilden defiantly again said no.
Pyle said, according to the U.S. star, "Mr. Tilden, I think you are a damned fool." "Mr. Pyle," Tilden said back, "I think you are right."
Of course, none of it happened (Pyle was too shrewd for that), and the promoter called Tilden a liar. Tilden's story was never backed up by Pyle or his associates, nor Richards or the other pros. Still, a San Francisco Chronicle writer took the opportunity to use the moment as a chance to lionize Tilden, saying that "Tilden's reasons for not turning professional are much to his credit and have made him a firm and greatly admired fixture in the minds of the leaders of amateur tennis."
If Tilden's aim was to strengthen his reputation with U.S. tennis, it worked. He had one of his personal Broadway shows (written, produced and starring Bill Tilden) opening the following year, and the USLTA pressured its members in the New York area to buy tickets.
Lenglen's first U.S. practice came on October 4 with Feret. She held her own, and seemed her old self. The next day, she played at Madison Square Garden on a portable court illuminated by Kleig lights. In the days leading up to the start of the tour, Lenglen attended a Broadway musical, a Mary Pickford movie and a World Series game at Yankee Stadium, as well as dining with boxer Jack Dempsey. She posed for photos in a Patou designed dress (she'd signed a contract to not wear any from any other designer).
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN court (1926)
On opening night on October 9, a last moment USLTA attempt to sabotage the event (officials had suddenly been forbidden to work any pro matches) led to inexperienced linespeople being installed, as well a Browne's brother as the chair umpire.
Pyle refused to allow the tour to use "love" in the score announcements, insisting that the average spectator would not understand. "Nothing" was used as a substitute.
In front of a gathering of 13,000 -- likely the largest ever to see tennis in the U.S. at the time -- that included New York Governor Al Smith, the New York City mayor, Tilden, golfer Walter Hagen and writer Ring Lardner, Night 1 didn't exactly go smoothly.
The festivities began forty-five minutes late, and the umpiring was expectedly bad. The crowd was impolite, and the accompanying band poor.
But it was a happening, for what it was worth.
After Richards and Feret played the opening match, The Star appeared. Lenglen was introduced along with Pyle, who held her ermine wrap. The Goddess wore an accordion pleated skirt, sleeveless yellow sweater and bandeau.
BROWNE and LENGLEN
Against Browne, Lenglen was nervous, double-faulting twice in the opening game. Browne was nervous, too. The combination produced a dull match played almost exclusively from the baseline, with Lenglen winning 6-1/6-1 in thirty-nine minutes. Lenglen was more confident in the mixed doubles, and was the best of the four players on the court.
But the entire enterprise lacked the intensity of true competition. Some fans left during the doubles match. A New York Times reporter said, "It is a case of Suzanne being so much bigger than the game that the sense of struggle, of uncertainty, was absent." There was little suspense when Lenglen faced off with Browne. The Goddess' skills could be admired, but little else. New Yorker writer John Tunis declared, "Professional tennis is a pretty flat affair."
Still, Pyle made $24,000, and Night 1 was deemed a successful start to "The Suzanne Tour." But the warning signs were abundant, with as many red flags as bandeaus. Turning pro hadn't solved all of Lenglen's problems.
And as with anything Goddess-related, Lenglen's last dance would not be an easy road to travel. Not in North America, not in the tour's aftermath, nor during the undersized relatively few remaining years that the life of tennis' most outsized personality would ultimately allow her.
1.Steffi Graf
2.Martina Navratilvoa
3.Margaret Smith-Court
4.Billie Jean King
5.Chris Evert
6.SUZANNE LENGLEN
7.Helen Wills-Moody
8.Maureen Connolly
9.Monica Seles
10t.Evonne Goolagong
10t.Martina Hingis
*PRO SERIES FINALS*
[UTR - AUS]
Sydney: Ellen Perez d. Alexandra Bozovic
Melbourne: Destanee Aiava d. Storm Sanders
Brisbane: Maddison Inglis d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 2: Ellen Perez d. Alexandra Bozovic
Brisbane 2: Maddison Inglis d. Lizette Cabrera
Sydney 3: Destanee Aiava d. Ellen Perez
Brisbane 3: Lizette Cabrera d. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz
[UK PRO SERIES - St.George Hills LTC, GBR]
1 - Emma Raducanu d. Jodie Burrage
2 - Naomi Broady d. Emily Appleton
3 - Eden Silva d. Naomi Broady
4 - [July 27-Aug.2]
[CHALLENGE ELITE FFT - FRA]
Nice - Fiona Ferro d. Kristina Mladenovic
Cannes - Fiona Ferro d. Kristina Mladenovic
Villeneuve-Loubet - Harmony Tan d. Alize Cornet
[MAPFRE LEAGUE - ESP]
Girona - Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Amanda Carreras
Castellón - Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Cristina Bucsa
UTR Pro Match (FLA USA): Alison Riske (in F), D.Collins/A.Tomljanovic (SF rained out), A.Anisimova (3rd/4th)
President's Cup (CZE): Petra Kvitova
Mima Jausovec Cup (SLO): [Team East - w/m]
UTF Invitational (UKR): Marta Kostyuk
LiveScore Cup (CZE): Karolina Pliskova
Tipsport Charity Cup (CZE): Black Team def. Pink Team
Black Team: Bartunkova,Martinec,Muchova,Ka.Pliskova,Kr.Pliskova,Vondrousova
Credit One Bank Invitational (Charleston USA): Team Peace def. Team Kindness
Team Peace: Bouchard, Brady(MVP), Dolehide, Kenin, Keys(Captain), Mattek-Sands, Navarro, Tomljanovic
German Ladies Series (GER): Laura Siegemund
Bratislava Open Challenger (SVK): Belinda Bencic
Elle Spirit Open (SUI): Iga Swiatek
Youth Kings Scholarship (KY USA): Shelby Rogers (undefeated)
Swiss Masters (SUI): Ylena In-Albon
Bett1 Aces (GER): [hard] Elina Svitolina
Bett1 Aces (GER): [grass] Anastasija Sevastova
Progress Tour (GBR): Katie Boulter
Int Crossklinik Open (SUI): Viktorija Golubic
Tipsport Elite Trophy (CZE): Pink Team def. Black Team
Pink Team: Bencic,L.Fruhvirtova,Kuzmova,Strycova,Swiatek,Voegele
Eastern European Championship (SRB): Danka Kovinic
German Ladies Series (GER): Tamara Korpatsch
-
Securitas Pro Cup (SUI): [current, Swiss team event]
World Team Tennis (WV USA): [August 2 final]
Battle of the Brits (GBR): [team; July 27-Aug.2]
Ultimate Tennis Showdown (FRA): [August 1-2]
Yay ???? Nice feeling holding a trophy in this crazy 2020 ?? pic.twitter.com/G10skWMWNX
— Kovinic Danka (@DankaKovinic) July 25, 2020
?? C'est @TanHarmony qui remporte le #ChallengeEliteFFT en battant Alizé Cornet 7-6, 6-3 ! pic.twitter.com/crlnYWf92D
— FFT (@FFTennis) July 25, 2020
A fighting win for Lizette Cabrera! 👏👏
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 26, 2020
After a tough battle against Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, Cabrera claims a 4-6 6-1 10-6 victory in the #UTRProTennisSeries women's final in Brisbane. pic.twitter.com/YRqOKeS8Gi
The 2020 German Ladies Series came to an epic-end in Versmold today with a three-hour two-set (!) clash between Tamara Korpatsch & Anna Zaja.
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 26, 2020
Well done to the DTB and Porsche for giving the players all these playing opportunities in challenging times during the past 1 1/2 months pic.twitter.com/TlGeBNlJSS
We are one step closer to competition ???The British Bulldogs will be captained by @LeonSmith and @annekeothavong and hoping to lead the Union Jacks to victory are @JudyMurray and @GregRusedski1 ???????? #battleofthebrits @sjpwealth @jamie_murray pic.twitter.com/wNTkrYdjgE
— St. James’s Place Battle of The Brits Team Tennis (@BattleofTheBrit) July 23, 2020
All seven WTA tournaments that were scheduled in China on WTA’s 2020 provisional calendar will not be held ---> https://t.co/IJ5loZWicp pic.twitter.com/pybLjofLmi
— wta (@WTA) July 24, 2020
The International Tennis Federation has today announced plans for the resumption of play on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, the ITF Seniors Tour, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour and the ITF Beach Tennis World Tour.
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) July 22, 2020
Full story: https://t.co/GijVAnmokx
.@WorldTeamTennis is taking serious precautions during the pandemic.??
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 21, 2020
Danielle Collins has been dismissed for the remainder of the 2020 season after breaking COVID-19 protocol by leaving @The_Greenbrier.#covid19 #coronavirushttps://t.co/4T4YMo1bpH
Danielle Collins maintains that her dismissal from World Team Tennis does not undermine her message to Novak Djokovic. She says she simply was not aware that it was forbidden to leave the event hotel. Meanwhile, the WTT experiment continues without herhttps://t.co/NCk7Kb9oNL
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) July 23, 2020
Given the recent rise in Covid19 cases in Romania and my anxieties around international air travel at this time, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from Palermo. I want to thank the tournament director and the Italian ministry of health for all efforts on my behalf ??
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) July 26, 2020
.@Simona_Halep explains her reasons for withdrawing from the @LadiesOpenPA —> https://t.co/7m9ba3C4v1 pic.twitter.com/MIgFrmA12e
— wta (@WTA) July 26, 2020
Luke thought he was funny when saying this, but he really wasn’t ?? https://t.co/kmuiqzZiaX
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) July 22, 2020
#WTT2020: @Venuseswilliams has still got it? No. She never lost it. Venus defeats @SloaneStephens, 5-4 in a tiebreaker, for DC's first set win of the night. Watch the @WashKastles battle the @ChicagoSmashWTT LIVE on @ESPN 2! #WASvsCHI #EveryPointCounts pic.twitter.com/yCmc65hRhL
— World TeamTennis (@WorldTeamTennis) July 25, 2020
Trump: "By comparison to most other countries, who are suffering greatly, we are doing very well." pic.twitter.com/e4BU8rG8Ll
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) July 21, 2020
The White House released this photo today so that you know exactly what the president's priorities are as we approach 150,000 deaths and surpass 4 million cases. pic.twitter.com/eyR8q8Mlla
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 25, 2020
Trump is consistent. This is Barbara Walters calling him out, and serving his ass back to him. ENJOY. Enjoy many times over. https://t.co/VI4O61Y4PG
— Cecilia Is Smart (@ceciliaissmart) July 23, 2020
A transcript. pic.twitter.com/IXExX8fKc8
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 23, 2020
How to person woman man camera tv pic.twitter.com/rcQC4sxmLX
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) July 24, 2020
Tr*mp: “I can memorize 5 words”
— Jennifer (@JLap64) July 24, 2020
Everyone obsessed with @HamiltonMusical: “Here are 20,500 words I memorized.”
I know I said being in MAGA was like being in another reality but come on.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) July 23, 2020
It’s like the real life equivalent of this: https://t.co/OtfkXGBQVs
— Joe Randazzo (@joe_randazzo) July 23, 2020
If you stop to watch one thing today, let this be it. pic.twitter.com/iH8b78RBzL
— Viral Video™ (@GetViralVideo) July 24, 2020
WATCH: ABC News Special Report: Legendary TV host Regis Philbin has died. He was 88. https://t.co/vp6GuQePVq pic.twitter.com/Fv6bjD3YVf
— ABC News (@ABC) July 25, 2020
So sad to hear of the passing of Regis Philbin. He and Joy loved their tennis and supported my prevention of drug abuse charity often. He lit up a room with his humor and was a stellar human being. My thoughts go out to Joy and his family...???????? pic.twitter.com/MDqVjjyxPM
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) July 26, 2020
Sad to hear about Regis Philbin. I remember meeting him after winning the US Open — I was super excited. I was a big fan of the show, I would always have it on in the mornings when I was in the states. Thoughts are with his family.
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) July 26, 2020
????Happy 77th birthday Mick Jagger???? pic.twitter.com/opeyIyl2zv
— Rock N Roll Pictures (@RockNRollPics) July 26, 2020
Some required listening/watching in honor of Mick Jagger’s birthday pic.twitter.com/awo0y7Ua7i
— Sam Scinta (@StatScinta) July 26, 2020
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICK JAGGER ONLY. ICONIC SHIT RIGHT HERE! pic.twitter.com/jTEX52scWI
— jackie ?? #BLM (@starfuckerthot) July 26, 2020
Lady Gaga performs "Gimme Shelter" with Mick Jagger at The Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Concert (2012) pic.twitter.com/pkadpaxXRn
— ?? Ryan | Lady Gaga ?????? (@ryanleejohnson) July 24, 2020
This precious sweetheart received his first check and learns about TAXES ?? pic.twitter.com/o93i0Ue1ru
— Anna Khait (@Annakhait) July 25, 2020
Olivia de Havilland, the delicate beauty and last remaining star of 'Gone With the Wind' who received her two acting Oscars after helping to take down Hollywood’s studio system with a landmark legal victory in the 1940s, died Sunday. She was 104 https://t.co/wISU0kmCyU
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 26, 2020
"My rituals included never crossing lines in between points – I was a bit superstitious about doing that."
— wta (@WTA) July 21, 2020
In the Legacy Spotlight: Peaches Bartkowicz reflects on the nature of competition --> https://t.co/yrulbYXBf0 pic.twitter.com/GqnK3gO2J6
Oh, the memories ??
— wta (@WTA) July 21, 2020
We celebrate Olympic singles medal winners ?????? --> https://t.co/goWJ3b9I43 pic.twitter.com/CZL0Y3zizb
I just had a thought about so-called cancel culture. Boomers and Gen Xers grew up with the idea that there were two ideologies, liberal and conservative, both presented in relative good faith. This has (partly) led to the scourge of both sides journalism.
— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) July 25, 2020
Older people are still stuck in this “marketplace of good ideas” mindset that simply doesn’t exist anymore. Most right wing thought leaders are, in fact, trolls. Sometimes, they put on a cloak of respectability, sometimes they don’t even bother. Millennials see thru them all.
— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl) July 25, 2020
Baseball in 2020 https://t.co/SIsM5uOJxj
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) July 25, 2020
— ?? (@TheStuntPuppies) July 22, 2020
A tradition of medal success ??
— wta (@WTA) July 22, 2020
???? Nadia Petrova salutes her Olympian mother for helping introduce her to tennis --> https://t.co/ChtmvNUaJu pic.twitter.com/M5VYYLXvdN
“Damn it Dave, act natural." pic.twitter.com/R8gQnt9ujF
— This F%#king Guy! ?? (@RealJFairclough) July 13, 2020
If you ever see me chuckling to myself, it’s because I’m thinking about this pic.twitter.com/n4VP60qtEi
— maggie (@OfficialMaggieL) July 21, 2020
I’m just going to leave this right here. I suggest you share it everywhere. pic.twitter.com/dPpbnpUW4v
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) July 22, 2020
That said, being a trending topic this weekend likely would have caused Carlin to be both satisfied, to be proven correct and that people are finally listening to the things he preached, as well as disgusted, because a dozen years after his death nothing has really changed at all.
Nothing has changed since George Carlin spoke these words. https://t.co/UMaMnhEGvp
— Blue Wave 2020 (@BlueWav79497534) July 26, 2020
All for now.
