Tennis Girl

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Tennis Girl
Tennis Girl

The Tennis Girl poster is a hugely popular[1] iconic poster.[2] It shows a young woman from behind walking towards the net of a tennis court with a tennis racquet in her right hand and her left hand reaching behind lifting her short tennis dress, showing she is not wearing any underwear.

The photograph was taken by Martin Elliott in September 1976 and features then-18-year-old Fiona Butler, his girlfriend at the time.[3] The photo was taken at Birmingham University, Edgbaston, Birmingham using a borrowed dress, racquet and balls.[3][4]

[edit] History

The poster was first published as part of a calendar by Athena for the 1977 Silver Jubilee, the same year Virginia Wade achieved the Wimbledon ladies singles title.[5]

The poster achieved widespread distribution when licenced to the poster shop Athena[6] in 1978 where it sold for £2.[1] It sold about 2 million copies[1] by the time Athena collapsed in the early 1990s.

The model Fiona Butler has stated "I'm not at all embarrassed about that photo."[1]

[edit] Popularity and parody

The image is much sought after by collectors and celebrities including Jonathan Ross and Ricky Gervais.[1]

Over the years the picture has been parodied by various people as diverse as Alan Carr[1] and Kylie Minogue.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e The Scotsman Fergus Sheppard. 70s poster icon is back, so anyone for Tennis Girl? (6 July 2007
  2. ^ Pyramid Posters (the current publishers)
  3. ^ a b www.metro.co.uk That poster is back - at £300 a print! (July 5, 2007)
  4. ^ Birmingham mail Will Oliphant. We've got to the bottom of a poster mystery! (July 12, 2007)
  5. ^ Sunday Mercury Adam Aspinall. Serial killer's deucey poster (June 11, 2006)
  6. ^ www.guardian.co.uk Charlotte Raven. The opposite of sexy (June 13, 2000)