Wightman Cup

The Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 (except during World War II) between teams from the United States and Great Britain. U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's. In 1923, she donated a sterling vase to the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) as a prize for a team competition. The USLTA decided to invite Great Britain to challenge for the prize. Each match consisted of seven 'rubbers': five singles rubbers and two doubles. The top two players from each team would face each other in singles, with the matches then reversed. A third singles player from each team would play each other once. Two doubles teams would compete, but no player could play more than one doubles match. The cup always ended with the doubles match played between the two top pairs from each team.

The matches were played in even years in Britain and in odd years in the U.S. The U.S. matches were played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York from the first year, 1923, through 1947, and the British matches were played at Wimbledon from the first year, 1924, through 1972.^[1] In 1978, the competition was moved indoors to the Royal Albert Hall,^[2] was sponsored for the first time,^[1] and was called the Carnation Wightman Cup.^[2]

The competition was continued through 1989. The USTA and the Lawn Tennis Association jointly announced on February 20, 1990, that the competition would be suspended indefinitely, citing low interest following years of American domination.^[3]

Results

Total wins:  United States 51 - 10  United Kingdom^[4]

References

See also

• Fed Cup