Swedish tennis history started with a trip to England in 1879. One of the persons who made this trip was the Swedish Crown Prince, later king Gustaf V. In England he came in contact with a new sport-Lawn Tennis, which ”was born” in 1874 by Major Wingfield. Gustaf V was so excited and interested in this new sport so he brought it with him to Sweden and Båstad. During this time Båstad was already a fashionable summer resort and now it developed rapidly with tennis as a strong attraction. Step by step the game tennis was developing. New courts were built- indoors and outdoors. The training was intensified and clubs started throughout the country.
In Båstad the first tennis court was built in 1907. The material was concrete. But in 1934 king Gustaf V fell on the court which was slippery from rain. The next year the concrete was replaced by clay.
In the museum you can follow the development of tennis clothes. It starts with clothes and outfits from around 1890. The women wear long skirts, blouses with embroidery and boots with heels. The men are dressed in white linen suits and hat. Very elegant but not so practical. In another room you can follow the development of the racket. The first ones are heavy wooden rackets strung with guts from sheep.
In the same room you can also follow the development of the tennisballs. The first ones handsewn and stuffed witn feather or wool. In the same room there is also a presentation of when Sweden became a tennisnation. During the 1950:s our most successful players were Lennart Bergelin, Sven Davidson and Torsten Johansson. Their success made the interest in tennis even bigger and it reached a first peak during the 1960:s when Swedish tennisplayers were successful all over the world, especially Jan-Erik Lundquist and Ulf Schmidt. Television started to broadcast whole tournaments. Then in 1972 in Båstad, on a day in May a young boy was selected to play on the Swedish DC team. This boy was Björn Borg and a few years later he was ranked as number 1 in the world and the rest is wellknown. After Björn Borg came Mats Wilander who caused a sensation winning the French Open in 1982 only 17 years old. And then it was Stefan Edberg who made the headlines. These three world champions were joined by Anders Järryd who was ranked number one in doubles for many years. No wonder the expression ”the Swedish tennis miracle” was coined.
The museum also has a Swedish Tennis Hall of Fame. It started in 2003. Each year three persons who have meant a lot to Swedish tennis are elected, both players and coaches. The first ones to be elected were Borg, Edberg and Wilander. This ceremony takes place one evening during the Swedish Open week. The game is called Sunset Tennis.
Our address is: Köpmansgatan 2, very close to the tennis stadium.
Phone: +46-431-71672 070-2728561
E-mail: info@sverigestennismuseum.se
