The 1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the first edition of what is now known as the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the orga ...

History

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

tennis team who came up with the idea of challenging the British to a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

competition. Once the idea received the go-ahead from the United States Lawn Tennis Association and the British

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physica ...

Dwight F. Davis Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to ...

, one of the four Harvard players, designed a tournament format and spent money from his own pocket to purchase an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low. The first match between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1900. The American team, of which Davis was a part, won the first three matches and the Challenge.

Teams

United States

* Dwight Davis: A left-hander who possessed the twist serve, backing this up with steady ground strokes and volleys. In 1899, Davis won the Intercollegiate and

US National Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Con ...

Doubles Championships with Ward. *

Holcombe Ward Holcombe Ward (November 23, 1878 – January 23, 1967) was an American tennis player who was active during the last years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. He won the U.S. National Championships singles title in 1904 and add ...

: A right-hander and credited with originating the twist serve. He won the Intercollegiate and US National Doubles Championships with Davis in 1899. * Malcolm Whitman: A right-hander who appeared in the quarterfinals of the 1896 and 1897 US National Championships and won in 1898, defeating Dwight F. Davis in the all-comers final and receiving the title because 1897 champion

Robert Wrenn Robert Duffield Wrenn (September 20, 1873 – November 12, 1925) was an American left-handed tennis player, four-time U.S. singles championship winner, and one of the first inductees in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Biography Wrenn ...

was fighting in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

. Prior to the Challenge he had placed in the U.S. Top 10 three times, and was ranked No. 1 in 1898 and 1899.

British Isles

Ernest Black Ernest Douglas Black (date of birth unknown-1931; also credited as "Edmund D. Black") was a British tennis player active in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Tennis career Black reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. National Champ ...

* Arthur Gore: A right-hander who appeared in the semifinals of the 1898 Wimbledon Championships, the Challenge Round of the 1899 Championships – losing to Reginald Doherty – and the all-comers final of the 1900 Championships, losing to

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801 ...

. * Herbert Roper Barrett: A right-hander who appeared in the semifinals of the 1899 Wimbledon Championships and the quarterfinals of the 1900 Championships. He also teamed with Harold Nisbet to reach the Challenge Round in the doubles at the latter Championships, losing to

Laurence Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...

and Reginald Doherty.

Result

United States vs. British Isles

References

External links

Davis Cup official website
{{Davis Cup Davis Cups by year International Lawn Tennis Challenge International Lawn Tennis Challenge 1900 in sports in Massachusetts 1900s in Boston August 1900 sports events Sports competitions in Boston Tennis tournaments in Massachusetts