ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to illuminate the peculiarities and complexities of the covert hierarchy of clubs and tournaments, and to consider the extent to which the latter's marked growth was responsible for the burgeoning professionalism notable among the nation's top male players. Tennis clubs that were keen to establish themselves sought LTA affiliation. Lowerson remarked on the importance of 'clubability' and 'hunger for space' in ensuring the immediate popularity of Victorian lawn tennis among the socially aspirational middle classes. Clubs were careful to select the right opponents, judged not necessarily by their relative playing standard but by social rank. In British first two decades, social exclusivity in lawn tennis helped to accelerate its rise to prominence, but in the early twentieth century this lingering element hindered its development. Lawn tennis was a game to the Renshaws, not a means of securing financial stability, fame or recognition.
