ABSTRACT
In the late Victorian era, magazines and newspapers were the primary means through which information about lawn tennis was disseminated. First published in 1853, The Field occupied a primary position in Britain as an informative periodical aimed at upper-/upper-middle-class field-sport enthusiasts. The Field took an active interest in lawn tennis as a new sport from March 1874, entertaining debates and discussions about: the shape of the court, the advantages/disadvantages of different types of balls (e.g. cloth-covered vs. non-cloth-covered), the legality and sportsmanship of the volley and hard serving and the question of handicapping. Thus, The Field played an important role in the standardization of rules for lawn tennis, helping to advertise a gathering at the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1875 to test out various versions, before notifying its readers of the results (Lake 2015). Ultimately, Major Wingfield’s original rules were adopted, much to the inventor’s satisfaction, but two years later, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) devised an entirely new set of rules, led by Henry “Cavendish” Jones, Julian Marshall and C.G. Heathcote, for its inaugural Wimbledon Championships in 1877. 1 Editor of The Field, J.H. Walsh, donated the trophy for the Gentleman’s singles event.
