Back to Newport

Every old, famous tennis club has its Fred Perry statue. The Both the AELTC and the Newport Casino, home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, have theirs at the entrances, but in different poses.

While the grass at the AELTC began its “rest,” said famed English tennis player and commentator, Andrew Castle, the natural turf at the Newport Casino, home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) was ready to go just a week after Wimbledon finished.

Tennis has been a part of Newport's history since 1881, and Marcos Giron — just like the ITHF — is proving age is just a number. The American, 30, played the best tennis of his career to win his first ATP Tour title, defeating #NextGenATP countryman Alex Michelsen 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 to take home the Infosys Hall of Fame Open cup. Giron saved match point with an ace at 4-5, 30/40 in the deciding set and clinched victory with his 13th ace of the match.

“Better late than never. We'll take it!” Giron said with a laugh. The former USTA standout who underwent two hip surgeries in two years conquered Michelson, 19, who was on his way to become the youngest American ATP Tour champion (and first teenager) since Andy Roddick in Houston in 2002. In the past week, the teen won eight straight games to defeat countryman-on-the-comeback, Reilly Opelka, 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday, while Giron ended fan favorite Christopher Eubanks’ dreams of winning a second tour-level event and return to the Top 100.

Marcos Giron finishes a slice backhand on a final point to take the 2024 Infosys Hall of Fame Open on Sunday. It was the 30-year-old’s first ATP title — an achievement gained during one of the most competitive draws in years.

Also on the grounds of Newport, Leander Paes became the inaugural Hall of Famer from India, Vijay Amritraj, also from India, earned his moment in Newport Casino as the first Asian man inducted as a contributor. Paes’ stunning career, which spans 30 years, includes a record seven Olympic Games and the 51-year-old also seized eight men's doubles Grand Slam championships. His bronze medal triumph at the Atlanta Games in 1996 remains India’s only tennis medal at the Olympics. “After three decades of passion for our sport and representing more than a billion Indians in the Olympics, the Grand Slams and Davis Cup, I am thrilled and humbled that my hard work has been recognized,” Paes, 50, told the Indian magazine Sportstar. “It is a bit tough to run with me sometimes because of how hard I work or the hours that I can put in, but… I have no problems failing once or a hundred times because on the millionth try, I will succeed… And, I think sometimes that is how winning is done, right?” Paes won 18 Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles.

Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj share a laugh following their induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame — Paes as a player and Armitraj as a contributor. Paes attended Armitraj’s academy as a promising junior.

As a youngster, Amritraj never dreamt of paving the way India to gain recognition in international tennis after struggling with lung problems as a child. “You're lying in a hospital bed, and your mother's telling you you're going to be the best tennis player India's ever had and you're going to be playing around the world, and Indians all over the world are going to come and watch you play,” Amritraj recalled. “… it was a mother's strength and belief that was embedded in me. So then when it finally happens, and you have something like this accolade to be bestowed on you, the whole life from seven to 70 just kind of flashed before me, and everything that I did.”

A four-time singles quarter-finalist at the Grand Slam tournaments, Amritraj led India to two Davis Cup finals with his brother, Anand Amritraj. He is the uncle of Stephen Amritraj, another well-regarded former Indian player. “It’s a very, very proud moment for all Indians across the world,” Paes said of Amritraj. “(He has) been a beacon of inspiration to every young kid in India, how with hard work and passion you can become a champion.”

“I feel that it's been a very close relationship between me and the country and the people,” Amritraj said of India. “The 30 million or so people who live overseas that have made an impact on the world and where India is today.”

The very first grass court at the Newport Casino, once home to the U.S. Open.

The ITHF has also aimed to have more of a splash across tennis by announcing changes for its annual tournament beginning in July 2025. The Hall of Fame Open will become the first combined men’s and women’s 125-level event in the United States. Equal prize money will be awarded to both the men’s and women’s draws. Scheduled for July 6-13, 2025, the Hall of Fame Open will become just the second combined men’s and women’s 125 level event in the United States. It will be the only grass court stop on the Hologic WTA Tour outside of Europe, and the first women’s professional tournament at the ITHF since the Virginia Slims of Newport concluded in 1990. Equal prize money will be awarded to both the men’s and women’s draws. 

It has been a move in the works since the just after the pandemic. In 2022, the Hall of Fame launched “Tennis Forever,” a $12 million capital campaign to not only enhance its in-house collection and digital reach, but also to support restoration of its 19th-century home, including its 140-year-old grass courts. But the ITHF also has its eye on expanding some innovative campaigns, including the popular Roger Federer hologram, as well as some key acquisitions, including Roger’s outfit from his last Laver Cup, Aryna Sabalenka and Jannick Sinner’s outfits from the 2024 Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty’s black-and-white Fila print dress from her last Grand Slam and Coco Gauff’s US Open New Balance shoes.

A technology of the tennis racquet display at the International Tennis Hall of Fame museum.

These are all helping prepare for “a lot of folks coming our way in the next 20 years,” according to  Julianna Barbieri, the senior VP of content and partnerships. “Our waiting term for induction is five years, and so we will have to be ready for Roger, Rafa (maybe), Andy (another maybe) Serena and all the others we have watched and loved in the last 20 years and who have made their incredible imprints on this sport.”

Things we like: US Open Fan Week at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds, free and open to the public with a dynamic lineup of featured events anchored by the US Open Qualifying Tournament.

Things we think need improvement: American players presence at the Olympics. Madison Keys, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe decided not to play in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, electing to play the Citi Open in Washington, DC instead.

Are memories not created at the Olympics, some other tennis players wonder aloud?

Recommendations: Watching Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, and Emma Navarro in women's singles, and Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Chris Eubanks, and Marcos Giron in men's singles during the 2024 Paris Olympics, which start next weekend.