Gouache illustration of Newport Casino
Illustration from Grass Tennis (Dagda Media)

Great grass clubs · United States

Newport Casino

Home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame · Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island, United States · Members club

No. 5, World's Greatest Grass Clubs No. 3, Innovative Grass Clubs Davis Cup or BJK Cup grass venue
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GRASS TENNIS CLUB ★ ★ ★ NO. 5 WORLD'SGREATESTGRASS CLUBS

No. 5, World's Greatest Grass Clubs

Site of the first US National Championship (1881). The only ATP tournament on American grass.

Scores out of 10: Surface Excellence 8, Historical Pedigree 10, Tournament Credentials 9, Scale & Facilities 8, Prestige & Exclusivity 9, Ecosystem Contribution 9.

See the World's Greatest Grass Clubs
GRASS TENNIS CLUB ★ ★ ★ NO. 3 INNOVATIVEGRASS CLUBS

No. 3, Innovative Grass Clubs

History that people can still play on

Primary driver: Programming, Profile & Participation

Read the full ranking and our reasoning

Where American championship tennis began, and where anyone can still book a grass court.

Facts

Location
Newport, Rhode Island
Opened
1880; architects McKim, Mead & White
Grass courts
13, renovated in 2020
Visitors
Courts bookable by the public, May to October; whites required
On the grass
US National Championships 1881 to 1914; the Hall of Fame Open each July
Season
Members
Address
194 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, 02840, United States
Competitive grass
2 Davis Cup or BJK Cup ties, latest 2020

Why it is special

Newport is where American lawn tennis became a championship. The Casino was commissioned by the newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett Jr. as a summer club for the resort’s society, and was among the first major works of McKim, Mead & White. In August 1881 the new United States National Lawn Tennis Association held its first championships on these lawns. Richard Sears won the first of seven straight titles, and the event stayed until 1914 before moving to Forest Hills. It is now the US Open.

When the buildings declined after the Second World War, James and Candy Van Alen saved them, and in 1954 founded the Hall of Fame inside them. Van Alen also tried out his streamlined scoring here, which gave the game the tie-break.

Today the Casino is a landmark, a museum and a working club at once. Its thirteen grass courts are played in whites, and visitors can book one in season, which few historic grass venues allow. Each July it still stages professional tennis on grass.

Champions here, 2015 to 2024

Year Men's singles
2015 Rajeev Ram
2016 Ivo Karlović
2017 John Isner
2018 Steve Johnson
2019 John Isner
2020 Not held
2021 Kevin Anderson
2022 Maxime Cressy
2023 Adrian Mannarino
2024 Marcos Giron

Every champion on the roll: Newport, Rhode Island

About the club

The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, was the site of the first U.S. National Championships in 1881. Its 13 grass courts are described as the only competitive grass courts in the United States open for public use.

Instruction is given by USPTA and PTR certified professionals, with camps for juniors and adults and daily clinics, and the venue stages several USTA grass court championships. Newport has staged Davis Cup ties on grass between the United States and Spain in the World Group in 1991 and between New Zealand and South Korea in World Group I in 2021.

More grass tennis in Rhode Island

International Tennis Hall of Fame is one of 22 clubs in the Grass Court Atlas for the United States.

Official website: International Tennis Hall of Fame

Competitive grass record

Dated proof the grass was in match play
Date Competition Tie Result Source
17–18 September 2021 Davis Cup, World Group I New Zealand v South Korea 1–3 Wikipedia
14–16 June 1991 Davis Cup, World Group United States v Spain 4–1 Wikipedia

Photographs

Courts at Newport – International Tennis Hall of Fame Members see 1 more
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