The "Women of Tennis" Calendars, Now and Then
A look back at how the WTA wanted to be seen on the world's walls decades ago.
With nearly all tennis personnel now safely evacuated from the United Arab Emirates1, I wanted to circle back to a small news item from the beginning of the week which mostly got buried by bigger headlines.
The WTA announced that the WTA 250 Cleveland tournament, which had been held each August between ATP-WTA 1000 Cincinnati and the U.S. Open in New York in a nice bit of geographic flow, would be relocating to Memphis this summer, and from an August start to a July start. I’d heard this Ohio-to-Tennessee move was coming, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that this event would now be the same week as ATP-WTA 500 Washington.
This puts two normal WTA tournaments in the same week in the same country, something which never happens in the 2026 ATP calendar, and only happens at one2 other spot on the WTA calendar: when both Adelaide and Hobart logically host tournaments in the week before the Australian Open, a time slot which is geographically convenient to few other countries.
I had wrongly assumed, because it would’ve been logical, that the Memphis event land be the week before Washington. That would have constructively built another week onto the North American hardcourt swing—the stretch once known as the U.S. Open Series during an ESPN-USTA promotional campaign that ran from 2004 to 2016.
Instead, the tour will still remain in Europe for two fallow weeks after Wimbledon, and will be diluted across two events once it hits American shores. And now the only place for players to play between Cincinnati and the U.S. Open is at WTA 500 Monterey, a detour which has attracted weak fields in recent years.
The most surprising bit of this: when I messaged ATP-WTA 500 Washington’s owner Mark Ein about the new-look WTA calendar, he said that day, Monday, was the first day he’d heard anything from the WTA about the change to his event’s week of the calendar. Tennis could, as often, be better.
Now for something considerably more fun, I hope: this talk of the WTA calendar reminded me that I had not yet shared one of my more exciting acquisitions in recent months.
I’d read a suggestion late last year that, for those looking for an interesting twist on buying a new 2026 calendar, they could consider vintage options from specific past years which would have dates that lined up with the 2026 cycle. For this 2026, aligned calendars included 1953, 1959, 1970, 1981, 1987, 1998, 2009, and 2015.
So I went looking on eBay, and found a few intriguing options. The most enticing, by far, was from 1987. And since the seller insisted on selling his collection as a complete set of five, I wound up with five glorious editions of a tennis time capsule: the 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 editions of the WTA’s long-defunct “Women of Tennis” calendar.
Nothing like these has existed during my tennis consciousness, so I was fascinated to see how the sport was presenting itself back then. The 1988 calendar gave a bit of a mission statement behind the calendar itself before getting to the January action, which might be helpful to understand this project:
“The WITA Player/Members have always taken a distinctive style and grace by virtue of their presence on the tennis courts. No other sport, as Ted Tinling steadfastly extols, offers such a combination of athleticism, art and ballet as does women’s professional tennis. By turning the pages of this calendar, you will see that the players’ effortless grace is not limited to the tennis court.”
Within the pages there were winners and unforced errors aplenty, so let’s page through some of the highlights in chronological order.
1986
I believe this was the second time the WTA had made such a calendar, but 1986 is the earliest in my collection, and the first of three with Martina Navratilova on the cover. She was the only player in this version, it seems, who was shot in an indoor studio.
Here’s a full-length look at how the calendar looked in this edition:
Carling Bassett of Canada was featured for January both in the main picture and in an on-court action shot in an inset below, as well as her answers to various survey questions about her favorite things (and her height and weight).
This calendar also lists which tournaments were being held that week, a genuinely useful bit of information for tennis fans in 1986. Notice something about those events? Not only did there used to be far more stateside tournaments in women’s tennis, 1986 was the last January without an Australian Open. The event had been held in Decembers before then, and would switch to January in 1987.
The two elder Maleeva sisters, in complementary sweater vests, shared the March spot. The calendars had a fascination with sisters, including two other more obscure sets—the Reinachs of South Africa and the Minters of Australia—in later editions.
Many probably associate calendars with pin-up images, but lots of the players in the WTA’s calendars stayed remarkably covered up, like Marcella Mesker channeling Robert Palmer on her beach shoot.
And maybe it was just really, really cold during these shoots. The obvious tell? Peanut Louie, posing in front of an ominously unidentified man, was one of a few players who were walking on a sandy beach while wearing closed-toe pantyhose:
Leslie Allen, who had made history earlier that decade as the first Black woman to win a tour-level tournament, was one of the players I messaged upon spotting as I flipped through the calendars.
“The calendar thing was odd,” Allen recalled after some initial shock at seeing herself from 40 years earlier. “I wanted to be seen as a serious athlete; posing for the calendar felt counterintuitive. And the clothing choices were often tragic—I did not pick that old White lady look! Plus the production staff was not experienced in lighting and makeup up for my skin tone, which made for a more complicated shoot.”
“Even though it was the 80s, some of the outfits were just wrong!” Allen continued. “I was very fit and in my 20s; surely there was something more age appropriate that would have been fabulous to wear. I wouldn’t even wear that selection now!”
Someone who was known for some of the most form-fitting fashions in tennis history was on the next page: Anne White, who had gained tennis fame/infamy for wearing a full-body catsuit at Wimbledon a year earlier, was given the honor of the Wimbledon spot in the calendar the next July.
Chris Evert, carrying her heels so she too could feel the sand between her pantyhosed toes.
Annabel Croft, now famous as Wimbledon’s master of ceremonies during trophy presentations, kept her eyes closed in zebra.
1987
Chrissie’s turn on the cover, channeling Princess Diana of the day (or was Diana channeling Chrissie?).
It often seemed like Martina’s shoots got a bigger budget than everyone else’s; February 1987 was no exception.
Zina Garrison making her one appearance in my quintet of calendars.
One of the most visually striking color palettes, when Hana Mandlikova dressed to match the azaleas.
I would have been at sea, fittingly, if asked to identify this player without a caption. (It’s Catherine Suire, a Swiss doubles specialist of the day).
Anne White, smoldering with a focused intensity to show that she deserves these rare back-to-back appearances in the calendars.
Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, looking very 80s even by the standards of this project.
Gabriela Sabatini, making her first appearance in a photoshoot that would’ve happened when she was just 16.
Stephanie Rehe also making it very clear what decade she’s in, in a top that makes her look incredibly tall.
1988
It was Martina’s turn on the cover, this time showing her love of another sport during her time in Aspen. It’s nearly unthinkable nowadays that a No. 1 would go skiing and risk injury in the middle of their career, but those were different days.
Fittingly, 1988 opens with the player most associated with that year: Steffi Graf, who would sweep all four majors and Olympic tennis to win an ultra-rare “Golden Slam.”
The 1988 calendar also reached an information high point for these calendars: in addition to information about the featured and ongoing tournaments, each month featured player birthdays and fun facts about the featured player’s home country. Thanks to this calendar, I now know that West Germany was “a major exporter of transport equipment and machinery.”
Hana Mandlikova, again excelling at color-matching her surroundings.
Like her rival cover girl Martina did this year, Chrissie also had an Aspen photo shoot for 1988, but featuring the less snow-specific sport of jogging.
Puerto Rico’s Gigi Fernandez, looking decidedly more Hawaiian.
Australia’s Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, looking decidedly more Texan.
Wendy White, who would want wheels instead of a racquet, apparently.
Carling Bassett, whose haircare might’ve been contributing to that 80s-era hole in the ozone layer.
Raffaella Reggi, who brought her bike to be more environmentally friendly.
But nobody had bigger wheels in this calendar than Lori McNeil, who also dressed to match her enormous tricycle.
1989
Chrissie’s final year on tour, and her final year as a calendar cover girl. This year featured a big step up in the quality of photography and lighting, happily.
Gabriela Sabatini, getting out of a car with just a bit of leather.
This year’s calendar also featured large action shots of each player, which added to the visual appeal but made the calendar nearly useless if anyone planned on using it to keep track of appointments and what not.
Sweden’s Maria Lindstrom, looking ready for an aerobics class on the set of Tron.
One of my favorite photos of the whole set: three Soviet players—Natalia Bykova, Natalia Zvereva, Leila Meskhi—posed in front of a bust of Lenin. Why not? The three tennis balls visible will also become a motif.
An acid-washed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, presciently appearing for the month where she’d begin her first major-winning run at the 1989 French Open.
Michelle Torres, also very much of the 80s.
Steffi Graf, and another can’s worth of tennis balls.
I had been waiting for Pam Shriver to turn up and she did not disappoint. Surely this is what everyone wore back then to peruse the Rare Books room?
Future USTA executive Katrina Adams, looking ready for a red carpet somewhere.
Maybe my favorite shot from the whole collection: Jana Novotna looking ready to ride onto the set of a Mad Max movie, with a few tennis balls on her front tire just in case.
Martina again gets the biggest production—including extras—hosting a dinner party for legends of women’s tennis past with tennis balls in each place setting. Place cards include Maureen [Connolly], Billie Jean [King], Chrissie [Evert], Suzanne [Lenglen], Margaret [Court], Virginia [Wade], and Alice [Marble].
1990
The final of the five calendars features Martina on the cover once more; she’d win her final major singles title at Wimbledon that year. She wasn’t done yet on court or off, also showing up before January with a note and a photo of herself ready for some very pink scuba diving.
Chris Evert had retired before the 1990 season, but she was still posed and ready for a board meeting somewhere.
Helena Sukova was more ready for denim.
Mary Joe Fernandez, making sure you know she’s from Miami despite doing an indoor shoot.
Brenda Schultz, in one of the collection’s more confusing outfits. (The Dutch flag below her was so confused that it turned itself upside-down.)
Robin White, ready to play 18.
Pam Shriver, power-posing in pink.
Jill Hetherington, looking ready to give a tour of the governor’s mansion.
And last but not least, Liz Smylie, whose son Elvis has been winning on the Saudi golf scene lately.
Different Bounces fare than the usual, but I hope folks enjoyed it! Would you like to see the WTA (or ATP) bring back calendars? And if so, who would you like to see doing what?
Thanks for reading and supporting Bounces this year and every year! -Ben
Holger Rune and his team might still be stranded in Qatar, where he was doing a training and rehab block, per the latest reports in Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.
United Cup is not counted as a “normal” ATP-WTA event for this purpose, and Bounces does not count Hong Kong as the same country as China. ☂️
Ben, this is brilliant. And your descriptions are perfect. The 80s were crazy and we had no idea.
Fantastic, Ben! Thank you!