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Wightman Cup

Hoping to stimulate international interest in women’s tennis as the Davis Cup did in men’s, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, an all-time champion from Boston, donated a sterling vase to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association as a prize for such a team competition. It was decided to invite Great Britain to challenge for the prize in 1923 to open the new Forest Hills Stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in New York. With Mrs. Wightman as player-captain, the U.S. won the inaugural, 7-0. The rivalry was rewarding to both countries and initially developed into a close competition, an annual match between the two with the prize soon known as the Wightman Cup. The matches were played in even years in Britain and in odd years in the United States.