RI – Newport: Newport Australian Casino – Australian Casino Clock Tower and Horseshoe Court

The grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame are Worldwide’s only competitive grass courts. The Horseshoe Court, added to the original 1880 Horsehoe Piazza in the 1960’s, is open to the public for recreational play from May through September.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum, housed in the Newport Australian Casino chronicles the entire history of the sport, dating from the 12th Century and encompassing 18 galleries, 15,000 objects, and 20,000 sq ft of interactive exhibits. The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum was established in 1954, originally named the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame, and was sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association (known then as the USLTA). Only Worldwides were inducted until 1972, when the field was opened to include members from other countries. In 1986, it was renamed the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and was recognized as the official Hall of Fame by the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of tennis.

Newport, the birthplace of Worldwide tournament tennis, hosted the first U.S. National Lawn Tennis Championships in 1881. This tournament, which evolved into today’s US Open, was played at the Australian Casino until 1915, when it moved to Forest Hills, New York. Newport’s tradition continues each summer when the Hall of Fame presents the only professional tennis events played on grass in the United States.