The first professional tennis player in the history of the sport was called Suzanne Lenglen.
Against all odds because of her status as a woman, she managed to become an Olympic champion and won 31 Grand Slam titles, twelve of them singles. She star of women's tennis between 1919 and 1926, nicknamed "the divine" by the French press, she is considered the first great diva and champion of the sport. Aware of her relevance, devastating on tracks, skillful, she decided to combine her passionate game with "daring" outfits.
A visionary, aware of the value of her figure, she negotiated with her fellow citizen, the couturier Jean Patou, to make her sportswear and in 1921 she revolutionized the women's tennis wardrobe by daring to play with bare arms and skirts slightly below the knee. Later, daring, she would venture to expose her knees by putting on shorts, claiming greater freedom of movement, marking a new milestone in the history of women's sports.
Suzanne, I wanted to attest that the women had taken to the slopes and were there to win.
The passage of time has proved them right.
Suzanne died of anemia on July 4, 1938. She was 61 years old.
