Tennis has had a number of figures involved in key social issues in the 20th and 21st century.  Arthur Ashe’s stance on both Civil Rights and the HIV/AIDS crisis come to mind along with Billie Jean King’s pursuit of equal prize money for women.  Venus Williams has been lauded as the successor to King’s drive…

In 1999 I visited the International Tennis Hall of Fame twice due to living in Providence, Rhose Island.  Getting to Newport was fairly easy despite not having a car as Rhode Island has a good public transportation system that serves the whole state (being small has its advantages).  I visited again in 2008 after a…