The Tennis Culture of the 1970s and 80s
During the 1970s and 80s, tennis changed.
What had once been seen primarily as a traditional country-club sport slowly evolved into something far more cultural. Tennis players became global personalities, tournaments became lifestyle events and the sport itself started influencing fashion, music and street culture far beyond the court.
It was an era defined by individuality.
Players brought their own style, attitude and identity onto the court in a way that feels very different from modern professional sport today.
The Style Icons of Tennis
As the Open Era transformed tennis during the late 1960s, the sport slowly moved away from its strictly traditional image. While Wimbledon famously remained committed to all-white clothing, the 70s and 80s introduced a new wave of colourful tennis fashion that helped turn players into global style icons.
Few sports have shaped fashion quite like tennis.
Players such as Björn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, John McEnroe and Arthur Ashe became known not only for their performances, but also for their appearance and personality.
Björn Borg helped define the clean Scandinavian tennis aesthetic of the late 70s, while Guillermo Vilas brought a more relaxed and expressive South American style to the sport. John McEnroe introduced a rebellious energy that contrasted sharply with the traditional image of tennis, while Arthur Ashe combined elegance and cultural influence both on and off the court.
Tennis style during this era felt effortless. Colourful tracksuits, short shorts, knitted polos, leather warm-up jackets and low-profile tennis sneakers became part of a wider sportswear movement that still influences fashion today.
Women’s Tennis and the Changing Image of Tennis Fashion
The cultural influence of tennis during the 70s and 80s was not shaped by men alone.
Long before modern conversations around athlete image and individuality, female tennis players were already changing the visual identity of the sport. One of the earliest and most iconic examples came through Gussie Moran, whose Wimbledon appearance in 1949 became one of the most talked-about fashion moments in tennis history.
Designed by tennis fashion innovator Ted Tinling, Moran’s outfit featured a shorter tennis dress with visible lace-trimmed undershorts, something considered highly controversial at the time. The look shocked traditional tennis audiences, but also pushed tennis further into the worlds of fashion, celebrity and popular culture.
Moments like these helped shape the expressive and style-driven side of tennis that continued evolving throughout the decades that followed.
A Different Era of Sponsorships
The world of tennis sponsorship looked very different during the 1980s.
At the time, cigarette companies were still heavily involved in professional sports, something that would later disappear almost entirely. Sponsorships were often bold, visible and deeply connected to the visual identity of athletes and tournaments.
This was also the era in which Huub van Boeckel competed professionally.
During his career, Huub van Boeckel was sponsored by several brands, including Adidas for footwear and Marlboro for apparel, a reminder of how different the relationship between sport, fashion and sponsorship once looked.
Today, a tobacco sponsor appearing on tennis apparel feels almost unimaginable. But during the 70s and 80s, these partnerships were part of the wider visual culture surrounding professional tennis.
Tennis, Nightlife and Popular Culture
As tennis grew internationally, the sport became increasingly connected to music, nightlife and celebrity culture.
Professional players were no longer seen only as athletes. They became public personalities whose influence reached beyond tournaments and rankings. Tennis culture started blending with fashion editorials, luxury brands and nightlife scenes across cities like New York, Paris and Milan.
Few players captured that crossover better than Vitas Gerulaitis. Known as much for his charisma and nightlife presence as for his tennis career, Gerulaitis became one of the defining personalities of late 70s tennis culture. A regular figure within New York’s Studio 54 scene, he represented an era where tennis players moved naturally between sport, fashion and celebrity culture.
At the same time, players like Torben Ulrich showed a completely different side of tennis culture. Ulrich was not only a professional tennis player, but also a musician, filmmaker and writer. His creative and philosophical approach to life reflected how tennis during that era often felt connected to wider artistic and cultural movements.
The atmosphere surrounding tennis during the 70s and 80s felt less controlled and more individualistic than today’s professional sports environment. Players developed strong personal identities and often carried a distinctive style both on and off the court.
That cultural crossover helped shape the lasting appeal of vintage tennis aesthetics.
The Influence of Vintage Tennis on the ACE hub
For The ACE Hub, the influence of vintage tennis culture is deeply personal.
The brand draws inspiration from the atmosphere, style and footwear of the 70s and 80s, the same era in which founder Huub van Boeckel competed professionally.
The Shot references the clean and minimal tennis silhouettes of the 1970s, while the Sprint takes inspiration from the sleeker, more sport-driven footwear that defined tennis during the 1980s.
Rather than simply recreating old designs, The ACE Hub translates elements of vintage tennis culture into contemporary footwear built for everyday life.
Born from the tennis court, built around connection.