Long before Pilates studios and run clubs, the tennis court served as a space for women to gather, move and connect. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tennis clubs were among the few socially acceptable spaces for women to be both physically active and socially visible. “Tennis is one of the very few global sports in which women and men compete on the same stage, earn equal prize money and have equal exposure,” says Rebecca McDonald, Head of National Programs at Tennis Australia.