Behind the birth of women’s pro tennis: From Houston’s courts to global change

Fifty-five years ago this week, Rosie Casals defeated Judy Dalton 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 in the final of the Virginia Slims Invitational -- the groundbreaking event at the Houston Racquet Club (HRC) that represents the birth of women’s professional tennis as fans enjoy it today.

While Casals took home the champion’s paycheck of $1,600, it was a victory shared with her fellow Original 9 renegades as well as Gladys Heldman, the fierce entrepreneur who found the players the stage they needed to take on the sport’s sexist establishment.

None of it happened in isolation, of course. Heldman had only recently moved to Houston, where she was able to lobby the support of key allies -- including men like Jim Hight, president-elect of the Texas Lawn Tennis Association, and Paul Pearce, executive director of the Houston Tennis Association.

As the event came together, Delores Hornberger, president of the Women’s Association at the HRC, proved to be another pivotal figure as she rallied the club’s affluent members to sell tickets and organize pro-ams and cocktail parties on the sidelines of the action.

In short, it took the proverbial village to change the sport of tennis forever. Along with a small army of volunteers, the event provided life-defining opportunities for young professionals as well, including a couple of young women keen to build media careers in the male-dominated sports arena.

Terry St John, a journalism graduate from the University of Texas in Austin, was already contracted to produce membership newsletters for the HRC when the tennis circus rolled into town. Suddenly, she found herself tasked with running media operations for a professional tournament featuring some of the game’s biggest stars.

She was, she admits, very green at the time, inexperienced when it came to media relations. She mostly worked on publications for the oil and gas industry up to that point.

“Gladys and the players holding up the dollar bills was the very first press conference I managed,” St John said. “But I was fortunate to have a couple of good mentors, including the general manager of one of the city’s radio stations, who guided me.”

She added: “I’d heard of Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals, but I was not at all knowledgeable about tennis politics. Gladys and the players were down in the basement negotiating, and I was afraid I was going to lose my media! I think I went down there three times, knocking on the door.

“Get up here and speak to the media! Tell them your story!”

Eventually, the players emerged at 3 p.m. and held the symbolic banknotes aloft. Half an hour later, Casals and Valerie Ziegenfuss were on court, playing the first match of an uncertain future.

“We had a good turnout at the photo call -- I think all but one TV station was present,” St John said. “I know one of the TV reporters didn’t show, because he didn’t realize how significant this was, and he got bawled out by his superiors. Then he bawled out me for not letting him know how important it was!”

Women were rare in sports departments at the time -- most of the media in attendance were, inevitably, male. They included representatives of the city’s two main mastheads, the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post. But St John remembers the “sports guys” as being receptive and enthusiastic, helping create the buzz that would see the event hailed a success.

The club’s members were very supportive, too, according to St John.

“The stands went up very quickly -- nothing really impressive, but there was good attendance with about 600 spectators for the final,” she said. “The tournament put the club more in the city’s mind as a pioneer and everyone enjoyed that.”

Though just getting started in the business herself, St John made sure wasn’t the only woman in the press room that week. She invited Glena Pfennig, a sports-mad young reporter and photographer from the Baytown Sun, who jumped on the chance to cover the intriguing event.

“I photographed the tourney with my twin-lens Yashica,” said Pfennig, who also owned a degree from the University of Texas, where she had played tennis in intramural competitions, in the days before Title IX opened doors for female college athletes.

“I was in awe of all the players, especially Billie Jean King. We were near the same age, so I had begun to follow her career even before she turned professional.

“And I remember there was excitement when the HRC members and guests realized their tournament was making history.”

Pfennig’s presence at the Virginia Slims Invitational was significant in itself, because it reflected a subtle shift in the gender imbalance of sports journalism that would gain momentum from the 1970s.

On a personal level, it cemented a lifelong love for the game and a career grounded in sports. As well as continuing to report on Virginia Slims and Avon Series tournaments in Texas, she covered the Battle of the Sexes at the Houston Astrodome in 1973.

Later, she was hired as the first woman in University of Houston Athletic Public Relations, promoting minor sports which, she pointed out, “included all women’s sports.” Other career highlights included the opportunity to interview Janet Guthrie, the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 in 1977.

Pfennig has twice made the pilgrimage to Wimbledon with her husband, Jon, and in recent years volunteered at the WTA 250 ATX Open in Austin. She stopped playing tennis when she turned 70 but continues to play table tennis five times a week. She has been a proud UT football ticket season holder for 60 years.

“The opportunity to be a part of such a significant moment as the Virginia Slims Invitational, and events that followed, gives me great pleasure and a feeling of accomplishment,” she said.

St John also remains actively engaged in the game, 55 years after she found herself in the Original 9’s orbit. Now in her mid-80s, she still plays when she can, and enjoys watching Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and especially Venus Williams.

“I think she’s so graceful,” said St John of the legendary former World No. 1.

After her first encounter with women’s professional tennis in September 1970, St John was hired by Heldman for subsequent stagings of the Virginia Slims event as it grew and moved to bigger venues in Houston. She also worked in the press room at the River Oaks Club where Lamar Hunt’s WCT men’s event was staged.

As she grew in professional confidence, she became actively involved in promoting women in media, becoming president of the Houston chapter of Women in Communications, Inc., which hosted a panel with renowned feminist Gloria Steinem.

Into her 70s, she was writing a weekly column for Texas Sports Nation in the Houston Chronicle. She continues to operate her own PR firm, and the Houston Tennis Association remains a client.

She reflects fondly on the opportunities that landed in Houston that summer, and the inspiring example set by Heldman and the athletes she served.

“Gladys was a dynamic woman,” St John said. “Very well organized, very decisive. Very loyal to her friends. I learned a lot from her that was helpful in my career, big and small -- even down to just fundamental things like answer your mail on the same day.”

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