6 Women’s Tennis Facts You’ll Wish You’d Known Sooner

The Richest Match in History Was Played at a Hotel

In 1926, tennis superstars Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills faced off in what was called “the match of the century”—played on a tennis court at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes . Tickets sold out in hours at astronomical prices, and among the 4,000 spectators were kings, princes, dukes, and even a maharaja . Lenglen won after 59 minutes, then promptly retired from amateur tennis a few months later . Not bad for a hotel exhibition match.