While Bermuda has been a sponsor of the US Open Tennis Championships over the years, there has been little to no coverage of the history of the island’s role in the evolution of the game of tennis. I have yet to see a fully articulated account of how, specifically, the Outerbridge family and tennis are intertwined in history.

There’s an old saying: “Bermuda is a group of islands joined by Outerbridges”.

The Outerbridge family have a deep island history spanning more than 400 years. And, as almost all Bermudian families know, there is likely an Outerbridge lurking somewhere in their family tree. It follows, therefore, that this is part of our collective history.

The modern game of tennis as we know it today is an adaptation of the traditional and complicated court tennis favoured by the likes of Henry VIII, but its roots go much farther back in time. It was only modernised to its existing format when an English army officer, Major Walter Wingfield, created this new version of the game in 1873. It soon caught on and flourished throughout Europe before being introduced to Bermuda two years later through some of Major Wingfield’s fellow officers in service on the island.

Since many of the officers stationed in Bermuda were single gentlemen, they invited local ladies to participate and enjoy this new game under the guise of a civilised tea and sporting event. But it could be more accurately described as a way to socialise and meet suitable young ladies on the island.

Mary Ewing Outerbridge was one such single young lady of standing, paying a visit from the United States to her local Bermudian family. She was cordially invited to participate.

It is now well known in both Bermuda and the tennis world that Mary Ewing Outerbridge brought the first tennis equipment to America from Bermuda in 1875 — the very same year it was introduced to Bermuda. In witness, at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, visitors are greeted with a life-size cut-out of a woman in period tennis attire, with a placard that states tennis was indeed introduced by this lady of Bermudian heritage.

It was while visiting her grandfather, Alexander Outerbridge — namesakes of my grandfather, uncle, first cousin and brother — that Mary Outerbridge was invited to a well-known Bermudian home owned by the Grey family known as “Clermont”, to enjoy this newly minted sport being introduced by these dashing young English army officers. However, many proper gentlemen of the time felt the idea of women sweating was completely inappropriate. Nevertheless, Outerbridge was quickly swept up by this new game, and decided she would bring a set of tennis equipment back to Staten Island where her family now resided, and would introduce this new sport to her American friends.

Unfortunately, Outerbridge’s passage back to the US did not come without its complications. US Customs tried to reject the importation. It deemed the tennis nets were fishing equipment that were both unlawful and illegal to use at that time, and duly confiscated them. Luckily her brother, Eugenius Outerbridge, the first chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, used his influence to resolve the matter.

This tennis equipment was subsequently set up on Staten Island at the Outerbridges’ local club, where the first game of lawn tennis was played in the US. (Richmond County Country Club was established 1888 and is still the only private country club in New York City. Eugenius Outerbridge served as secretary to the board.) It was only five years after introduction that tennis was spreading like wildfire and being played at more than 30 clubs, mostly on the eastern seaboard, with each club adopting its own variation of the rules.

Inevitably, in 1880, these variations came into conflict when two Boston players, James Dwight and Richard Sears, of the Beacon Park Athletic Association, were invited to play at RCCC where Eugenius Outerbridge was still serving as secretary. A furore followed as the visiting clubs had adopted the All-England Club rules, while their hosts adopted their own version of rules that included a far smaller ball and a much higher net. They cried foul and conflict ensued.

While their protest was not accepted at the tournament, the visiting club complained until it reached Eugenius Outerbridge’s attention. He agreed with the visiting clubs’ complaints and proposed that for the greater good of the sport, standard rules should be applied for all clubs and tournaments.

Then on May 5, 1881, a notice was published in the American Cricketeer signed by Outerbridge, Dwight and Clarence Clark, who represented the Philadelphia Lawn Tennis Committee, inviting all clubs to participate in a meeting that would standardise rules and regulations to both govern the game throughout the United States and promote the best interest of the sport.

After this advertisement, more than 30 club representatives including Outerbridge from six states attended a meeting held in New York City to determine the game’s future. At that meeting, they agreed to form an association — one that ultimately evolved into what is now the United States Tennis Association — adopt the All-England Club Rules for one year, and to host an annual tournament. This tournament is the one that we have come know today as the US Open.

Coincidentally, my father-in-law, George Augustus Vaughn, was born on Staten Island and his family were members of the RCCC. As a child he remembers the portraits of several Outerbridge club presidents adorning the walls of this venerable club, now revered as the founding club of American tennis.

George Vaughn is also a significant contributor to and innovator of the tennis industry (Tennis Channel produced a video segment on his accomplishments that was aired during the 2023 US Open). He and his partner, Dick Hargrave, were co-founders of the Maark Corporation, the company that transformed tennis racquets from wood to aluminum, producing legendary racquets for Prince and Head, including the iconic Head Master and Red Head.

Head sponsored the legendary Arthur Ashe to play and win with Maark’s new concepts that were revolutionising the game. Vaughn often told me how Ashe was fascinated with their new ideas and would show up at their New Jersey factory just to see what they were up to.

In the 1970s, Vaughn sat on the board of the Tennis Hall of Fame and was tasked by his fellow board members with trying to find a photograph of the elusive mother of American tennis, Mary Ewing Outerbridge, through both his Staten Island connections and local Bermuda sources, as he had a holiday home on the island.

Family members are now exploring the idea of creating a Mary Ewing Outerbridge Memorial Cup, awarded to the most accomplished female player each year. We are forming a committee to assist in looking for the type of US sponsor who could realise this dream.

That tennis was brought to America by a forward-thinking woman deserves recognition in and of itself. I raise my cup to Mary Outerbridge for her contribution to what has become a popular global sport that embraces all, representing people, cultures and countries without bias — something we can all be proud of as Bermudians.