Abstrakt
In the Czech countries - the countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, within the former Czechoslovakia - tennis is historically one of the most popular sports. At the top level, it has produced a number of Grand Slam winners.
Simultaneously, it maintained high numbers of registered players. However, as is the case in many areas of Czech society and culture throughout the whole 20th century, it was heavily afflicted by the political context and changes.
Against this backdrop, this chapter provides a socio-historical account of the role and position of tennis in the Czech countries since its introduction in the 19th century until today, with a particular focus on the development of tennis before and after the 'Velvet Revolution' in 1989. We pay attention to symbolic struggles over the definition and meaning of tennis in sporting, political, economic and social arenas.
First, we briefly outline the roots of tennis in Czech countries. Next, we focus on the development of tennis in the socialist regime and explore its socio-cultural nature established and maintained behind the official label of tennis as a 'bourgeois' sport.
We explain that notwithstanding symbolic marginalization of tennis, the centralized sport policy and systematic support of youth sport together with massive sport volunteering resulted in numerous international successes. The 'Velvet Revolution' in 1989 brought fundamental transformations with the inflow of private funding.
Tennis movement experienced struggles between former and newly established tennis officials, with the latter group distinguishing itself from the 'old socialist order'.