The Tennis Girl is a British

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

of a female tennis player without underwear that has become a British

pop icon A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

Creation

The photograph was taken by then-30-year-old Martin Elliott in September 1976 and features 18-year-old Fiona Butler (now Walker), his girlfriend at the time. The photo was taken at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

's tennis courts (formerly Edgbaston Lawn Tennis Club) on Edgbaston Park Road,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. The site is occupied now by the university's Tennis Court halls of residence. The dress was hand-made by Butler's friend Carol Knotts, from a

Simplicity Pattern The Simplicity Pattern Company is a manufacturer of sewing pattern guides, under the "Simplicity Pattern", "It's So Easy" and "New Look" brands. The company was founded in 1927 in New York City. During the Great Depression, Simplicity allowed home ...

with added lace trim. Knotts also supplied the tennis racquet, with all of the borrowed items later returned by Butler to Knotts after the shoot with a box of chocolates. Butler borrowed the

plimsoll shoe A plimsoll, also spelled plimsole, or pump (also known as a gym shoe or a sandshoe), is a light sports shoe with a canvas upper and flat rubber Shoe#Shoe construction, sole. The shoe originated in the United Kingdom, there called a "sand shoe ...

s from her father, whilst the tennis balls were those used as playthings by her family's pet dog.

History

The image was first published as part of a calendar by

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

for the 1977

Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

, the same year

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all fo ...

achieved the Wimbledon ladies' singles title. Athena then negotiated a licence to distribute the image as a poster, where from 1978 it achieved widespread distribution, selling over 2 million copies at £2 per poster. Although Athena went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in 1995, the picture remains a popular print. Butler, who broke up with Elliot three years later, said in retrospect that she was not embarrassed about posing, nor bitter that she did not receive any royalties from the photo. Butler (now Walker) is a mother of three, who works as a freelance illustrator in

Droitwich Spa Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. T ...

, Worcestershire. Elliott died on 24 March 2010. Knotts, now a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

living in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, put the dress and racquet up for sale at an auction on 5 July 2014, the day of the

2014 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unre ...

final. The dress was sold for £15,000, while the racquet went for between £1,000 and £2,000. The Athena Tennis Girl poster dress is now part of the Wimbledon Museum collection.

Subject doubts

In February 2015, Peter Atkinson from Marsh Gate, Cornwall, came forward to insist the photo was actually of his ex-wife, producing in evidence two items, one showing the same image and the other a close variant (seemingly taken on the same occasion), both of which were dated 1974, two years before Fiona Butler's photo shoot. Atkinson had previously made the claim, on numerous occasions, that his ex-wife was the actual model, and had done so during Elliott's lifetime. Elliott consistently denied such claims.

Parody

Over the years, the picture has been parodied by various people as diverse as former tennis star

Pat Cash Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upo ...

, singer and actress

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and comedian

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeo ...

with actor

Keith Lemon Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Keith (gamer), American professional ...

featuring his parody in his 2012 calendar. As an election promise for the 2012 Belgian elections, Milka Malfait, a 22-year-old candidate from

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

promised to publish a nude photo shoot when receiving 1,000 votes. She released a picture of herself in the Tennis Girl pose prior to the elections. In 2009, it was also parodied in the exit scene from episode 12 from the sixth series of '' Shameless'' when Lillian Tyler, a character played by

Alice Barry Alice Barry (born 1946 in Burnley, Lancashire) is an English actress and Tiktok creator. Her first regular television role was playing Peggy Hargreaves in '' Clocking Off''. She regularly appeared in '' Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights'' and '' Bob & ...

, gets up and walks towards the door after winning a game console version of tennis. The background of

Martin Rowson Martin Rowson ( ; born 15 February 1959) is a British editorial cartoonist and writer. His genre is political satire and his style is scathing and graphic. He characterises his work as "visual journalism". His cartoons appear frequently in ''The ...

's cartoon, "Don't feed the Trolls", appears to show a poster of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

as Tennis Girl. The poster is one of the recurring motifs in the season 12 premiere of the British sitcom ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom created, written by and starring Lee Mack. It has aired on BBC One since 2006 and is the second-longest-running British sitcom, behind ''Last of the Summer Wine'' (1973–2010). Th ...

''.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , last = Sheppard , first = Fergus , title = 70s poster icon is back, so anyone for Tennis Girl? , newspaper =

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

, date = 6 July 2007 , access-date = 18 January 2011 , url = http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1052912007 , url-status = dead , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071102055726/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1052912007 , archive-date = 2 November 2007 {{cite news , url = http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/tennis-poster-girl-classic-pose-3971787 , title = Tennis poster girl and her classic pose , date = 13 July 2007 , access-date = 28 June 2013 , newspaper =

Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...

{{cite news , url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-12833580 , title = Tennis Girl Model Revealed , date = 23 March 2011 , work =

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

, access-date = 20 November 2012 {{cite news , newspaper =

South Wales Evening Post The ''South Wales Evening Post'' is a tabloid daily newspaper distributed in the South West region of Wales. The paper has three daily editions – Swansea; Neath and Port Talbot; and Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ...

, date = 23 March 2011 , page = 2 , title = Picture perfect {{Cite web , url = http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=56026 , title = That poster is back - at £300 a print! , date = 5 July 2007 , access-date = 20 November 2012 , publisher = Metro.co.uk {{cite news , url = http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/tm_headline=we-ve-got-to-the-bottom-of-a-poster-mystery&method=full&objectid=19444033&siteid=50002-name_page.html , newspaper =

Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...

, first = Will , last = Oliphant , title = We've got to the bottom of a poster mystery! , date = 12 July 2007 , access-date = 20 November 2012 {{cite news , first = Andrew , last = Hough , title = 'Tennis girl' poster photographer Martin Elliott dies of cancer , newspaper =

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

, date = 2 April 2010 , access-date = 20 November 2012 , url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/7544537/Tennis-girl-poster-photographer-Martin-Elliott-dies-of-cancer.html {{cite news , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101031064332/http://www.sundaymercury.net/lifestyle-news/tm_objectid%3D17216626%26method%3Dfull%26siteid%3D50002%26headline%3Dserial-killer-s-deucey-poster-name_page.html , archive-date = 31 October 2010 , url = http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/sundaymercury/features/tm_objectid=17216626&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=serial-killer-s-deucey-poster-name_page.html , newspaper =

Sunday Mercury ''Sunday Mercury'' is a Sunday Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and now owned by Reach plc. History The first edition was published on 29 December 1918. The first editor was John Turner Fearon (1869–1937), w ...

, first = Adam , last = Aspinall , url-status = dead , title = Serial killer's deucey poster , date = 11 June 2006 , access-date = 20 November 2012 {{cite news , url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8600863.stm , publisher = BBC News , date = 2 April 2010 , title = Tennis Girl poster photographer dies , access-date = 20 November 2012 {{cite news , url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28036668 , title = Athena Tennis Girl poster dress up for auction , publisher =

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, date = 26 June 2014 , access-date = 26 June 2014 {{cite web , url = http://metro.co.uk/2014/06/25/so-you-can-now-buy-that-athena-tennis-poster-dress-4775334/ , title = So you can now buy THAT Athena tennis poster dress , date = 25 June 2014 {{cite web , url = http://www.stourbridgenews.co.uk/news/11300205.Tennis_Girl_dress_to_go_up_for_sale_in_Stourbridge/ , title = Tennis Girl dress to go up for sale in Stourbridge , website = Stourbridge News, date = 25 June 2014 {{cite web , url = https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/486968/Athena-tennis-girl-dress-sells-for-15-000 , title = Iconic cheeky 'tennis girl' dress sells for £15,000 , first = Jane , last = Mathews , date = 5 July 2014 {{cite web , url = http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/dress-from-cheeky-tennis-girl-poster-to-be-auctioned-634472.html , title = Dress from 'cheeky' Tennis Girl poster to be auctioned , date = 25 June 2014 {{cite news , url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32065460 , title = Museum to display Tennis Girl dress , work = BBC News , date = 26 March 2015 , via = bbc.com {{Cite web , title = Infamous 'Tennis Girl' was my ex-wife - and now I have proof, says man , url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11432136/Infamous-Tennis-Girl-was-my-ex-wife-and-now-I-have-proof-says-man.html , access-date = 2020-09-02 , website = The Daily Telegraph , date = 24 February 2015 , language = en-GB {{Cite web , title = 'The infamous 'Tennis Girl' was my ex-wife - and now I can prove it' , url = https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/the-infamous-tennis-girl-was-my-ex-wife-and-now-i-can-prove-it-31019021.html , access-date = 2020-09-02 , website = The Independent , date = 24 February 2015 , language = en {{Cite web , title = The Tennis Girl , publisher = Iconic Photos , access-date = 20 November 2012 , date = 2 April 2010 , author = aalholmes , url = http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/the-tennis-girl/ {{cite news , title = Truiense gaat toch niet naakt voor 1.000 stemmen , trans-title = Sint-Truiden're not naked for 1,000 votes , newspaper =

De Standaard (, ) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and Flemish Party, and in opposition to the Sociali ...

, language = Dutch , access-date = 20 November 2012 , url = http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20120920_068 , date = 20 September 2012 , author = bbd {{cite news , url = https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9508635.burnley-actress-alice-barry-swaps-shameless-tennis/ , title = Burnley actress Alice Barry swaps Shameless for tennis , newspaper = Lancashire Telegraph , date = 2 February 2012 , access-date = 29 August 2020 {{cite news , title = Martin Rowson , newspaper = The Guardian , access-date = 28 September 2019 , url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2019/sep/27/martin-rowson-on-boris-johnsons-rhetoric-cartoon 1976 works 1976 in art Nude photography showing women Posters Sport at the University of Birmingham Sportswear Sports photographs Tennis culture Tennis mass media Women's tennis 1970s photographs Color photographs

Creation

History

Subject doubts

Parody

See also

References