Lawn Tennis Measures
First Published February, 2012
Last Updated June, 2025
From the very beginning of the game that has evolved into modern lawn tennis, one piece of equipment has been critical to every regulation game ever played - a measuring device to lay out the court. The "Lawn Tennis Measure", which was invented to make this task easier, first appeared around 1900. Of course, this item is more well-known among tennis collectors as a "tennis tape". Obviously, a tape measure didn't have to reference tennis on its exterior to be utilized in the layout of a tennis court. However, it was very helpful to use a tape that had the court layout and dimensions printed or on its side, as lawn tennis measures did.
Lawn Tennis Measures
Top - 5.5 inch Dean/Ayres leather tape
Right - 3.25 inch brass tape
Bottom - 4.5 inch Dean leather tape
Left - 3.75 inch brass tape
Tennis emigrated from England to the U.S. in 1874 at a time when the modern outside court dimensions of 36 by 78 feet were still evolving. Initially, people began laying out courts on their property and in parks and, soon after, clubs began to build more permanent tennis courts here in the U.S., as well as many other countries.
Players around the world who couldn't afford to join a tennis club were left to find a flat surface to construct their own courts, if they wanted to pursue tennis. Slazenger and other sporting goods companies sold court sets that had cast iron pieces to mark specific points on a court. They also came with reusable white tape to run along the ground between the markers. These players who repeatedly laid out their own courts were the primary target market for tennis tape and court set makers, most of whom were located in England.
To illustrate the plight of the public tennis player here in the U.S., consider that when Dwight Davis (of Davis Cup fame) became the St. Louis Park Commissioner in 1907 he ordered that all tennis courts under his control be opened to the general public for the very first time. Prior to 1907, many St. Louis players had no option but to measure and lay out their own tennis courts.
Tennis tapes came in several sizes and almost always were encased in leather or brass shells. The leather tapes and some of the brass models displayed the court map and dimensions on a piece of heavy vellum that was affixed to the casing. Other brass tapes, such as the black tape in the accompanying photo, had the court information japanned onto the brass surface. A rare exception to encasing the tape was the "Felthams Climax Tennis Measuring Tape", which was manufactured on an open reel and had the court layout information on its box lid.
The most prolific manufacturer was the London based company Dean-Beddington whose primary product was surveying tape measures. However, they did make their own brand of brass and leather encased lawntennis tapes, as well as cricket pitch and sewing measures.
Many of the sporting goods companies that offered lawn tennis measures, in all probability, had Dean-Beddington make their tapes for them. The 5.5 inch tape in the photo was made by Dean-Beddington and sold by F.H. Ayres. There were also other makers besides Dean-Beddington, such as Chesterman of Sheffield who manufactured its own distinctive style leather cased tape. The brass tape pictured that has the crossed swords trademark of the A.W. Gammage Company also had a different style case than the Dean-Beddington brass case.
Most numeric tapes were made of a waterproofed linen with a brass ring attached at the end to aid in measuring. However, a small percentage of encased lawn tennis measures did have metal tapes inside. As you can see from the attached 1914 ad, all tapes run 78 feet in length, regardless of the case size.
Umpire lawn tennis measures, which were often in sliver cases. were used mainly by officials to certify the dimensions and net heighth of established courts, were made for many years after the basic lawn tennis measure fell into disuse around 1920.
Lawn tennis measures are a sought after collectible today, because they help to tell part of the interesting story of the evolution of lawn tennis and they are still functional, as well. In today's world of sophisticated laser measuring devices, it is comforting to know that a 100+ year old antique can still do the job when the modern one loses power.
Good Collecting.
1914 Ad
Two linen tapes made by Dean-Beddington