b'Serving UpMore Than TennisFrom Chris Evert to clothesline bacon, a famed tennis club evolves with the timesBY ABBY SHERW hen Orange Lawn Ten- Plimptonplayedanexhibitiongamethatdrewcialized sports programming such as ESPN or the nisClubopenedits40,000 fans too.Tennis Channel. Instead of going to the tennis club, doors in South OrangeAs I drive up the winding path even on a recentwe could watch at home with our families. Soon, we in 1880, the light bulbwintry day the grounds of the club are stunning,could even record the matches we were interested in, was still a new concept,with their rolling lawns and pristine courts. More- and play tennis virtually with console video games.Billy the Kid was run- over, Orange Lawn is one of only 14 clubs in theSo how does a place such as Orange Lawn, with ningwild,andCoca- United States that still has grass courts. (Its grounds Cola had yet to be tasted. are cut and cared for by Steve Irvin, resident ground-Within its first five years, Orange Lawn becameskeeper for over 30 years.) The original layout is still wildly popular with tennis players nationwide. Bythere, complete with old-fashioned press box and the 1940s, the club was hosting one of the mostfan stands. There are also clay courts, a pool, an out-prestigioustennistournamentsintheworld:thedoor caf, playgrounds, paddle-ball courts, indoor EasternGrassCourtChampionships.Standingtennis bubblesand stunning views of the valley.room-only crowds of up to 4,000 lined the patiosAfter clay courts were introduced at the US Open while tennis legends went head to head. Chris Evert,in the mid-1970s, grass courts diminished in appeal Billie Jean King, Althea Gibson, and John McEnroefor professional tennis players; indeed, over the next are just some of the big names that graced Orangefew decades tennis clubs in general struggled to keepOrange Lawn is one of only 14 clubs in the United States Lawns courts. Governor Brendan Byrne and Georgetheir fan base. America was getting sucked into spe- that still has grass courts.16/ matters magazine / hearth & home 2020'