Skip to Content
Mag

Walk of Fame

A Study of the Humble Socks That Achieved Immortality.

By Leanne Shapton

7:01 AM EDT on June 1, 2017

Nicolas Mahut, Lacoste, Wimbledon, 2010.

The museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., has some amazing exhibits: Tracy Austin’s iconic gingham dress, the reprehensible Bobby Riggs’ “Sugar Daddy” windbreaker, a holographic Roger Federer. Many treasures remain out of sight in the museum’s archives, though, such as Bjorn Borg’s Fila tracksuit and a picture of Batman and Robin drawn by an elementary-school-age John McEnroe. Hidden from view, perhaps understandably, is the Hall of Fame’s collection of notable tennis socks, which include the pair worn by Nicolas Mahut in his epic three-day, 11-hour match with John Isner at Wimbledon in 2012, and the pom-pom socks Serena Williams wore while winning the Australian Open in 2010. Also out of sight are the contents of Andy Roddick’s racquet bag after his last professional match, at the US Open in 2012, which include not only his dirty socks but also his underwear. Here, Leanne Shapton interprets and abstracts the humble socks that made it all the way to the Hall of Fame. —Racquet

Carole Graebner, ca. 1964.
Wimbledon chair umpire Lars Graff, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ladies’ Singles Final, 2012.
Andy Roddick, Lacoste, US Open, 2012.
Billie Jean King, ca. 1975.
Greg Rusedski, Nike, Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, Newport, R.I., 1993.
Ivan Lendl, Mizuno, ca. 1992.
Martina Hingis, Sergio Tacchini, Australian Open, 1997. Her first major title.
Gabriela Sabatini, Fila, European Indoor Championships, Zurich, Switzerland, 1996. Her last professional match.
Serena Williams, Nike, Australian Open Final, 2010.
Lleyton Hewitt, Nike, ATP Masters Cup, when he was the youngest ranked ATP player ever, 2001.
Tennis-themed over- the-knee ladies’ stockings, ca. 1880.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Fila, French Open Final, 2009.

Leanne Shapton is the author of Swimming Studies, which won the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography.

Featured in Racquet Issue No. 4

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

Can Green Clay Save the World?

Tennis has a complicated relationship with the climate, but new initiatives—including a switch to good ole Har-Tru—show it can be part of the solution.

July 23, 2026

Racquet’s Guide to Los Cabos

When you bring your racquet to Los Cabos, you discover a travel experience where tennis meets the sea, the desert and a vibrant Baja culture—a perfect blend that’s made the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo an unmissable stop on the ATP Tour for ten years running.

July 20, 2026

Fit(s) For a Queen

The Serena Williams Fit-Dex is hands-down the best use of the internet.

July 16, 2026

Is it OK for a Player to Disappear?

The conversation around mental health has helped transform the sport, but as openness becomes the norm, another question is beginning to surface: Can vulnerability remain meaningful if athletes no longer feel free to withhold it?

July 14, 2026

Postcard from Wimbledon: Practice Is a Privilege

In this letter of recommendation, our correspondent reports from the All England's Aorangi Park, where the press can sit and absorb a sense of wonder and astonishment and porous, melancholy outsiderness. Where we are reminded, after all, that we are mere witnesses to these shapes and strokes of beauty, and not their arbiters.

July 6, 2026

How Wimbledon Stays Elite, but Not Elitist

Wimbledon Court is the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s effort to give New Yorkers the chance to play on a rare surface in the city’s backyard. It’s also part of a larger effort to ensure the tournament delivers on its promise of “the pinnacle of sport” and broadens the tennis fanbase to the next generation.

June 29, 2026