by James Zug
photo by Tim Edwards
In September 2022 the USCTA was proud to award Kathryn Ronaldson McNicoll the 2022 George Plimpton Prize.
The ceremony was held at Prested Hall during the Fourth International Conference on the History of Tennis. Frederica Adam, on behalf of the Real Tennis Society, hosted the conference on the second day of the World Championship. Numerous historians gave talks during the conference, including John Shneerson on tennis at Lords, Ian Harris on Philip the Bold of Burgandy, David Best on tennis in London and Michael Lindell on the world of Mikko, the famous tennis artist.
A highlight was a discussion curated by James Zug with Kathryn McNicoll. Through her family’s company, Ronaldson Publications, for the past two decades, she has been the leading publisher of books on court tennis, putting out more than two dozen in almost every possible genre: fiction; memoir; and histories of various aspects of tennis. She has also written the definitive history of the World Championship: The First and Foremost: A Gallery of Champions (2010). After the talk and question-and-answer session, Zug awarded McNicoll the Plimpton Prize, given for literary and artistic achievement in the game
It was a long time coming. In January 2020 the USCTA decided to award McNicoll the Plimpton Prize. (The Prize was started in 2003 after the death of George Plimpton, an avid tennis player and editor of Pierre’s Book.) Because of the global pandemic, the USCTA was unable to give McNicoll the actual award until this now.
