Perspective: The Backhand Boys

Two generations ago, tennis stars were good for a sneaker endorsement. Today, they've got the balls for much more

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In the early 1970s, long before there were high-tech carbon-fiber tennis racquets and nitrogen-pressured tennis balls to help, Roscoe Tanner pioneered the sudden-death serve. He could send the ball screaming over the net at 153 mph (a record that would stand for nearly three decades), terrifying opponents in matches the world over. But Converse noticed something else about Tanner. He was charming, Stanford-bred and very handsome. Converse, as it turned out, had recently introduced a new line of athletic shoes with shock support and extra padding designed especially for tennis players.

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