Just months before taking his career decision, René Lacoste won the French Covered Court Championships at the Tennis Club de Paris in the city’s chic 16th arrondissement. This elevated him to pro status—seeded in the world's biggest tournaments—and took him to London to play on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Sporting darted pants, leather-soled shoes, a white flat cap, and the cumbersome long-sleeved shirt that would eventually inspire him to invent the polo shirt, Lacoste competed both in the singles and the doubles. He was paired with French tennis star Jean Borotra, six years his senior, for the doubles. The two men knew each other well, having battled it out over the net on several occasions, but their sporting rivalry never stopped them getting along.

René Lacoste and Jean Borotra made a remarkable doubles team; Lacoste calm but determined, Borotra a flamboyant player of spectacular style. It was an explosive and highly effective pairing. At Wimbledon that year, the duo’s dazzling victory over an American doubles team propelled them to the semi-finals. Lacoste could return home to Courbevoie with his head held high. His parents were waiting for him. And there was a telegram. It was stamped “Urgent”.