‘Sinister Indian‐like Half‐circle’: Tennis, Orientalism and the White Racial Frame in the Twentieth‐Century British Sporting Press

Abstract Examining sport alongside race, media and imperial power opens a rich field for understanding how macro‐level ideologies are shaped and circulated through everyday cultural forms. In twentieth‐century Britain, mass media framed and distributed narratives that rendered the empire's political realities intelligible to a broad public. As the country navigated decolonization, increasing migration from former colonies, and the emergence of a more visibly diverse society, media representations became a crucial space where concerns about identity, belonging and Britain's changing position in the world were worked through. Within this context, tennis, historically linked to ideals of European whiteness, social polish and middle‐class propriety, provides a lens through which to explore these tensions. This article explores the representation of Indian tennis players in the British press to unpack the dynamics of Orientalism, power and racial identity that characterized Britain's colonial outlook throughout the twentieth century.