Tennis

It was during the 12th century when the history of tennis begun. There was this game that the French invented where it was played in a court using their hands to strike the ball. (the game was called “paume” which means palm). Paume changed to jeu de paume and rackets were used and the game widened and progressed in Europe.

In 1873, Major Walter Wingfield created a game called Sphairistike, which is a Greek word for “playing ball”, he first played it on a grass court in Wales. Playing ball on grass court later became known as lawn tennis which advanced to present day outdoor tennis.

Tennis Rules

• The game starts with a coin toss to determine which player must serve first and which side they want to serve from.

• The server must then serve each point from alternative sides on the base line. At no point must the server’s feet move in front of the baseline on the court prior to hitting their serve.

• If the server fails to get their first serve in they may take advantage of a second serve. If they again fail to get their second serve in then a double fault will be called and the point lost.

• If the server clips the net but the ball goes in the service area still then let is called and they get to take that serve again without penalty. If the ball hits the net and fails to go in the service area then out is called and they lose that serve.

• The receiver may stand where they wish upon receipt of the serve. If the ball is struck without the serve bouncing then the server will receive the point.

• Once a serve has been made the amount of shots between the players can be unlimited. The point is won by hitting the ball so the opponent fails to return it in the scoring areas.

• Points are awarded in scores of 15, 30 and 40. 15 represent 1 point, 30 = 2 and 40 = 3. You

• need 4 points to win a game. If a game lands on 40-40 it’s known as deuce. From deuce a player needs to win 2 consecutive points to win the game. After winning one point from deuce they player is on advantage. If the player wins the next point they win the game, if they lose it goes back to deuce.

• To win the set a player must win 6 games by 2 or more. The opening sets will go to a tie break if its ends up 6-6 where players play first to 7 points. The final set will not have a tie break and requires players to win by two games with no limits.

• If a player touches the net, distracts his opponent or impedes in anyway then they automatically lose the point.

• The ball can hit any part of the line for the point to be called in, outside the line and the ball is out.

• The balls in a tennis match are changed for new balls every 6 games

• A player loses a point if they fail to return the ball in either the correct areas on the court, hits the net and doesn’t go into opponent’s area or fails to return the ball before it bounces twice in their half.

Grand Slam

Because of the need of players to prove their outstanding skills of tennis, both amateur and professional tournaments were created. Today, there are several international tous including the four major tennis championship . The first of the slam tournaments is the U.S. Open. It was the first tennis tournament to introduce the tie-breaker system in 1970 after FD Robbins needed 100 games to defeat Dick Dell. Another tennis slam is the Wimbledon which is played in Great Britain. Wimbledon was created because of its overwhelming popularity over croquet way back in 1875. The French also established a third slam in 1891 that became international in 1925. While the Australian Open was included in the slam in 1905.

Tennis Today

Nowdays tennis has become a worldwide sport, with famous players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, Serena Williams and Andy Murray.