A Brief History of the GameAlthough tennis has been played in various forms throughout history, a British army officer, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, developed the modern game of lawn tennis in 1873. His game was based on an earlier game of court tennis, also known as Real or Royal Tennis.The first world amateur championship was held in 1877 at Wimbledon, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club. The Men's Singles, won by Spencer Gore, had twenty-two entries. In 1884, thirteen women entered the championships for the first time and Maude Watson became the first ladies' Champion. The International Tennis Federation (ITF), was established in 1912. It is still the governing body for all tennis tournaments played throughout the world. The sport has grown in popularity throughout the 20th century. Today there are hundreds of tennis professionals who earn a living from tennis, either playing or coaching, and thousands of amateur players or spectators who enjoy the game.
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Playing the GameTennis is quite a demanding game and a standard court is a large area to cover. Many younger players start by playing short tennis. This is played on a smaller court, often with a soft ball and plastic bats. The rules for playing the game are almost the same as lawn tennis, so it is a good introduction to the game. Many leisure or sports centres have short tennis facilities.
The Court The court is marked out with white lines to show the area of play for singles and doubles. There are two sets of Sidelines. The first line marks the singles court and the second is for doubles. The Baseline is at the back of the court and the Service Courts are the areas marked closer to the net and divided by the Centre Service Line.
Players
Equipment
Scoring
love, 15, 30, 40 and game.
Deuce Every game is played and scored in this way until someone wins the set.
To win the match
Tiebreak In men's games you play the best of five sets and in ladies' tennis and mixed doubles, you play the best of three sets.
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Competitive TennisCompetitive matches are held at local, national and international level. They are for all ages and all abilities, from juniors up to veterans (usually players over 35). Many tennis clubs hold their own events or enter teams and individuals for inter-club tournaments. The more successful players move on to regional, then national championships. At this stage, players are classed as amateurs - they play the sport in their spare time and earn their living as something else. Some of these champions eventually turn professional.
Professional Players
International Tournaments Seeded players are divided into two equal groups and placed in each half of the draw, so that the players seeded 1 and 2 will only meet in the final, if they win all their games. Unseeded players who compete in the tournament are placed in each half of the draw with the seeded players. The draw for who plays whom is made just before the tournament starts.
Major International Tournaments include:
Governing Bodies
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