A Brief History of the Game
Although 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.
Playing the Game
Tennis 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
Most tennis is played on outdoor courts made of clay, concrete, tarmac, plexi-cushion or artificial turf. Courts made of grass are less common. Indoor courts are also made from various materials, including wood. Tennis clubs have several all-weather courts that can be used any time of year.
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
Two players take part in singles matches and four players are needed for doubles. The matches played include ladies' singles, men's singles, ladies' doubles, men's doubles and mixed doubles (one man and one woman per pair).
Equipment
To play the game, you need a racket and a tennis ball. Wear suitable shoes and clothes to suit the playing surface and conditions. [See Getting Started]
Scoring
A player gains a point when an opponent can't return the ball over the net, or when he hits the ball out of play. On the Court describes the tennis strokes or shots that you can try during a game. It also explains the rules about serving and changing ends.
love, 15, 30, 40 and game.
Each time a player wins a point, you use this system of scoring:
For example: If a player wins three points in a row, their score in the game is 40 and their opponents score is 'love'; if the opponent then scores two points the score becomes 40 30.
Deuce
The score is deuce when each player has 40. To win this game, you must now score two more clear points instead of one. The first point gives you advantage, the second gives you the game. If you win the first point and lose the second, the score goes back to deuce.
Every game is played and scored in this way until someone wins the set.
To win the match
To win the match you need to win sets. Sets are made up of individual games. You take a set if you win six games and your opponent has won no more than four. If your opponent has won five games, you can carry on playing until one of you has a two-game advantage. For example you can take the set 7-5, 8-6 or 10-8. This can take a long time, so most players use a tiebreak to decide the game.
Tiebreak
When the score reaches 6-6, play a tiebreak. Tiebreak games are scored in points. The first player to reach 7 points takes the tiebreak providing the opponent has five points or less. If the opponent has six points, continue to play the tiebreak until someone wins by two clear points. The tiebreak is counted as a game and the winner takes the set, 7-6.
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.
Competitive Tennis
Competitive 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
There are hundreds of professional players. They earn a living by playing or coaching tennis but only a few reach the very top level of competition. Top class professionals travel to tournaments all around the world. This may seem a glamorous way of life, but most of their days are spent training and practising.
International Tournaments
At all tournaments, the top players, men and women, are seeded according to their official world rankings and their current form. This means that the player, or players in doubles matches, regarded by the organisers as the best at the tournament are seeded number 1.
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:
- The Grand Slam (the Australian Open, the French Open, the British Open (Wimbledon), and the US Open) - all the individual tournaments are open to singles, doubles, and junior players.
- The Davis Cup - national men's teams compete for this cup
- The Federation Cup - national ladies' teams compete for this cup
Governing Bodies
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of the game worldwide. There several national Associations throughout the UK. [See Information]
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