TENNIS

I. INTRODUCTION  

Tennis, game played with a racket and a ball by two (as in singles) or four (as in doubles) competitors, on a rectangular court with a net strung between the mid-points of the longer sides of the court. Tennis may be played indoors or outdoors. The game ranks as one of the most popular spectator and participation sports in the world, with fans and competitors in more than 100 countries. Originally called "lawn tennis" to distinguish it from the sport of real tennis, from which it was derived, the game is now commonly known as tennis and is played on various surfaces other than on grass.

II. PLAYING COURT AND EQUIPMENT

 The court is marked with white lines to indicate its dimensions and service areas. The court is 23.8 m (78 ft) long, divided into two equal sides by a net standing 0.9 m (3 ft) high at the centre of the court. For singles, the court is 8.2 m (27 ft) wide. For doubles, the addition of margins 1.4 m (4y ft) wide along the two longer sides increases the width to 11 m (36 ft). Courts may be of grass, clay, asphalt, concrete, wood, artificial grass, or other synthetic materials.

A tennis ball is hollow and composed of inflated rubber covered with a fabric made of wool and artificial fibres. It is between 6 and 7 cm (2y and 2š in) in diameter and weighs between 57 and 58 g (2 and 2w oz). Yellow and white balls are used in tournament competition and are the most common colours, although balls of other colours are manufactured.

There is no uniform design of tennis rackets, and their sizes and shapes vary. The general classifications, determined by the size of the racket head, are standard, midsize, oversize, and super oversize. In tournament play, the maximum length of a racket is 81.3 cm (32 in). The maximum width is 31.8 cm (12y in). The head of the racket may not exceed a length of 39.4 cm (15y in) and a width of 29.2 cm (11y in), and it is usually strung with resilient gut or nylon or other synthetic materials. There are no restrictions on weight. Rackets were originally made of wood, but now virtually all rackets are made of such materials as aluminium or graphite, which are stronger and lighter than wood. The racket handle is generally covered with a rubber or leather grip. Players usually wear lightweight clothing, traditionally white, and shoes with rubber soles.

III. SERVICE AND PLAY  

A serve begins every point of a tennis match. The player who initiates the point is called the server, and the one who receives the ball is called the receiver. To serve, a player tosses the ball into the air and strikes it before it touches the ground, hitting it into the opponent’s service area, known as the service box. Although players usually employ an overhand motion to serve, it is permissible to strike the ball underhanded. The server delivers the ball from behind the baseline. His or her feet must remain outside the court until the ball is struck.

On the first serve of a game, the server stands on the right side of the court and attempts to hit the ball into the service box on the diagonally opposite side of the court. Two tries are permitted for each service. If the ball first strikes any part of the opponent’s court except the service box, or exits the court altogether, a "fault" is called. A fault is also called if the ball is served into the net, or if it strikes the net before hitting the opponent’s court outside the service box or before exiting the court altogether. A "foot fault" is called if the server’s foot enters the court before service is completed. After one fault a server may serve again. If both tries result in faults, a "double fault" is called, and the opponent wins the point. If the serve, on either try, touches the net and then falls into the diagonally opposite service box, a "let" is called, and the server is permitted to serve again. A valid serve that is not reached by the opponent is called an "ace".

In general, the faster the serve, the more difficult it is to return. But a faster serve is also more difficult for the server to control. Accordingly, first serve attempts usually have more velocity; second serves usually have greater accuracy and, sometimes, more spin. In preparation for returning serve, the receiver stands a certain distance behind the service-box line, usually close to the baseline. In anticipation of a fast serve, many players move behind the baseline to provide more time to react. After the first point has been played, the service is made from the left-hand side of the court into the opponent’s diagonally opposite service court. On each point thereafter the side from which service is made alternates until an entire game has been played. The opponent serves the next game, and the pattern of alternation of serve continues. In doubles, serves alternate between teams and also between players, so that an individual player will serve every fourth game.

After a successful serve the ball is hit back and forth until one player or side fails to return the ball successfully. A shot is unsuccessful when a player lets the ball bounce twice, drives it into the net, or hits it beyond the boundaries of the opposite side of the court. If the ball strikes the line of the court, it is considered in play. If, after hitting the net, a shot falls out of bounds on the opposite side of the court, it is considered out; if the ball falls in bounds in the opposite court, it is considered in play. When a shot is unsuccessful, the opponent scores a point.

IV. SCORING  

Scoring is identical in the singles and doubles games. A tennis game, when not prolonged by a tie, is played to four points, designated by the terms 15, 30, 40, and game, with zero points being referred to by the term "love" (possibly derived from the French l’œuf, "egg", referring to the physical appearance of the number zero). A tie at 40 is called "deuce". Because a game must be won by two points, play continues from deuce until one player leads by a margin of two points. After reaching deuce, the player who can win the game on the next point is said to have the "advantage", while a subsequent tied score is always called deuce. (A system referred to as "no ad" is sometimes employed in which the winner of the point following the first deuce wins the game.) In tennis competition, the score of the server is always given first. Typical scores at different stages of a given tennis game might be "love-15" or "40-30". The players or teams exchange sides after each odd-numbered game.

Players must win six games to win the "set", but they must win by at least two games. Thus, if a set becomes tied at 5-5, at least seven game victories are required to win the set. A tie-breaker is often employed if a set becomes tied at 6-6. A tie-breaker is generally played to seven points, but because it too must be won by at least two points, it may be extended. The winner of a tie-breaker is recorded as having won the set 7-6, regardless of the point total achieved in the tie-breaker. Tennis matches are usually the best two out of three sets (for women’s matches and mixed doubles) or the best three out of five sets (in men’s competitions).

V. OFFICIALS  

While most recreational matches are refereed by the players themselves, in most tournament competitions officials keep score, determine if shots are good, and interpret rules. The head official on the court, called the chair umpire, sits on a tall chair at one end of the net. A varying number of line judges sit around the court beyond the path of the players. Line judges determine whether serves and shots are good or out. A net-cord judge may be employed to determine when a ball touches the top of the net, and a foot-fault judge may watch for that specific infraction. In the 1980s electronic devices began to be used in professional tournaments to determine if serves, whose speeds may reach over 161 km/h (100 mph), land in or out of the service box.

VI. STROKES  

The basic strokes used in tennis are the forehand and the backhand. In the forehand, the player pivots the body so that the shoulder of the arm not holding the racket faces the net. The player then swings the racket forward to meet the ball. In the backhand stroke, the player turns so that the shoulder of the racket-bearing arm faces the net before bringing the racket forward and across the body to meet the ball. The basic types of grip that players may use to hold the racket are called the Eastern, Western, and Continental grips. Players often change their grip depending on the type of shot they are required to hit. A two-handed (also known as a two-fisted) grip is used by some players, primarily for its ability to produce powerful shots. Most often employed to hit the backhand shot, some players use it for forehands as well.

There are several other strokes commonly used during a tennis match. The "lob" is a high, soft return behind an opponent who has approached the net. It is frequently used to force the opponent to retreat to the back of the court to play the ball. The lob can also be used as a defensive stroke, providing time for the hitter to regain court position. The "overhead smash" is a powerful shot often used to return a lob that has not been hit high or deep enough. The "shot" is hit in a similar manner to the serve. The "drop shot" is a lightly hit, spinning return that drops softly over the net, forcing the opponent to approach the net. If the opponent is positioned deep in the court, the drop shot can be used to win the point. A "volley" occurs when a player strikes the ball before it bounces. The volley is most often employed when a player is playing close to the net. The "half volley" is a low return of the ball just after it has bounced.

In addition to using different shots, a player may put varying spins on the ball to make it bounce in certain ways. Topspin is produced when a player strikes the ball so that it spins from low to high as it travels forward. Topspin enables a player to strike the ball with more power, because the added spin helps to bring the ball down and keep it in play. Underspin occurs when a player strikes the ball so that it spins from high to low as it travels forward. This shot is called a "slice". Underspin causes the ball to lose speed and to bounce lower. Most players use both types of spin in the course of a game, as well as hitting the ball flat—that is, without any particular spin.

VII. TOURNAMENTS

The International Tennis Federation, founded in 1912 (as the International Lawn Tennis Federation), and with headquarters in London, governs play throughout the world. The most important tournaments on the international circuit each year are the All England Open championships for men and women, played annually at Wimbledon, and the French, American, and Australian national championships. These tournaments are known as the "grand slam" events. Formerly, to earn the grand slam a player had to win all of these tournaments within one calendar year; in 1982 the International Tennis Federation decreed the grand slam to be a victory by one player in each of four successive grand slam events. By 1997 only five players had won the grand slam: the Americans Don Budge (1938) and Maureen Connolly (1953); the Australians Rod Laver, who won the grand slam twice (1962 and 1969), and Margaret Court (1970); and Steffi Graf (1988 and 1994) of Germany. The first international championships were the Davis Cup global matches, held annually since 1900 to determine the champion national men’s team of the world. The Davis Cup matches and the four grand slam tournaments, once restricted to amateurs, are now open to professional players. Among important international women’s championships are the annual Wightman Cup matches, played between teams from the United States and Great Britain. In 1988 tennis was admitted to the Olympic Games as a medal sport.

VIII. HISTORY

Although the origins of tennis are not clear, many experts believe tennis, then called lawn tennis, was invented in 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, a British army officer. Although Wingfield claimed that he modelled the game, which he called Sphairistike (Greek, "playing at ball") after an ancient Greek game, many authorities believe that he adapted the principles of the popular English games of real tennis, squash rackets, and badminton for outdoor play. Early players preferred to call Wingfield’s game tennis-on-the-lawn, or lawn tennis.

The first world amateur championships were held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England (men, 1877; women, 1884). Tennis in Australia started in Melbourne in 1880, and by the last decade of the 19th century lawn tennis had been introduced into other British colonies and other nations throughout the world. At the beginning of the 20th century the major international tournaments were Wimbledon and the US championships. Early Wimbledon men’s champions included British players Arthur Gore and brothers Reggie and Laurie Doherty. Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers of England won the women’s title at Wimbledon seven times (1903, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914). The US men’s championships were dominated by American William Larned, who won seven times (1901, 1902, 1907-1911). Americans Elisabeth Moore and Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman both won several US women’s championships in the early 1900s, and Norwegian-born Molla Mallory won eight such titles (1915-1918, 1920-1922, 1926).

In the 1920s British, American, and French players were the most successful in international play. American Bill Tilden dominated the men’s game, winning Wimbledon three times (1920, 1921, 1930) and the US championships seven times (1920-1925, 1929). French players Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, and Henri Cochet were also successful, particularly at Wimbledon, which one of the three of them won each year from 1924 to 1929. Suzanne Lenglen of France and Helen Wills Moody of the United States were the leading female players. In the 1930s outstanding men’s players included Don Budge and Ellsworth Vines of the United States and Fred Perry of Britain. During the same period Moody continued her success, finishing her career with eight Wimbledon titles (1927-1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938), seven US championship titles (1923-1925, 1927-1929, 1931), and four French championship titles (1928-1930, 1932). Other leading female players included Alice Marble and Helen Jacobs of the United States and Dorothy Round of Britain.

During the next decade American players such as Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer continued their successful play. Pancho Segura of Ecuador, whose career would continue into the 1960s, also started playing internationally in the 1940s. Dominant female players who began their careers at this time included Americans Pauline Betz, winner of four US championships (1942-1944, 1946) and Louise Brough, winner of four Wimbledon titles (1948-1950, 1955). In the 1950s Australia became a tennis power, and Australian men won the Davis Cup 15 times from 1950 to 1967, led by outstanding players such as Frank Sedgman, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Roy Emerson, and Ashley Cooper. American Tony Trabert also became a premier player during this time. Maureen Connolly was the dominant female player of the early 1950s, winning the grand slam in 1953. Althea Gibson won both the Wimbledon and the US championships in 1957 and 1958, becoming the first black player to win those tournaments. During the 1960s Australians Rod Laver, Fred Stolle, and John Newcombe continued their country’s tennis success, and other male players who became prominent included Manuel Santana of Spain and Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith of the United States. Leading female players included Maria Bueno of Brazil, Margaret Court, Virginia Wade of Britain, and Billie Jean King of the United States, who won Wimbledon six times (1966-1968, 1972, 1973, 1975).

In 1968 the open era began when tournaments were opened to professionals as well as amateurs. In the 1970s Newcombe, Ashe, and Smith continued their success, joined by such players as Ilie Nastase of Romania and Guillermo Vilas of Argentina. Jimmy Connors, whose career spanned from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, won five US Opens (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983). Björn Borg of Sweden won five consecutive Wimbledon titles (1976-1980). Borg’s rivalry with American player John McEnroe during this period ranks as one of the best in tennis history. Among female players, Court, Wade, and King continued their success, joined by Australian Evonne Goolagong. Connors, Borg, and McEnroe continued their successful play in the 1980s, and other leading male players of this decade included Czech-born Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg of Sweden, and Boris Becker of Germany, who in 1985 at the age of 17 became the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon. One of the most successful female players ever was Czech-born Martina Navratilova, whose career spanned from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. During her career, Navratilova won 167 singles titles, including nine Wimbledon titles (1978, 1979, 1982-1987, 1990). American Chris Evert was another dominant female player during the 1970s and 1980s, winning seven French Opens (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986) and six US Opens (1975-1978, 1980, 1982). The rivalry between Navratilova and Evert was one of the most intense and long lasting in tennis history. In 1988 Steffi Graf had an outstanding year, capturing the grand slam and the Olympic gold medal. Other leading female players of the 1980s included Czech Hana Mandlikova and Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina.

In the 1990s Lendl, Edberg, and Becker continued their success, joined by outstanding American players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Jim Courier. Graf developed a rivalry with Serbian-born Monica Seles, who emerged as a dominant player, winning the US, French, and Australian opens in both 1991 and 1992. Navratilova remained one of the highest-ranking players until her retirement from singles competition in 1995, and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain, and Martina Hingis also encountered success. Sampras, Agassi, and American compatriot Lindsay Davenport were considered the leading players at the end of the century.