Tennis

The game

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 midpoints 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 court tennis, from which it was derived, the game is now commonly known as tennis.

Playing Court and Equipment

The court is marked with white lines to indicate its dimensions and service areas. The court is 78 ft (23.8 m) long, divided into two equal sides by a net standing 3 ft (0.9 m) high at the center of the court. For singles the court is 27 ft (8.2 m) wide. For doubles the addition of alleys 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wide along the two longer sides increases the width to 36 ft (11 m). (For more detail, see accompanying diagram.) 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 fibers. It is between 2 1/2 and 2 5/8 in (6.35 and 6.67 cm) in diameter and weighs between 2 and 2 1/16 oz (57.7 and 58.5 g). Yellow and white balls are used in tournament competition and are the most common colors, although balls of other colors 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 32 in (81.3 cm). The maximum width is 12.5 in (31.8 cm). The head of the racket may not exceed a length of 15.5 in (39.4 cm) and a width of 11.5 in (29.2 cm), 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 Rackets were originally made of wood, but now virtually all rackets are made of such materials as aluminum or graphite, which are stronger and lighter than wood.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 nonskid rubber soles.

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.

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 word for egg, l'oeuf, 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 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 7 game victories are required to win the set. A tiebreaker is often employed if a set becomes tied at 6-6. A tiebreaker is generally played to 7 points, but because it too must be won by at least two points, it may be extended. The winner of a tiebreaker is recorded as having won the set 7-6, regardless of the point total achieved in the tiebreaker. Tennis matches are usually the best two out of three sets or the best three out of five sets.

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 100 mph (161 km/h), land in or out of the service box.

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 nonracket-bearing arm 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 grips 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.

Amateur Competition

Millions of people, most of them amateurs, play tennis worldwide, either as recreation or in amateur tournaments. Internationally, tennis is governed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), located in London, which is a parent body to national governing bodies in more than 100 countries.
Tennis was first played professionally in 1926, when American promoter Charles C. Pyle organized a traveling tour for which the players were paid. Professionals were barred, however, from competing in tournaments sanctioned by national tennis organizations. During the next 40 years, players often built reputations as skilled players in amateur competition before turning professional and earning money on tours. In 1968 several major tournaments were declared open-that is, eligible to both amateur and professional players. As a consequence, professional players came to dominate tournament tennis. To prevent players from competing too intensely at too young an age, age requirements for play on the professional tours were established by the professional tour organizations. These regulations are sometimes altered, but current guidelines decree that men under the age of 14 are not permitted to play professionally, and from the ages of 14 to 16, they may only play a limited number of tournaments. Women under the age of 15 cannot play professionally, and until they reach the age of 18, they may only play a limited number of tournaments.
There are three major organizations that govern professional tennis. The ITF has jurisdiction over the four so-called grand slam tournaments-the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia; the French Open in Paris; the Lawn Tennis Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, in London; and the U.S. Open in New York City-as well as over the Grand Slam Cup, a season-ending event involving the most successful players each year in grand slam events. The ITF also governs the Davis and Fed cups, annual international competitions held between national teams. The ATP Tour (formerly the Association of Tennis Professionals), located in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida, has jurisdiction over the men's professional events except the grand slam tournaments. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) TOUR, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, governs women's professional tennis.

Tournaments

Entry-level professional tournaments are called satellite events and are arranged in four-tournament "segments." A player must compete in all four events on a satellite segment to earn ranking points. These tournaments offer unranked and lower-ranked players the opportunity to compete for the ranking points that enable them to qualify for challenger series tournaments, which offer more prize money. At the challenger level, players also compete for ranking points that are determined by their performance in each individual event. Successful players at this level can then compete at the tournaments sponsored by the professional tours.
Annual tennis tournaments operated by the professional tours, such as the French and Italian opens, are held throughout the world between the months of January and November. They involve varying amounts of prize money, and some tournaments are considered more prestigious than others and thus attract better players. Matches in tournaments are arranged by a system called seeding. By seeding players in certain places within the pool of players, or draw, according to their abilities and past performances, organizers ensure that the best players do not compete against each other until the later rounds of a tournament. Unanticipated upsets, in which unseeded or lower-seeded players defeat higher-seeded players in early rounds, often add excitement to tournaments. Tournaments involve up to 128 players and seven rounds of play. The ATP Tour operates about 85 tournaments each year, while the WTA TOUR operates about 60 competitions annually.
Other major tennis championships include the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup. The Davis Cup, started in 1900, is an annual international men's competition held between national teams. The Fed Cup, started in 1963, is the women's equivalent to the Davis Cup. Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions involve four singles matches and one doubles match. The team that wins three out of the five matches is the winner. Tennis is also an Olympic sport. It was first played in the Olympic Games from 1896 until 1924. After a long hiatus, Olympic play was renewed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
To win the grand slam-that is, all four major tournaments in one calendar year-is considered the greatest achievement in tennis. The first player to win the grand slam was American Don Budge in 1938. The only other players to win the grand slam are American Maureen Connolly in 1953, Australian Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969, Australian Margaret Smith Court in 1970, and German Steffi Graf in 1988.

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 modeled the game, which he called Sphairistiké (Greek for "playing at ball") after an ancient Greek game, many authorities believe that he adapted the principles of the popular English games of court tennis, squash racquets, and badminton for outdoor play. Early players preferred to call Wingfield's game tennis-on-the-lawn, or lawn tennis. The game was introduced to Bermuda in 1873, and from Bermuda was brought to the United States by Mary Ewing Outerbridge of Staten Island, New York. The first game of lawn tennis in the United States was probably played in 1874 on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club.
The first world amateur championships were held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England (men, 1877; women, 1884). By the end of the 19th century, lawn tennis had been introduced into British colonies and other nations throughout the world. In the United States, local rules and standards for the game varied widely until 1881, when the United States Lawn Tennis Association (now the USTA) was organized to standardize rules and equipment. Under its auspices, play for the annual U.S. singles championships for men began in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1881. The national men's singles championships continued to take place annually in Newport until 1915, when they moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The national women's singles matches began in 1887, at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and continued there until 1921, when they were also brought to Forest Hills. In 1978 the U.S. championships, which had been renamed the U.S. Open in 1968, moved to the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City.
At the beginning of the 20th century the major international tournaments were Wimbledon and the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 (see Wills, Helen Newington 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 England. During the same period Moody continued her success, finishing her career with eight Wimbledon titles (1927-1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938), seven U.S. 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 England.
During the next decade American players such as Pancho Gonzalez 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 that 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 Smith Court, Virginia Wade of England, 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 U.S. 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, Mats Wilander and 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 U.S. 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 American Tracy Austin and Czech Hana Mandilikova.
In the 1990s, Lendl, Edberg, and Becker continued their success, joined by outstanding American players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang. Graf developed a rivalry with Serbian-born Monica Seles, who emerged as a dominant player, winning the U.S., 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, Jennifer Capriati of the United States, and Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina also encountered success.

One of the best

Name: Stefan Edberg
Best Ranking: (8/90) 1
Country: SWEDEN
Birthdate: 19/01/66
Height: 6'2"
Left/Right Handed: R
Wimbledon Results: Won 88,90 RU 89
Australian Open Results: Won 85,87 RU 90,92,93
French Open Results: RU 89, QF 85,91,93
U.S. Open Results: Won 91,92 SF 86,87

If the seedings were done on popularity, then the quiet Swede, Stefan Edberg, would have been No.1 every time since 1983. That year he came to Wimbledon and won the junior title, en route to the first ever Grand Slam of junior tennis.
He has been quietly lifting trophies ever since - forty-one of them at the last count. Six of those wins have been in Grand Slam Championships between 1985 and 1992 - two each in Australia, the United States and at Wimbledon. There have been major doubles successes, too, most of them with Anders Jarryd. In 1984 they handed McEnroe and Fleming their first- ever Davis Cup defeat as Sweden beat the United States in Gothenberg and three years later they won the Australian and US Opens together. In 1994 Stefan was part of Sweden's Davis Cup triumph in Moscow - his third winning experience.
Stefan's great rivalry with Boris Becker was one of the main themes of men's tennis during the 1980's. Their three successive finals here were momentous events, Becker's fire and fury countered by Edberg's subtler but no less effective game. Stefan won in 1988 and Boris had his revenge a year later. In 1990 Stefan won again in a five-set thriller that displayed those silken serve-and-volley skills, razor-sharp reflexes and backhand brilliance that had kept him among the world's top ten ever since 1984. In 1995 Stefan slipped out of that exalted company for the first time in 11 years as his career began to wind down. The priorities of life had been changing ever since 1992, the year of his second US Open success and of his fairy-tale marriage to Annette Olsen. The arrival in 1993 of little Emilie accelerated the change. No longer did the world No.1 ranking, which Stefan had earned for the first time in August 1990, seem terribly important. Besides his family there were other obligations, like the new Stefan Edberg Foundation he has established in Sweden to help the next generation of young players and the many charities he continues to support.
1996 Wimbledon was Stefan's 14th and last Wimbledon. We shall remember him for his unfailing courtesy to opponents and court officials, for his modesty in victory and for his dignity in defeat. He has set a shining example to the next generation.