Thanks to the wide coverage that television and other media gives to the game, tennis is now one of the most popular sports. How does one define the game? It is a game played with racquets and a light ball between two players. The players stand on opposite sides of a net placed in the center on a rectangular court that may be made of grass, clay or asphalt. It can also be played between two teams of two players.
Racquetball, a variation of the game, is played in an indoor court with a specially marked floor and high walls off which the ball must be played.
Tennis has a long history, and according to records available, its establishment can be traced to two separate incidents. In 1859, Major Thomas Henry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Batista Pereira, a Spanish merchant, were living in Birmingham, England, and played a game that they termed ‘pelota’ after a Spanish ball game. It was played on a lawn. This later came to be known as tennis, and in 1874 they formed the Leamington Tennis Club, which laid out the rules of the game. It was on 23 July 1884 that the first tennis tournament was held on the grounds of Shrubland Hall.
Meanwhile, in December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game to entertain his guests at a party on his estate in Wales. It is believed that his version was adapted from an older sport of indoor tennis or royal tennis that had been invented in 12th century France.
The world tennis comes from the French word ‘tenez,’ an imperative form of the verb ‘tenir’ which means ‘to hold.’ This, apparently, was a cry used by the player who was about to serve the ball. The players or the teams, depending on whether it is a ‘singles’ or a ‘doubles’ match, stand on opposite sides of the net.
One player is the server and the opposing player is the receiver. The server serves the ball, which is returned by the receiver. The ball has to go over the net into the service court opposite the server’s. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service court, it is a void service. The server then gets a second chance. A proper service starts a rally in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. The first player or team that fails to return the ball loses the point.
The points in tennis are called love, 15, 30, 40, deuce and advantage. Love indicates zero. If a player wins a fourth point before his or her opponent has won three points, then that player wins the game. If both the players have won three points (40-all), the score is called a deuce. A player must win two points in a row to win the game. The first point won after a deuce is called advantage, but if that player loses the next point then the score returns to deuce.
The first player to win six games wins the set, but he has to be ahead by two games. If the score reaches 6 – 5, then the winning player must win the next game. If the score reaches six games all, it is called a tiebreak.
Some of great tennis players include John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.
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