Tennis is played between two players or in the case of a doubles event, two players on each side. It is an interesting and modern game that was invented in the United Kingdom in the 19th century.
Tennis combines elements of using a racket and the baseball game Pelota and was developed by Major Harry Gem and his friend Auguroi Perera. They played at Birmingham in the UK. The world’s first tennis club was founded by two doctors in Leamington Spa.
Walter Clopton Wingfield invented a game involving real tennis called spharistike. The modern tennis game is derived from this period. After 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge was the first to lay out a tennis court at New Brighton Staten Island.
Staten Island Ferry terminal hosted the first American National tournament. O.E. Woodhouse won the singles match, a local pair of players won the doubles match.
The United States National Lawn Tennis Association which is named after the United States Tennis Association has organized the competition since 1881. Initially, the shape of the ball in Boston was larger than the ball in New York and the club rules were different.
The event now called the US Open was called the US National Men’s Singles Championship which was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. The Singles championships for women were held in 1887 for the first time and were called the US National Women’s Singles Championships.
Tennis then became popular in other countries and the French Open and Australian Open were founded. Tennis has increased in popularity ever since then and is now one of the most popular sports events worldwide.
Grand Slams
The four Grand Slam tennis tournaments are considered the most prestigious tournaments in the world. They are held sequentially and annually as follows:
■ The Australian Open (Tennis Australia)
■ The French Open (the French Tennis Federation)
■ The Wimbledon Open (the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and Lawn Tennis Association), and
■ The US Open (the United States Tennis Association)
The associations listed above, as well as the International Tennis Federation (ITF), are responsible for organizing these events.
The ITF also organizes the Davis Cup, Federation Cup, and Hopman Cup. These events have the largest prize money. The next level of tournaments, the Masters 1000 (men) and Premier events (women) allow the champions to achieve double the number of ranking points.
There are an astounding 128 players in the singles draw which is more than any other professional tennis event. This event collectively includes 32 seeded players, other players ranked in the world’s top 100, and wild card players who are invited to play in the event.
The Men’s Grand Slam tournaments have a best of five-set matches throughout. Grand Slam tournaments are the only tour events to have mixed doubles. The Grand Slam tournaments are seen as the start of a particular season such as the Australian Open. These events each have their peculiarities.
