Tennis

(Redirected from Lawn Tennis)

This article is about the sport, tennis. For the video game, see Tennis (video game).

Tennis is a racquet sport played between either two players ("singles") or two teams of two players ("doubles"). Player(s) use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball over a net into the opponent's court. In some places, tennis is still called lawn tennis, to distinguish it from real tennis (also known as royal tennis or court tennis), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different kind of a court. Originating in England, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. Tennis is now an Olympic sport that is played at all levels of society in many countries around the world.

1 Manner of play
2 Shots
3 Courts
4 Tournaments
5 History
6 See also
7 External links

Manner of play

The court

The dimensions of a tennis court, in feet.

Tennis is played on a rectangular flat surface, usually of grass, clay, or concrete, the latter sometimes coated with a synthetic surface to provide color and a slower bounce for the tennis ball. Coated concrete courts are generally referred to as "hard courts". White lines are drawn on the ground to delimit the tennis court. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 feet (10.97 m) for doubles matches. The lines at the ends of the court are called baselines, and the lines at the sides are the 'singles' and 'doubles' lines. Additional clear space around the court is required for when players overrun the lines.

A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines dividing it into two equal ends, each of which is 39 feet (11.89 m) long. The net posts are centred 3 feet (914 mm) outside the court. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the centre, where it is strapped to the ground. A white band marks the top of the net.

Two more sets of lines delimit the service courts. Servicelines are parallel with the baselines and the net, 21 feet (6.40 m) from the net on each side, drawn between the two singles sidelines. The centre serviceline is parallel with the sidelines, in the centre of the court, drawn between the two servicelines. The centre serviceline is echoed in a white strap in a vertical orientation in the centre of the net. The four service courts are the rectangular areas each delimited by the net, a singles sideline, a serviceline, and the centre serviceline.

The service court on the player's right is called the deuce court, while the service court on the left is the advantage court, or ad court. The centre of each baseline is marked by a short centre mark. All the lines, except those marking the centre, are drawn just within the court that they delimit. Thus it is the outer edge of each line that is significant.

Play of a single point

The players (or teams) stand on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player, or in doubles one of the opposing players, is the receiver. Service alternates between the two halves of the court.

The server stands behind his baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may stand anywhere on his side of the net, usually behind the diagonally opposite service box. When the receiver is ready, the server serves by releasing the ball from his hand (usually tossing it up in the air) and hitting it with his racquet before it hits the ground (usually near the apex of its trajectory). A player unsatisfied with his toss can let the ball fall to the ground and try again. If he swings the racquet and misses the ball this is a faulty service.

The server is required to keep his feet in nearly the same position during the serve. The server's feet may be raised off the ground, but walking or running are not permitted, so as to prevent the opponent being misled as to where the serve will originate. Breaching this rule or exceeding the permitted part of the court constitutes a foot fault.

In a legal service, the ball travels over the net without touching it and into the diagonally opposite service court. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service court, this is a let service, which is void, and the service is attempted again. If the first service is otherwise faulty in any way, the serving player has a second attempt at service. If the second service is also faulty, this is a double fault and the receiver wins the point.

A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternately hit the ball across the net. A legal return consists of the player/team hitting the ball exactly once, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures, such that it then travels back over the net and bounces in the court on the opposite side. The first player/team to fail to make a legal return loses the point.

If a player hits the ball before it has bounced at all on his side of the net, the preceding return from his opponent is legal despite the ball not having bounced. Touching the net, hitting the ball before it has passed the net, touching the ball with anything other than the racquet, deliberately hitting the ball twice, and various other transgressions result in losing the point. In doubles, after the service and initial return either player may make any return; it is not permitted for both players on a team to hit the ball in the same return.

Because the lines are drawn just inside the courts, the ball is considered "in" if any part of it touches any part of the relevant line. On clay courts the ball leaves an impression in the ground that can be checked, and on grass courts a puff of chalk from the line indicates contact from the ball.

In an unumpired game, the players are to give each other the benefit of the doubt on line calls. In an umpired game it is for the umpire or line umpire to call "out". The umpire may overrule a line umpire's call. In high-level tournaments, automatic equipment is increasingly used for line calls, especially for the serviceline.

Scoring

A tennis match usually comprises one to five sets, each of which in turn consists of a number of games (typically six). The winner of a specified number of games wins a set, and the winner of a specified number of sets wins the match.

Scoring each game

A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving, and is won by the first player to have won at least four points and at least two points more than their opponent. The half of the court used for service alternates between courts, beginning with the right half for the first point.

Simple as this scoring appears, the running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores of zero to three points are described as "love" (or "zero"), "fifteen", "thirty", and "forty". When stating the score, the server's score is stated first. Thus, for example, the phrase "thirty-love" means that the server has won two points and the receiver none.

If each player has won three points, the score is described as "deuce" rather than "forty-all". From this point on, whenever the score is tied, it is described as "deuce" (or "40/40") regardless of how many points have been won. When a player is one point ahead, the score may also be described as "advantage" to that player. If the player with advantage loses the next point the score returns to "deuce". A player wins the game when they win a point while their score is "forty" and their opponent's score is "thirty" or less, or stated in the alternative way, when they win a point while they have "advantage".

A score of "thirty-all" is functionally equivalent to "deuce", and "forty-thirty" is equivalent to "advantage". These equivalences are not customarily used in describing the score: "thirty-all" means that the players have won exactly two points each, and "deuce" means that the players have won at least three points each.

The current point score is announced verbally before each point by the umpire, or by the server if there is no umpire.

Scoring a set

A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. The players also swap ends after each odd-numbered game. The score of games within a set is counted in the ordinary manner, except that a score of zero games is read as "love". The score is written using digits separated by a dash. The score is announced, by the umpire or server, at the start of each game.

All four combinations of serving player/team and ends are thus rotated through. In doubles, service also alternates within each team, and service reception alternates within the receiving team between points.

Traditionally, the set is won by the first player to have won at least six games and at least two games more than their opponent. More commonly, when the score is tied at 6–6 (each player having won six games), a special tie-breaker game is played and the winner takes the set by 7–6. Where the tie-breaker system is employed for 6–6 sets, in some cases the final set of a match is played without the tie-breaker, with games continuing until one player/team has one two more games than their opponent.

In a tie-breaker game, points are counted using ordinary numbering, with zero read as "zero", and the game is won by the first player to have won at least seven points and at least two points more than their opponent. In the tie-breaker game, The first point is served by the player who is next to serve. That player only serves one serve from the right, or "deuce" court. The opponent then serves the next two points starting from the left, or "ad" court. Service alternates after every two points, and sides are changed every six points.

Scoring the match

Most matches consist of an odd-number of multiple sets, the match winner being the player that wins more than half of the sets. The match ends as soon as this winning condition is met. Men's singles matches may consist of five sets (the winner being the first to three sets), while most matches are three sets (the winner being the first to two sets).

The sequence of service and end alternation between games continues throughout the match without regard to sets. A tie-breaker game is treated as a single game for the purposes of this alternation, despite its similar internal alternation.

The score of a complete match may be given simply by sets won, or with the scores of each set given separately. In either case, the match winner's score is stated first. In the former, shorter form, a match might be listed as 3–1 (three sets to one). In the latter form, this same match might be further described as "7–5 6–7 6–4 7–6". This match was won three sets to one, with the match loser winning the second set on a tie-breaker.

Officials

In serious play there is an officiating chair umpire (usually referred to as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to determine matters of fact. The chair umpire may be assisted by line umpires, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There may also be a net umpire who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service.

Ball boys/girls (who are usually children) may be employed to retrieve balls and pass them to the players and also hand players their towels. They have no adjudicative role. The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority on the rules.

Miscellaneous

A tennis match is intended to be continuous. Stamina is a relevant factor, so arbitrary delays are not permitted. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 s after the end of the previous point. This is increased to 90 s when the players change ends (every two games), and a 120 s break is permitted between sets. Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players' control, such as rain, damaged footwear, or the need to chase an errant ball.

Balls wear out quickly in serious play, and so are changed after every nine games. The first such change occurs after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. Continuity of the balls' condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain) then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes.

Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. The use of legs or feet is then prohibited, and the player is required to remain seated in the wheelchair. There is an exception for those who are able to propel themselves only using a foot. In wheelchair tennis, in which the players move in wheelchairs instead of using legs, an extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair/legs matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair user and a legs user, or for a wheelchair user to play against a legs user. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only.

Another tennis format is called "Canadian doubles". This involves three players, with one person playing against a doubles team. For the single person, single court rules reside (such that the ball must be within the singles court lines) but on the side of the doubles team, doubles court rules reside (the alleys are concidered in). The scoring is the same as a regular game.

Shots

A competent tennis player has some eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley or pick-up ball, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.

Serve

The server may employ different types of serve: a flat, a top-spin, an American twist (or kick), or a slice serve. A severely sliced serve is sometimes called a sidespin. Some servers are content to use the serve simply to initiate the point; advanced players often try to hit a winning shot with their serve. A winning serve which is not even touched by the opponent is called an ace. The fastest serve was by Andy Roddick (USA), at 155 mph.

Forehand

The forehand is considered the easiest shot to master, perhaps because it is the most natural stroke. It is made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot. There are various grips for executing the forehand. Their popularity has changed over the years. The simplest grip to understand is the "continental" forehand, in which the racquet handle is gripped as in a handshake. In the "western" or "eastern" variations, the handle is slightly rotated in either direction, imparting different spins to the ball. Most forehands are executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. In the 1940s and 50s the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to devastating effect against larger, more powerful players, and many female and young players use the two-handed stroke today. In the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the western forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players.

Backhand

The backhand, which is struck by swinging the racquet away from one's body in the direction of where the player wants the ball to go, is generally considered more difficult to master. It can be executed with either one hand or two. For most of the 20th Century it was performed with one hand, using either an eastern or a continental grip. The most notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. The two-handed grip gained popularity in the 1970s as Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors used it to great effect, and it is now used by a large number of the world's best players, including Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters. Two hands give the player more power, while one hand can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, used one hand with a very powerful stroke and imparted topspin onto the ball. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides.

Other shots

A volley is a shot made before the ball bounces, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed "punching" motion to deflect the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. The half-volley is employed by catching the ball just as it has bounced, deflecting it off an essentially motionless racquet face positioned low and perpendicular to the direction of the approaching ball. From a poor defensive position the "lob" can be used to advantage, hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court to enable the lobber to get back into better defensive position. If a lob is hit too shallow into the opponent's court, he may hit an overhead smash, a serve-like shot, to try to end the point. Alternatively, if the opponent is deep in his court, he may employ a drop shot, softly tapping the ball over the net out of the opponent's reach.

Courts

There are significant differences between the different types of courts:

Clay courts are considered "slow", meaning that the balls bounce relatively high, making it more difficult for a player to hit an unreturnable shot. Hardcourts and grass are considered "fast" surfaces, where low bounces keep rallies short, and powerful, hard-serving players have an advantage. Grass courts add an additional variable, with bounces depending on how healthy the grass is and how recently it has been mowed. Of the major Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open and U.S. Open use hardcourts – though both originally used grass courts – the French Open uses clay courts, and Wimbledon uses grass courts.

Other types of courts exist as well, and there is no consistent definition of what qualifies as a "hardcourt". Non-traditional surfaces are rarely used in competitive tennis.

Tournaments

Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men's singles, women's singles, doubles (where two players of the same sex play on each side), and mixed doubles (with a member of each sex per side). Tournaments may be arranged for for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. There are also tournaments for handicapped players.

Players may also me matched by their skill level. According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, they are given a rating (examples from the U.S. system: 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, etc.) which is adjusted periodically to maintain competitive matches.

History

Tennis has a long history, but its establishment as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. In 1859 Major Thomas Henry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Batista Pereira, a Spanish merchant, who both lived in Birmingham, England played a game they named "pelota", after a Spanish ball game. The game was played on a lawn in Edgbaston. In 1872 both men moved to Leamington Spa, and with two doctors from the Warneford Hospital, played pelota on the lawn behind the Manor House Hotel (now residential apartments). Pereira joined with Dr. Frederick Haynes and Dr. A. Wellesley Tomkins to found the first lawn tennis club in the world, and played the game on nearby lawns. In 1874 they formed the Leamington Tennis Club, setting out the original rules of the game. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall (demolished 1948).

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate at Nantclwyd, Wales. He based the game on the older sport of indoor tennis or real tennis ("royal tennis"), which had been invented in 12th century France and was played by French aristocrats down to the time of the French Revolution.

According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of royal tennis and applied them to his new game:

Tennis comes from the French tenez, the imperative form of the verb tenir, to hold: This was a cry used by the player serving in royal tennis, meaning "I am about to serve!" (rather like the cry "Fore!" in golf).
Racquet comes from raquette, which derives from the Arabic rakhat, meaning the palm of the hand.
Deuce comes from à deux le jeu, meaning "to both is the game" (that is, the two players have equal scores).
Love may come from l'oeuf, the egg, a reference to the egg-shaped zero symbol; however, since "un oeuf" is more commonly used, the etymology remains in question.
The convention of numbering scores "15," "30" and "40" comes from quinze, trente and quarante, which to French ears makes a euphonious sequence.

Seeing the commercial potential of the game, Wingfield patented it in 1874, but never succeeded in enforcing his patent. Tennis spread rapidly among the leisured classes in Britain and the United States. It was first played in the U.S. at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge on Staten Island, New York in 1874.

In 1881 the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs. The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. In 1881 the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardise the rules and organise competitions. The comprehensive I.L.T.F. rules promulgated in 1924 have remaned remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tie-breaker system designed by James van Alen. U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900.

Tennis was for many years predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by the United States, Britain and Australia. It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. Thus Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge). Winning the Grand Slam, by capturing these four titles in one calendar year, is the highest ambition of most tennis players.

In 1954 James Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world.

In 1926 a group of American tennis players established a professional tennis circuit, playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. For 40 years professional and amateur tennis remained strictly separate. Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis.

With the beginning of the Open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis has spread all over the world and has lost its upper-class English-speaking image. Since the 1970s great champions have emerged from Germany (Boris Becker, Steffi Graf), the former Czechoslovakia (Ivan Lendl Hana Mandlikova and Martina Navratilova), Sweden (Björn Borg , Stefan Edberg, and Mats Wilander), Brazil (Gustavo Kuerten), Russia (Yevgeni Kafelnikov,and Marat Safin)and many other countries.

Among the greatest male players of the Open era are Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, John Newcombe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras,Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin Michael Chang Juan Carlos Ferrero Among the women are Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Serena and Venus Williams, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Mary Pierce, Anastasia Myskina, and Maria Sharapova.

Many great players played in the days before Open tennis. Most of them are unknown by modern sports fans. Among them are Bill Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Pancho Gonzales, Ken Rosewall, and Lew Hoad. For many years observers considered Tilden to be the greatest player ever. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was general agreement that Gonzales had replaced Tilden as the best ever. Any one of these eleven would be competitive in today's game. Other fine players of the pre-Open era include Maurice McLoughlin, "Little Bill" Johnston, the "Four Musketeers" (Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste), Vinnie Richards, Jack Crawford, Vic Seixas, and Tony Trabert.

Who is the greatest male player of all time? It is impossible to give a clear answer, as new techniques and improved equipment have changed the game greatly in the last thirty years. Many authorities feel that the 1920s Bill Tilden, for instance, who was noted for his intelligence, adaptability, and athleticism, would be able to change his game and strokes to rival the modern players. Evidenced by the frequent upsets of top seeds by lower-ranked players in today's major tournements, there is relatively little difference in the quality of play among the top hundred players. If one believes that past stars would rank in the top hundred today, they also might fare as well against today's top players.

A listing of the six greatest players of all time might include, in chronological order, Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Pancho Gonzales, Rod Laver, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras. A study of their records against other players could support an argument for any one of them as the best player of all time. A similar case could perhaps be made for Jack Kramer or Björn Borg. Kramer himself, who became a top player in the early 1940s, believes that Ellsworth Vines was the greatest of all time ... and so it goes — an interesting topic for speculation.

External links

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