Tennis

Introduction

Tennis is one of the most played racquet sports in the world that is played on a variety of surfaces like grass, clay, cement, coated asphalt and carpet. It is believed to have originated in the 13th century in France where players used to hit the ball with their hands. The sport is a regular event at the Summer Olympics since 1988 and consists of other tournaments like Grand Slam, ATP World Tour, WTA Tour etc. International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the global governing body of Tennis.

Objective

To hit the ball over the net into the opponent’s court in such a way that the opponent can’t play a valid return.

History of Tennis

The modern sport of tennis originated from a nineteenth-century game called real tennis/royal tennis which was played in Birmingham, England.  Its origins are related to several lawn games played in the twelfth century such as croquet and bowls.

At the initial time of its origins, the game of tennis was played with one's palm, and hence it got the name jeu de paume, i.e. game of the palm. It was only until the sixteenth century when players started using racquets, and the name 'tennis' was popularised.

Equipment History

Tennis Rackets

• During the initial hundred years of this game, racquets were made up of wood and strings from animal guts. But those old racquets didn't provide efficient performance since wood has inconsistencies. It was only until the twentieth century when racquets made up of composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and several other lighter metals such as titanium were introduced.
• The rules regarding the production of racquets have also been changing from time to time, for example, the maximum length of the frame was 32 inches until 1997 but was later shortened to 29 inches.
• The advancements in technology further advanced the production of high quality, lightweight, and durable racquets which are currently used by tennis players all over the world.

Tennis Balls

Tennis balls were initially made up of rough cloth strips which were tightly sewn together with threads and filled with feathers. Though initially white, the colour of tennis balls was changed to yellow during the twentieth century since it provided with better visibility on the court during a live telecast.

Strings

Tennis racquet strings were originally made up of cow intestine, aka natural gut. It was a durable but highly expensive method to produce racquet strings. Thus, sports manufacturer adopted new technologies to create synthetic strings that gave the feel of the natural gut but were less costly to make on a large scale.

Events

Singles

Men’s Singles or Women’s Singles events

Doubles

Men’s Doubles or Women’s Doubles events

Mixed Doubles

Pair of one male and one female player each side

Participants

Tennis is played by either two players (one player per side) or by four players as a game of doubles (two players per side).

Equipment

Tennis Rackets

A tennis racket contains an oval head and a gradually widening neck that connects the handle to the frame. The frame or the head includes several tightly woven strings made up of various materials like nylon, gut or synthetic gut. The size of a racket head can't be more than 74 cm in length and 32 cm in width.

Tennis Balls

As per the rules defined by the ITF, tennis balls yellow spherical balls measuring between 65.41–68.58 mm in diameter. They usually weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g.

Net

A rectangular net is used to cover the distance between the two sides of a tennis court. It's usually tied three feet above the ground at the centre of the court.

Wrist Bands & Headbands

Wrists band are used by players to prevent their sweat from reaching the grip and wetting it.

Headbands are also used to absorb sweat and tying a player's hair from above his face.

Techniques

Serve

It is the starting stroke of a point. The server must hit the ball into the diagonally opposite service court. The most common serve is made by tossing the ball in the air and then hitting it. There are four main serves in tennis: flat serve, kick serve, slice serve and underhand serve.

Forehand

It is the most used shot in tennis as it is the most natural one in which the stroke begins on the dominant side of the body (like on the right-side for a right-handed player).

Backhand

It is a difficult shot to master than a forehand shot as it is played from the non-dominant side of the body in which the back side of the hand is shown to the opponent.

Grip

It is a way of holding the racquet to play the shots. The main types of grip are: Eastern grip, Continental grip, Western and semi-western grips and two-handed grip.

Lob

It is a shot in which the ball is hit high and deep into the opponent’s court which either enables the player to win the point or to get into a better defensive position.

Volley

It is a stroke made before the ball touches the ground. This shot cuts the time for the opponent to react. It is usually made close to the net but can be made from any part of the court.

Drop Shot

It is a stroke in which the ball bounces low and near the net making it difficult for the opposing player to reach it before it bounces twice.

Smash

It is a powerful overhead shot generally made in response to a lob that has failed to clear the player’s head. A smash shot is usually hit with great force to end the point.

Playing Area

Tennis is played on a rectangular court which is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches and 36 feet wide for doubles matches. The service line is 21 feet from the net and is divided into two halves marking the left and right service courts. The baseline of the court is 18 feet from the service line. The net is placed at the center of the court and should stretch beyond the width of the doubles court by 3 feet and is 3.6 feet high at posts and 3 feet high at the center. Tennis can be played on a variety of surfaces which are grass, clay, hard courts or carpet courts.

Officials

Chair Umpire

The chair umpire sits on a raised chair behind the net post at the center of one side of the court. He/she is the final authority to make the calls and can overrule net judge and line judges.

Net Judge

Sits at the end of the net and indicates when the ball has touched the net during the service.

Linesmen/ Line Judges/ Line Umpires

Along each line of the court, a line judge is present who makes a call if the ball lands out of the court. There can be a maximum of 9 line umpires present during a match.

Foot-Fault Judge

Calls the foot faults during the service and after this, he/she serves as a line judge.