Tennis

Tennis

Tennis is the most popular racket sport that can be played individually or in a team of two. The player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court.

A mix single tennis match between Selena Williams and Roger Federer

It is said to have an estimated global following of 1 billion fans and a global sphere of influence. There are different versions of the sport which are believed to have been played by the Egyptians, Romans and the Greeks, although the modern sport was first popularized in France. It spread from France to other parts of Europe and eventually to the whole world. It can be played by two teams of either one or two players each and involves bouncing a ball over a net by use of tennis rackets. When the opponent is unable to throw back the ball in the predetermined dimensions of the rectangular court, points are earned.

History

An olden day women single tennis match

It is believed that tennis first originated in the Ancient Egypt. The word ‘racket’ is believed to be derived from the Arabic word ‘rakhat’, which means a ‘palm’. But there have been claims of that the French monks started to play tennis in 11-12 centuries. It only began to develop into a professional sport from 1872, when the first lawn tennis club was established. Before the original rules for lawn tennis were secured (tennis on a lawn), Hoa Pereira (a Portuguese merchant), and doctors Wellesley Tomkins and Frederick Haynes played a Spanish game with the ball called ‘pelota’ on lawns of the Leamington resort.

Object of the Game

A tennis bat and a ball

The object of the game is to hit the ball over the net landing the ball within the margins of the court and in a way that the opponent is unable to return the ball or not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball loses a point. A player must win enough points to win a game and enough games to win a set and enough sets to win a match.

Team Size

Mastercard Hopman Cup mixed doubles

Tennis can be played in three variants: Singles, Doubles and Mix Doubles. In Singles, there is only one player on each side of the court and in Doubles, two players per team whereas in Mix Doubles, a man and a woman each on a team.

Lawn Tennis Court

A tennis court

A tennis court should be rectangular in shape with a length of 23.77 meters for all matches while the width in a singles’ match is 8.23 meters and 10.97 meters for a doubles match.

It is divided into two equal halves with a net that is 0.914 meters high from the ground with a net is tied parallel to the width of the court. The net is hold tightly by a metal cable with two net-posts on either ends of length which are not movable.

Tennis Court details

The wider end lines of the court are called baselines and the ones on sides are called sidelines. There are two sidelines parallel to each other and one baseline on each end which are 1.37 meters apart. The first one is called singles sideline and the parallel one is called doubles sideline.

Rules

Tennis bats with a ball and the net

• The player who serve must serve each point from alternative sides on the base line.
• If the server fails to get both the first and second serve in, then a double fault will be called and the point lost.
• If the ball hits the net but goes in the service area during the serve, they can take the serve again without any penalty.
• The amount of shots between the players can be unlimited once a serve has been made.
• The points are awarded in scores of 15, 30 and 40 where 15 represent 1 point, 30 = 2 and 40 = 3.
• In case of a deuce, 2 consecutive points are needed to win.
• A player must win 6 games by 2 or more to win the set
• Touching the net will cost you a point.
• If the ball hits any part of the line, it will be called in.
• If a player fails to hit the ball over the net landing the ball within the margins of the court, he will lose the point.