Tennis is a sport that people usually play individually against a single opponent (singles) or

between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racquet 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. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is
not able to play a good return.
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Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be
played by anyone who can hold a racquet, including wheelchair users. The modern game of
tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis"

The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to
1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tie-
break in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic
review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to contest the
line call of a point.
Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is also a popular worldwide spectator
sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the "Majors") are especially
popular: the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay
courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.


The outcome of a tennis match is determined through a best of three or five sets system.
Recreational players may agree to play any number of sets, depending upon time availability or
stamina. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand
Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set
matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all
tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in a best-of-five,
wins the match.
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A set consists of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.
In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known
phrase "Game, set, match" followed by the winning person's or team's name. The final score in
sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "62, 46, 60, 75".
Clay court are red clay, used at the French Open, and green clay (an example of which is Har-
Tru and used mainly in the U.S.). Almost all red clay courts are made not of natural clay but of
crushed brick that is packed to make the court. The crushed brick is then covered with a topping
of other crushed particles. This type of surface does not absorb water easily and is the most
common in Europe and Latin America.
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Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball
and a fairly true bounce with more spin.
Any form of removable court covering, including carpeting and artificial turf. The bounce can be
higher or lower than a hard court. Carpet surface has not been used on the ATP and WTA tour
since 2009.
Grand Slam Tournaments
Date Tournament Location Surface Prize Money
First
Held
January Australian Open Melbourne Hard (Plexicushion) A$26,000,000 1905
MayJune French Open Paris Clay 18,718,000 1925
*

JuneJuly Wimbledon London Grass 14,600,000 1877
August
September
US Open New York City Hard (DecoTurf) US$21,016,000 1881

Roger Federer (17)
Pete Sampras (14)
Rafael Nadal (13)
Roy Emerson (12)
Rod Laver (11)
Bjrn Borg (11)
Bill Tilden (10)
Fred Perry (8)
Ken Rosewall (8)
Jimmy Connors (8)
Ivan Lendl (8)
Andre Agassi (8)
William Renshaw (7)
Richard Sears (7)
William Larned (7)
Henri Cochet (7)
Rene Lacoste (7)
John Newcombe (7)
John McEnroe (7)
Mats Wilander (7)
Novak Djokovic (6)
Lawrence Doherty (6)
Anthony Wilding (6)
Donald Budge (6)
Jack Crawford (6)
Boris Becker (6)
Stefan Edberg (6)
Frank Sedgman (5)
hard courts are acrylic (e.g. Plexicushion used at the Australian Open, DecoTurf used at the US
Open,GreenSet used at the ATP World Tour Finals), asphalt, and concrete. Hardcourts typically
have a faster-paced ball with a very true bounce and it is the predominant surface type used on
the professional tour.
A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand,
backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.
A grip is a way of holding the racquet in order to hit shots during a match. The grip affects the
angle of the racquet face when it hits the ball and influences the pace, spin, and placement of
the shot
A serve (or, more formally, a "service") in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated
by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the
diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.
For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body,
continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the
body. There are various grips for executing the forehand, and their popularity has fluctuated
over the years.
For right-handed players, the backhand is a stroke that begins on the left side of their body,
continues across their body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of their
body. It can be executed with either one hand or with both and is generally considered more
difficult to master than the forehand.
This is sometimes played instead of a third set. A match tie-break is played like a regular tie-
break, but the winner must win ten points instead of seven. Match tie-breaks are used in
the Hopman Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games for mixed doubles, on the ATP and WTA tours
for doubles and as a player's choice in USTA league play.