The history of tennis

Tennis has a long history (deriving from the 'jeu deformed to standardize the rules and organize
paume'), but its establishment as the modern sport cancompetitions. The comprehensive I.L.T.F. rules
be dated to two separate roots. In 1859 Majorpromulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable
Thomas Henry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Batistain the ensuing eighty years, the one major change
Pereira, a Spanish merchant, who both lived inbeing the addition of the tie-breaker system designed
Birmingham, England played a game they namedby James van Alen. U.S. National Men's Singles
"pelota", after a Spanish ball game. The game wasChampionship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881
played on a lawn in Edgbaston. In 1872 both menat Newport, Rhode Island. The U.S. National Women's
moved to Leamington Spa, and with two doctors fromSingles Championships were first held in 1887. The
the Warneford Hospital, played pelota on the lawnDavis Cup, an annual competition between national
behind the Manor House Hotel (now residentialteams, dates to 1900.
apartments). Pereira joined with Dr. Frederick HaynesTennis was for many years predominantly a sport of
and Dr. A. Wellesley Tomkins to found the first lawnthe English-speaking world, dominated by the United
tennis club in the world, and played the game onStates, Britain and Australia. It was also popular in
nearby lawns. In 1874 they formed the LeamingtonFrance, where the French Open dates to 1891. Thus
Tennis Club, setting out the original rules of the game.Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the
The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the firstAustralian Open (dating to 1905) became and have
tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrublandremained the most prestigious events in tennis.
Hall (demolished 1948).Together these four events are called the Grand Slam
In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield(a term borrowed from bridge). Winning the Grand
devised a similar game for the amusement of hisSlam, by capturing these four titles in one calendar
guests at a garden party on his estate at Nantclwyd,year, is the highest ambition of most tennis players.
Wales. He based the game on the older sport ofIn 1926 promoter C.C. ("Cash and Carry") Pyle
indoor tennis or real tennis ("royal tennis"), which hadestablished the first professional tennis tour with a
been invented in 12th century France and was playedgroup of American and French tennis players playing
by French aristocrats down to the time of the Frenchexhibition matches to paying audiences. The most
Revolution.notable of these early professionals were the
According to most tennis historians, modern tennisAmerican Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman
terminology also derives from this period, as WingfieldSuzanne Lenglen. For 42 years professional and
borrowed both the name and much of the Frenchamateur tennis remained strictly separate. Once a
vocabulary of royal tennis and applied them to his newplayer turned pro he or she could not compete in the
game:major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial
Tennis comes from the French tenez, the imperativepressures led to the abandonment of this distinction,
form of the verb tenir, to hold: This was a cry used byinaugurating the Open era, in which all players could
the player serving in royal tennis, meaning "I am aboutcompete in all tournaments, and top players were able
to serve!" (rather like the cry "Fore!" in golf).to make their living from tennis.
Racquet comes from raquette, which derives from theWith the beginning of the Open era, the establishment
Arabic rakhat, meaning the palm of the hand.of an international professional tennis circuit, and
Deuce comes from à deux le jeu, meaning "to bothrevenues from the sale of television rights, tennis has
is the game" (that is, the two players have equalspread all over the world and has lost its upper-class
scores).English-speaking image. Since the 1970s great
Love may come from l'oeuf, the egg, a reference tochampions have emerged from Germany (Boris
the egg-shaped zero symbol; however, since "un oeuf"Becker, Steffi Graf), the former Czechoslovakia (Ivan
is more commonly used, the etymology remains inLendl, Martina Navratilova, and Hana Mandlikova),
question.Sweden (Björn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats
The convention of numbering scores "15," "30" and "40"Wilander), Brazil (Gustavo Kuerten), Russia (Yevgeny
comes from quinze, trente and quarante, which toKafelnikov and Marat Safin), Belgium (Kim Clijsters and
French ears makes a euphonious sequence.Justine Henin-Hardenne), Switzerland (Martina Hingis
Seeing the commercial potential of the game, Wingfieldand Roger Federer) and from many other countries.
patented it in 1874, but never succeeded in enforcingIn 1954 James Van Alen founded the International
his patent. Tennis spread rapidly among the leisuredTennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport,
classes in Britain and the United States. It was firstRhode Island. The building contains a large collection of
played in the U.S. at the home of Mary Ewingtennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring
Outerbridge on Staten Island, New York in 1874.prominent members and tennis players from all over
In 1881 the desire to play tennis competitively led to thethe world. Each year, a grass-court tournament is
establishment of tennis clubs. The first championshipshosted on the grounds that are home to the Tennis
at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. In 1881Hall of Fame, as well as an induction ceremony
the United States National Lawn Tennis Associationhonoring new Hall of Fame members.
(now the United States Tennis Association) was