Tennis : History, Game Rules , Prominent players

Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent or between two teams, have a look on tennis history.

Tennis : History, Game Rules , Prominent players

Each 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.

The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.

The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.

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 racket, including wheelchair users.

Tennis history 

Historians believe that the game’s ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand.

Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume (“game of the palm”), which evolved into real tennis, and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style.

Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris “around the end of the 13th century”. In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe.

In June 1316 at Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, and following a particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy, although there was also suspicion of poisoning.

Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history’s first tennis player known by name.

Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France, who had a court set up at the Louvre Palace.

Tennis Game Rules 

First of all, the rules of tennis are different (although mostly similar) for singles matches and doubles matches.

But before we go over that stuff, let’s review some of the general tennis rules and regulations that apply to all of tennis before we learn how to play tennis for singles and doubles.

• A ball must land within bounds for play to continue; if a player hits the ball outside of bounds, this results in the loss of the point for them.
• Players/teams cannot touch the net or posts or cross onto the opponent’s side.
• Players/teams cannot carry the ball or catch it with the racquet.
• Players cannot hit the ball twice.
• Players must wait until the ball passes the net before they can return it.
• A player that does not return a live ball before it bounces twice loses the point.
• If the ball hits or touches the players, that counts as a penalty.
• If the racquet leaves the hand or verbal abuse occurs, a penalty is given.
• Any ball that bounces on the lines of boundary are considered good.

If a game score of 6-6 is reached and tie-break set rules are used, players must play a tie-break game in order to decide who wins the set. In a tie-break game, a player/team must reach 7 points with a two point advantage to win.

For the serving format of a tie-break game, player 1 serves for the first point, player 2 serves for the next two points, player 1 serves for the next two points after that, etc.

Prominent players 

It is equally difficult to break into the tops slots and maintain the ranking consistently. Generations of players have come and gone. Some players have stood in the limelight during their peaks and have also competed with younger and fitter player to continue winning.

Here are some prominent players of tennis  :

1. Novak Djokovic
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Roger Federer
4. Rod Laver
5. Pete Sampras
6. Bjorn Borg
7. Ivan Lendl
8. Jimmy Connors
9. John McEnroe
10. Ken Rosewall