Tennis has experienced rapid transformation over the last decade more than almost any other sport, from its roots as an ancient medieval game known as jeu de paume involving striking balls with palms of hands to becoming a racket-based game popular with royalty in 1800s England.
The first known tennis-like games date back to the twelfth century, when monks played handball against monastery walls or across ropes strung across courtyards.
Origins
No matter whether you play tennis professionally or as a recreational hobbyist, its history is impressive. Starting as a garden party game featuring ladies wearing whalebone corsets and starched petticoats while men wore white flannels; to what it has become today: an athletic game which challenges both skill and stamina with strokes of variable speed and spin; tennis has come a long way since its origins as an outdoor pastime for ladies in whalebone corsets with starched petticoats playing against men flannels!
No one knows for certain where this game originated; most historians agree it first appeared around 11th or 12th century monks using crude handball against monastery walls and across a rope strung across courtyards. As it gained in popularity and spread among royalty and nobility courts around Europe in its popularity increased dramatically until it eventually came into use on tennis racquet courts with complex rules and strategies developed specifically for tennis in 16th century France; giving rise to its current name from “tenez”, French for “to hold.”
At this time, tennis spread rapidly throughout Europe before coming to America in 1896 via Olympic inclusion; however, professionalization did not occur until 1926.
Major Walter Clopton Wingfield created a version of grass tennis in 1874. Although he claimed he made this invention for an hourglass-shaped court intended for use at a country weekend garden party in Llanelidan, Wales; research indicates otherwise. Wingfield even obtained a patent on his game but never renewed after its validity had expired.
Rules
Tennis matches typically consist of two opposing singles players or doubles partners using tautly strung rackets to hit a ball over a net and within its boundaries of a court’s designated dimensions, scoring points whenever an opponent fails to return it over the net and within court boundaries. Points are awarded every time their opponent does not return it within its boundaries and with enough points being won to win an individual game, set, or the match itself.
Tennis requires that its participants abide by many rules in order to play properly. Stepping over the net while hitting or speaking to referees during games are against the rules; additionally, serve players must wait until their partner hits the ball before beginning their service; in doubles matches servers rotate between points while receiving teams switch sides after every other point.
A player must win four points to win a game and six games with at least a two-game advantage for them to secure victory in a set. If the score reaches 6-6, a tiebreak is played; the first player to score seven points wins both sets and matches.
Newcomers to tennis may find the scoring system unfamiliar and perplexing. A clock face with hands positioned at 15, 30 and 40 indicates the score, with points being awarded when players score at 40 (also known as deuce). If points tie at 40 (known as no-aces), deuce is restored again.
Tennis also includes various rules designed to add more excitement, such as one that requires players who are uncertain whether a ball was out or in, to call it back and make the call-in call in order to be safe. Furthermore, if errors occur while serving or receiving, these errors must be rectified immediately in order to finish points without replay.
Equipment
Equipment used for tennis has seen considerable advancements over time due to technological advancements. The tennis racket is an essential piece of gear and there have been multiple design advancements since its introduction into play. Partly due to stricter regulations introduced over time and partly thanks to input from top players that has provided major manufacturers like Wilson, Dunlop and Head with essential data needed for technological innovation, racket technologies have continued to progress significantly since their inception.
Early tennis rackets were fairly basic, and their design barely altered until around 14th Century when real tennis (also called Royal Tennis) emerged indoors with its own rules and special racket that served as an extension of one hand with a flat hitting surface.
Lawn tennis became an immensely popular game in England during the 19th Century and required rackets with greater power to strike the ball more powerfully, leading to modern rackets with larger sweet spots that provided players with increased control.
Howard Head, an aeronautical engineer by training, began a company which would become one of the premier manufacturers of tennis rackets during this time. Utilizing his knowledge from aviation to create lighter yet strong and durable rackets.
In 1975, Weed created the first oversized tennis racket made out of aluminum for players to benefit from having a larger sweet spot for greater power. This innovation propelled tennis forward, and by 1980 wooden rackets had fallen out of favour as brands such as Prince, Dunlop and John McEnroe took control with graphite-framed rackets dominating play.
Attire
As tennis has advanced over time, its attire has also changed to adapt with it. While today’s players still wear all-white uniforms as part of the standard dress code for matches, fashion trends emerged that reflect players’ individual styles and personalities.
At first, both male and female tennis players wore standard white tennis clothing in the early 1900s. Men wore long-sleeved shirts and trousers while women donned full-length corseted dresses with hats; women typically sported long corseted dresses. But during the Flapper era there was a dramatic transformation to this sport’s apparel; French player Suzanne Lenglen began the revolution when she donned an unconventional cotton school uniform look while playing Wimbledon – prompting spectators and opponents who complained it gave her an unfair advantage over her opponents and spectators alike.
In the 1930s, female tennis players began wearing more relaxed and fashionable attire, from sleeveless blouses with pleated skirts to lambswool cardigans on colder days. Helen Wills Moody became a central figure during this era with her preferred uniform being curtsied uniforms which aligned with her preference for free rectangular shapes as she developed friendships with royalty and film stars alike.
After World War II, tennis fashion trends resumed their usual inclinations of women sporting short-sleeved shirts and skirts. American player Gertrude Moran set trends when she donned both in combination with lace panties to demonstrate that 1940s were all about female sexiness.
As the 1970s progressed, tennis adopted mod fashion trends such as gingham and stripes worn by Virginia Wade and Lorna Greveille-Collins of England as well as Marlys Burel from France. Additionally, this period witnessed the emergence of psychedelia music and art movement which could be seen through Martina Navratilova and Anne White’s colorful prints worn on court.
Scoring
Tennis scoring follows an unconventional system. Instead of counting points in units of one, points are counted in 15s; with each new point scored being 15 and 30 and 40 thereafter. This tradition probably stems from jeu de paume which inspired modern tennis’ creation and may also have drawn inspiration from medieval sports like Chinese crested shuttlecock which used similar scoring systems.
Reason being, each score in 15s represents players likely playing for money during its early days; evidenced by an edict issued from Munich in 1336 which limited stakes to 60 denare (deniers), a common unit of measurement at the time.
No matter its origins, the scoring convention remains. Many find its existence puzzling; one theory suggests it relates to jeu de paume’s numbering system which allowed serving players to move up 15 feet with each point won on a clock face court until reaching 45 points on an ordinary 90-foot court.
A numbering system also explains why the score of a player who has yet to gain any points is known as “love.” The term may have come from French word for egg (l’oeuf), which looks similar to zero. Once four consecutive points are won by any one player, they win the game outright; otherwise deuce is declared and one winning point awarded randomly after 40 points have been reached by either opponent; thereafter the game returns back to deuce if neither party has won two in succession.