The History of tennis
The History of tennis
Predecessors
While the modern game of tennis originated in late 19th
century England, most historians believe that the games' ancient origin is from
12th century France, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand.
Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume, 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 out of doors
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. Unfortunately, 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.
It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use,
and the game began to be called "tennis", from the Old French term
tenez, which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or
"take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his
opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only
played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England
was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis. During the 18th
century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racquets sports
emerged in England.
Origins of the modern game
Between 1859 and 1865 Harry Gem and his friend Augurio
Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and the Basque ball
game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, United
Kingdom. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first
tennis club in Leamington Spa.
In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed
and patented a similar game – which he called sphairistike (Greek: σφάίρίστική, from ancient Greek meaning "skill at playing at
ball"), and was soon known simply as "sticky" — for the
amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in
Llanelidan, Wales. Sport historians agree that Wingfield deserves much of the
credit for the development of modern tennis. The world's oldest tennis
tournament, the Wimbledon championships, were first played in London in 1877.
The first Championships culminated a significant debate on how to standardize
the rules.
Lawn tennis in the U.S., 1887
In America in 1874 Mary Ewing Outerbridge, a young
socialite, returned from Bermuda where she met Major Wingfield. She laid out a
tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington,
Tompkinsville, New York. The first American National championship was played
there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E Woodhouse won the singles
title, and a silver cup worth $100, by defeating Canadian I.F. Hellmuth. There
was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different
rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in
New York. On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association
(now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules
and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now
the US Open, was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode
Island. The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887
in Philadelphia.
Tennis was also popular in France, where the French
Championships dates to 1891 although until 1925 it was open only to tennis
players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the
French Open, and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained
the most prestigious events in tennis.
Together these four
events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than
baseball).
The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the
International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis
Federation (ITF), have remained largely stable in the ensuing eighty years, the
one major change being the addition of the tie-break system designed by James
Van Alen. That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the 1924
Games but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in
1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts by the then ITF President
Philippe Chatrier, ITF General Secretary David Gray and ITF Vice President
Pablo Llorens, and support from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. The
success of the event was overwhelming and the IOC decided to reintroduce tennis
as a full medal sport at Seoul in 1988.
International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino
The Davis Cup, an annual competition between men's national
teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the
Fed Cup, was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the founding of the ITF.
In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first
professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players
playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early
professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne
Lenglen. Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major
(amateur) tournaments. This resulted in a schism between the amateur and pro
tennis ranks that would last until the advent of the Open Era.
In 1968, commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs
taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction,
inaugurating the open era, in which all players could compete in all
tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With
the beginning of the open era, the establishment of an international
professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights,
tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its
upper/middle-class English-speaking image (although it is acknowledged that
this stereotype still exists).
In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of
Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a
large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring
prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Each year, a
grass-court tournament and an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame
members are hosted on its grounds.
