Thursday 8 December 2011

Tennis- 5 Stars

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Tennis
The US Open is a prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racketthat is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent’s court. Tennis is an Olympicsport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs.
The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England in the late 19th century as “lawn tennis” which has close connections to various field/lawn games as well as to the ancient game of real tennis. Up to then, “tennis” referred to the latter sport: for example, in Disraeli’s novel Sybil (1845), Lord Eugene De Vere announces that he will “go down to Hampton Court and play tennis. As it is the Derby [classic horse race], nobody will be there”.[1] After its creation, lawn tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world.[2]
The rules of tennis have not changed much 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-breakin 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 challenge the line (or chair) umpire’s call of a point. Players have unlimited opportunities to challenge provided the challenges made are correct. However, once three incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot challenge again until the next set. If the set goes to a tie break, players are given one additional opportunity to challenge the call. This electronic review, currently called Hawk-Eye, is available at a limited number of high-level ATP and WTAtournaments.
Tennis is enjoyed by millions of recreational players and is also a hugely popular worldwide spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slamtournaments (also referred to as the “Majors”): the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledonplayed on grass courts, and the US Openplayed also on hard courts.

HistoryWhile 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. 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 interjectionused as a call from the server to his opponent.[3] 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.[4] During the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racquets sports emerged in England.[5]
Between 1859 and 1865 Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of racketsand the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera’s croquetlawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom.[6][7] In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world’s first tennis club in Leamington Spa.[8]
Lawn tennis in the U.S., 1887
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.[9] Sport historians agree that Wingfield deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis.[5][10] The world’s oldest tennis tournament, the Wimbledon championships, were first played in London in 1877.[11][12] The first Championships culminated a significant debate on how to standardize the rules.
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 in New Brighton Staten Island, New York. The exact location of the club was under what is now the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The first American National tournament in 1880 was played there. An Englishman named O.E Woodhouse won the singles match. 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 NY. 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.[13] The U.S. National Men’s Singles Championship, now the US Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island.[14] The U.S. National Women’s Singles Championships were first held in 1887.[15] Tennis was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891.[16] 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.[12][17] Together these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball).[18] The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis Federation, have remained largely stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tie-breaksystem designed by James Van Alen.[19] 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.
The Davis Cup, an annual competition between men’s national teams, dates to 1900.[20] 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 also known as International Tennis Federation.[21]
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.[17][22] The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen.[17][23] Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.[17]
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.[24] 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[25] (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).[25][26][27]
In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island.[28] 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.

Equipment
Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only a racquetand balls.

Racquets
The components of a tennis racquet include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, racquets were of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut. Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in racquets used through most of the 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability.
Under modern rules of tennis, the racquet must adhere to the following guidelines;[29]