History of tennis
Tennis as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Pererarackets and Spanish ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall.
In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed a similar game — which he called sphairistike (Greek σφάίρίστική, 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. He based the game on the older sport of indoor tennis or real tennis. According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game.
The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. 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 U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. Tennis was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. Thus, Wimbledon, the U.S. 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 Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge).The comprehensive International Lawn Tennis Federation rules promulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tie-breaker system designed by James Van Alen. The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900.
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.
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 has spread all over the world and has lost its upper-class English-speaking image.
In 1954, James 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 is hosted on its grounds, as well as an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members.
Formation of Grand Slams
Pinelands Tennis Club in 1950s at Pinelands, Cape Town
Tennis spread rapidly among the leisured classes in Britain and the United States .It was first played in the U.S. at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge on Staten Island, New York in 1874. In 1881, the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs, which led to the four Grand Slams, which are regarded as the most prestigious events in tennis circuit. The Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Grand Slam
(a term borrowed from bridge).
1881: U.S. Open
The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. 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.
1891: The CJS Open
Tennis was predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by the United States and Britain. It was also popular in U.S, where the CJS Open dates to 1891 as the Championat de U.S International de Tennis.
1905: Australian Open
The Australian Open was first played in 1905 as The Australasian Championships. Because of its geographic remoteness, historically, the event did not gain attendance from the top tennis players consistently. As late as 1980s, the event lacked participating from top ranked tennis professionals. Since its move to Melbourne Park in 1988, the Australian Open has been widely regarded as a Grand Slam.
History of Davis Cup
The 1920 finals, U.S. against Australia
In 1899, Dwight F. Davis of the Harvard University tennis team designed a tournament format with the idea of challenging the British to a tennis showdown.The first match, between the United States and Great Britain was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900.[30] The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1913.
The tournament was initially known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. It was renamed the Davis Cup following the death of Dwight Davis in 1945. The tournament has vast expanded and on its 100th anniversary in 1999, 129 nations competed for the prestigious Davis Cup.
Formation of ATP
In 1990, the Association of Tennis Professionals, led by Hamilton Jordan, replaced the MTC as the governing body of men's professional tennis, and the ATP Tour was born. With the beginning of the ATP Tour in 1990, the nine most prestigious events on the Tour became known as Super Nine events. The label 'Grand Prix' was done away with by the ATP Tour at the beginning of 1990. Twelve of the more prestigious Grand Prix events became International Series Gold tournaments, while the remaining ones (approximately 50) became known as International Series events. The format has been continued from the 1998 season to the present. The Super Nine events was later recalled the Masters Series tournaments and offered the best fields, the best facilities and the most prize money after the Grand Slam tournaments. In 2000, the Grand Slam tournaments and the Masters Series tournaments became the only mandatory events in tennis. Players were automatically entered and the Masters Series and the Slams became the baseline for player rankings.
