History of Tennis

Origins

Tennis as an indoor game was first recorded in the eleventh century, when a game called jeu de paume was played in French monastries.

The first racket with strings was probably introduced in the fifteenth century by an Italian priest, Antionio da Scalo, who also wrote a general review of ball games, and included tennis among them.

As an outdoor game, 'field tennis' was mentioned in an English journal, Sporting Magazine, in 1793. Some eighty years previously, a game called 'long tennis' was mentioned in a Book of Games and Sports.

The English influence

'Real' or 'royal' tennis was, in England, a game for the aristocracy. It had become popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, but lawn tennis was played more by the middle classes, who adapted real tennis into an outdoor game.

In 1859, J.B Perera, who was Spanish, played Major Harry Gem, who was English, and a clerk to the Birmingham Magistrates, played an outdoor version of tennis on the lawn of Perera's house in Ampton Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham (England).

They later played on a lawn next to the Manor House Hotel, Leamington Spa (again in England), where they formed the first known lawn tennis club in 1872, along with Dr. Frederick Haynes and Dr. Arthur Tomkins. It was called the Leamington Club, and the game was not referred as lawn tennis at the time, but pelota or lawn rackets.

In 1874, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield tried to make the game commercial. He re-named it 'sphairistike' and published a book of rules with the title New and Improved Court for Playing the Ancient Game of Lawn Tennis.

In 1868, The All-England Croquet Club had been founded, and in 1870, the headquarters were opened in Worple Road, Wimbledon, London. In 1875, the club agreed to set aside part of the ground for lawn tennis and badminton.

Within months, the first standarized set of rules had been drawn up, and by the end of 1875, the first American club was opened at Staten Island.

Wimbledon tennis

Meanwhile, the All-England Croquet Club changed its name in 1877 to include 'Lawn Tennis', and in 1882, the word 'Croquet' was dropped. It was brought back in 1899, and the name of the club changed to its present form: The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

In 1877 the committee of the club agreed to organise a championship called the Championships in Lawn Tennis. This was the beginning of the most famous event in the tennis calendar, the Wimbledon Championships.

Between 9 and 19 July 1877, twenty-one players competed for the championship, and the first winner was Spencer William Gore, who beat William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in front of just 200 spectators.

The United States Lawn Tennis Association was founded in 1881 and later that year, they held their first championships at Newport, Rhode Island. Only men's singles and doubles were held.

The first women's singles at Wimbledon took place in 1884, and it was not until three years later that the US Championships caught up.

Also in 1884, men's doubles was officially introduced, but it was not until 1913 that women's doubles and mixed doubles were officially introduced.

International tennis

The first French Championships were held in 1891, but were only open to members of French clubs. It became an international event in 1925. The remaining quarter of the Grand Slam, the Australian Championships, started in 1905.

In 1883, the first match between the British Isles and the United States took place. The next year, three Americans were in competition at Wimbledon. The growing internationalism of the sport led to the founding of the Davis Cup, the most important international team event in tennis.

In 1900, at Boston, Massachusetts, the United States beat the British Isles to win the first trophy. The Davis Cup became a knockout tournament in 1973.

In March 1913, the International Lawn Tennis Federation was formed. Most of the twelve founder members were European, but South Africa and Australasia were present.

In 1922, the All-England Club moved from Worple Road to its present home in Church Road. And the Wimbledon Championships became a knockout competition. Before this, there had been a challenge system whereby a player would simply play one match to defend, or perhaps lose, their title.

Also in 1922, seeding was introduced at the US Championships. Two years later, it was also used at Wimbledon, and has since become the de facto standard.

The 'big four' championships were amateur events only. Many top players, particularly in the 1950's and 1960's, left the amateur game to join one of the professional tours that were in existence.

The first professional tour took place at Beckenham, Kent, in England. It was sponsored by Rothmans, a cigarette company. The sport went 'open' in 1968, when the British Hard Court Championships staged the first Open tennis event at Bournemouth.

The tie-break had actually been used since 1926, although it was in 1970 that it became a standard part of the game to eliminate long sets.

Today, lawn tennis is more commonly known as tennis, as it is now played on a variety of surfaces, grass, clay, and the hard court, often used for indoor matches.

Tennis

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