Tennis

The Global Game

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The Global Game

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Overview

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History

History of Lawn Tennis

The background of lawn tennis is entangled with 14th century Royal Courts, The Battle of Agincourt, Jailers, Cricket and Croquet Clubs! The original game (Real Tennis) was played on a complicated court and lawn tennis as we know it developed from an attempt to popularise the game for the masses, with the production in 1858 of kits for making a cheap court. The game was called "Sphairistike", Greek for a ball game. Warwickshire was the hub of this movement. The first tennis club formed in 1827, at Leamington. The Marylebone Cricket Club developed the rules for the competitive sport. While lawn tennis was first played in Britain, the first national ruling body was the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA, now the USTA), formed in 1881. In the UK, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was not formed until 1888. As the game grew and spread around the world, the International Tennis Federation (ILTF, now the ITF) was founded in 1913 by the national associations of 12 countries. Today the ITF, the world governing body of tennis, is composed of the national tennis associations of 200 countries. The ITF administers the four major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open), as well as the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and the Olympic tennis competition. The men's and women's professional tennis tours are run, respectively, by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The ATP Tour is composed of over 70 tournaments, culminating in the Tennis Masters Cup, with the 8 top performers from the year invited to compete. The WTA Tour consists of 58 tournaments, culminating with the season-ending Chase Championships in November. The top 16 players of the year are eligible to compete
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Equipment

Tennis ball bounce

A hot ball is pressurised more than a cold ball and bounces higher. At the top levels balls are placed in pressurised cans so they don't lose pressure and opened just before the game starts.
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Play/Watch

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Organisational bodies

International Tennis Governing Bodies

Governed by the ITF which was founded in 1913 by the national associations of 12 countries. Today the ITF is composed of the national tennis associations of 200 countries. The ITF 'circuits' provide the opportunities for players to develop for the top level tennis Pro Tours. The Circuits: Junior's, Women's, Men's, Federation Cup ATP and rankings
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Competitions