History of tennis

Tennis wasn't always played in the open. It used to be played inside mansions by the aristocracy. About 1200 AD a game called 'Jeu de Paume' was played in Italy and France and continued during the middle ages. By the13th century it was being played in the United Kingdom. The racquets then allowed players to hit the ball faster so the French came to start calling out 'tenez', meaning 'hold' [the tennis racquet] to warn their opponents that they were going to hit the ball. This indoor game then developed to be called 'tennis' except in Britain where it was called 'real tennis'.



The first strung racquet is believed to have been introduced in the 15th century by an Italian : Antonio da Scalo.

'Real tennis' developed in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Indoor courts were very costly to build so this game of tennis was still only being played by the aristocracy and royalty.

It is known that a Spaniard, JB Perera and Major Gem played outdoor tennis on the lawn of Perera's house in Birmingham in 1859. They later played at the Manor House Hotel in Leamington Spa. Dr Frederick Haynes and Dr Arthur Tompkins formed the first lawn tennis club called Leamington Club.

In 1874, a Major Wingfield patented the game of 'lawn tennis'. He called it 'sphairistike' and published a book of rules called 'New and Improved Court for Playing the Ancient Game of Tennis'. Major Gem had also founded the club in Leamington which he called 'lawn racquets' and it was played on a grass rectangular court. The game soon came to be known as lawn tennis and it now involved the middle classes.

Later the Marlybone Cricket Club changed the rules of tennis which had been created by Major Wingfield and Major Gem.

Tennis was first played at London's Princes Club in 1870.

In 1868 the All-England Croquet Club was founded and two years later it opened its doors at Worple Rd, Wimbledon. In 1875 the club agreed to allow the playing of tennis. The first standardized set of lawn tennis rules were drawn up within 2 months.

The first game of tennis in the USA was played by Dr James Dwight and FR Sears in 1874.
The first American Club was established at Staten Island by the end of 1875.

The All-England Croquet Club had changed its name in 1877 to incorporate the words 'lawn tennis'. By 1899 it was called the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

In June 1877 the first World Amateur Championships were held at Wimbledon. The event was called the Championships in Lawn Tennis and it involved 21 players. The first winner was Spencer William Gore.

In 1881 the United States Lawn Tennis Association was founded and in that same year the first Championships were held at Newport, Rhode Island. This was just for men.

Women played their first championships at Wimbledon in 1884 and later in America in 1887.

Men's doubles began at Wimbledon in 1884, but the women's doubles and mixed tennis did not begin until 1913.

The first French Championships were held in 1891 but were only open to members of French clubs. The French did not introduce international tennis until 1925.

The Australian Championships began in 1905.

The International Tennis Federation was formed in 1913.

Seeding was first introduced in 1922 at the US Championships. Wimbledon followed suit two years later.

At first, the champion of the year before, only had to play one game. The others played what was called a 'knockout tournament' to decide who would be the challenger.

After this form of the tournament was changed to how it is today, we see a new lot of champions.

In 1938 the American Don Budge was the first man to win the Grand Slam, the winning of all four major championships in one calendar year.

Australia's Rod Laver achieved the same feat in 1962 and 1969.

As for the women, Maureen Connelly was the first to achieve the Grand Slam in 1953 and Margaret Court from Australia performed the same feat in 1970. Steffi Graf also did it in 1988.

Originally tennis tournaments were for amateurs only. By the 1950's and 60s however, professional tennis was being introduced and many players crossed over to these events.

Tennis became an 'open' event in 1968 which meant that the professional could play in the grand slams. Rod Laver from Australia won Wimbledon that year as a professional.

It is difficult to compare players of the amateur and professional eras because clearly it was only those who could afford it who could travel around the world as amateurs.

The tie-break was introduced in 1970.

Now, we know that lawn tennis, except for at Wimbledon, is a dying game. Most surfaces now are hard courts or clay. The Australians used to grow up on lawn courts and became servers and volleyers as a result. Now the best Australian player, Lleyton Hewitt plays from the back of the court.