The Game Of Tennis A Brief History

Tennis has its roots in the ancient game of handball, played in Greece long before the Christian era. During the Middle Ages it developed into a game of batting the ball between two opponents rather than against a wall. The name comes from the French "tenez," "take" or "ready." At first there were no boundary lines, but gradually a court was developed somewhat the shape of an hourglass, with a line drawn across the narrow middle portion.

The early balls were made of leather and stuffed with hair.

The racquet developed in the following way: for protection in hitting the ball, a glove was worn. Then, for greater protection, cords were wrapped around the glove. Later, an elongated glove, or paddle was used. With the need for a longer reach, the idea of a racquet evolved from the combination of paddle and cords.

In the Middle Ages the game was carried to England where it was played by the nobility. The scoring system was so intricate that the common people could not understand it, and the courts so expensive that only the wealthy had access to them. Not until 1874 was the scoring simplified and the game rules made adaptable for a simple outdoor court of grass. The use of "fifteen," "thirty," etc. in scoring individual points may be explained as follows: The chases, or separate plays, were scored 1, 2, 3, etc. Fifteen "chases" entitled the player to one point, and the game was made up of four or five points. This explanation is one of several suggested by tennis historians and seems to be plausible.

The term "love" meaning "no score" originated from the phrase "for love," meaning "without stakes" or "for nothing," which was used as early as 1678 in connection with the playing of competitive games for the pleasure of playing. Then "love" became the term used in whist, football, tennis, etc., meaning "no score." The side which had scored no points was said to be "love."

After the scoring and rules were simplified, tennis became a more universal game in England and France, spreading rapidly to the colonies of these countries. Tennis was brought to the United States in 1875 by Mary Outerbridge after a visit to Bermuda, where the game was very popular. She brought racquets, net, and balls, and introduced the game to her friends on Staten Island where smooth lawns with excellent grass provided an ideal medium for success. The game spread like wild fire all over the east with Cricket Clubs including tennis as well as the other English game for their members.

In 1881 the United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed in New York and Boston. Through this organization the popularity of tennis spread very rapidly. Comparatively few of the tournaments in the United States are played on grass, and yet all official tournaments, whether on clay, cement, or asphalt courts, are sponsored by the U. S. L. T. A. There are city, state, sectional, and national tournaments played on different court surfaces for men, women, girls, boys, juniors. There are public park tournaments, intercollegiate tournaments, etc.

International competition consists of the Davis Cup Tournament, which originated in 1900. The Davis Cup has been around the world several times, being held by Australia, France, England, and the United States at various intervals. This competition is for men only.

The Wightman Cup Matches consist of competition for women between England and the United States. This cup has traveled across the Atlantic many times, borne by the victorious team, to rest in their native land until won back by the other team.

The majority of national tournaments in various countries are open to players from other lands, so that sometimes one hears of an English, French, or American star winning several national titles besides that of his own country.

Often the best sixty-four players who make entries for the state, sectional, or national tournaments are allowed to play. The qualification of a player consists of his tournament record during the year or years previous to that tournament.

Scoring And Simple Rules

Tennis scoring and the common rules are comparatively simple. Any child old enough to wield a racquet is intelligent enough to learn the game. The only reason the tennis game is not taught to youngsters is that concentration upon the foundation strokes is essential. Attention focused on the scoring and game tactics detracts from the learning of good form.

Explanation of the scoring for pupils

1. The point

a. The smallest unit of scoring is the point.
            Points               Name
            1                      Fifteen
            2                      Thirty
            3                      Forty
            4                      Game (unless the opponent has gained 3 points)

b. "Deuce" is the name given the score when each player has won 3 points.

c. The point won after deuce is called "advantage." If the server wins this point, the score is "advantage server" or "advantage in." Just as in baseball one team has its "ins" (when it is at bat), the serving side in tennis is considered the "in" side. If the receiving or "out" side wins the first point after deuce, the score is called "advantage receiver" or "advantage out."

d. When the second point after deuce is won by the player who is one point behind, the score goes back to deuce. When the second point is won by the player who has the advantage, he wins the game.

e. The server's score is always called first. Thus when the server has one point, the receiver 3 points, the score is "fifteen-forty."

f. If a pla> sr has no points, his score is called "love." Thus if the server has two points, the receiver none, the score is "thirty-love."

g. When the score is even, it is called "all." Thus if each player has two points, the score is "thirty-all."

Note.—Abbreviations of scoring are often heard on the courts but never from an official umpire. Examples are "five" or "fifth" for "fifteen," "ad" for "advantage," "deuce" for "thirty-all."
 
2. The Game

a. The second unit of scoring is the game. A player wins a game when he gains 4 points without his opponent having won three points. In the case of a deuce game, the player winning the vantage point plus the next one wins the game.

3. The Set

a. The third unit of scoring is the set. A set is won when one side gains six games, his opponent not having won more than four games. These set scores may be 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

b. A deuce set results when both sides win five games before one side was able to achieve a 6-4 victory. Thus a deuce set starts when the score is five all in games. In order to win the set, one side must have two games more than the opponents. Thus the set will be won by a game score of 7-5, 8-6, 9-7, 10-8, and so on, depending upon how long it takes for one side to win two more games than the opponents. No limit is set for the number of games to which a deuce set may run.

4. The Match

A player wins the match by gaining two out of three sets in women's play, or three out of five in men's tennis. (Many of the preliminary matches in men's tournaments are also two out of three sets.) In a two out of three set match, if one player wins the first two sets, a third is not played. If each player wins a set, a third is played to decide the match winner.

Simple Rules Of Tennis*

1. The server continues service during a whole game.

2. He is allowed two trials to get his ball over the net into the court and loses the point if his second ball fails.

3. He must stand behind the baseline when serving.

4. He serves the first point from the right half of the baseline, the second point from the left, and so on.

5. If the server's ball is good, the receiver must hit it back over the net, only one bounce allowed.

6. Whoever fails to get the ball back over the net, inside the boundary lines of the opposite court, loses the point.

7. One side serves one game, the opposing side the next game, each player taking his turn serving one game.

8. Balls which fall on the boundary lines are good.

*The 38 official Tennis Rules may be secured in pamphlet form for 15 cents from The United States Lawn Tennis Association, 120 Broadway, N.Y. 5, N. Y.

Fig. 6

Emphasis for the beginner should be on stroke practise, correct court position, and rallying ability rather than the complications of tennis rules. Thus it would be unwise to adhere to the service court rule, making it difficult for the server to get the ball in play. When the drive is used as a serve it is better to omit the service court rule and allow the ball to land in the backcourt

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