History of Tennis

While the current game of tennis originated in the late 19th century England, most historians believe that the game’s early origin is from 12th century France, but the ball was then hit with the palm of the hand. It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into routine, and the game was then entitled "tennis", from the Old French word Tenez, which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!". An interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall.

Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as actual tennis. Through the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racquets sports developed in England.

Between 1859 and 1865 Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that joint basics of rackets and the Basque ball game pelota. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa.

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed and patented a similar game — which he called sphairistike from early Greek meaning "skill at playing at ball", and was quickly well-known merely as "sticky". Sport historians agree that Wingfield deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis. The world's oldest tennis tournament (the Wimbledon championships) was first played in London in 1877. The first Championships ended an important dispute on how to regulate the rules.

In America in 1874 Mary Ewing Outerbridge, a young socialite, returned from Bermuda where she met Major Wingfield. She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club in New Brighton Staten Island, New York. The exact location of the club was under what is now the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The first American National tournament in 1880 was played there. An Englishman called O.E Woodhouse won the singles match. There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in NY. On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to regulate the rules and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men’s Singles Championship, now the US 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. Therefore, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have continued to be the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Majors or Slams. The complete rules promulgated in 1924 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis Federation, have continued to be mostly steady in the resulting eighty years, the one major alteration being the addition of the tie-break system designed by James Van Alen. That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the 1924 Games but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984.

The Davis Cup, a yearly competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup, was initiated as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF also known as International Tennis Federation.

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 prominent 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) play-offs.

In 1954, 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 and an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members are hosted on its grounds.