(also lawn tennis), a game in which the players use rackets to hit a ball across a net on a special court.
Court tennis, the prototype of tennis, was popular in the 13th and 14th centuries in Italy, France, and England; it was played by hitting a ball across a net with the palm of the hand. Rackets were first used in the early 16th century. Modern tennis came about in Great Britain in the late 19th century. The first rules were developed in 1874 by W. Wingfield, an Englishman. The name “lawn tennis” was adopted in 1875, which is considered the year of origin of modern tennis.
Tennis courts may have surfaces of clay and sand mixtures, synthetic materials, grass, cement, or wood. With alleys, they measure anywhere from 40 × 20 m to 36 × 18 m. The court is divided by a net woven of sturdy thin cord forming holes not exceeding 3 × 3 cm. The height of the net at the center is 91 cm. The upper part of the net is borderd by a white strip 5 cm in width.
Tennis rackets, made of wood, lightweight metal, or plastic, have natural or synthetic strings stretched across the frame. Children’s rackets weigh 255–340 g (9–12 oz), and adults’ rackets, 340–400 g (12–14 oz) and more. The ball is made of rubber covered with a fleecy white fabric. It usually weighs 56.7 g, and its diameter varies from 6.35 to 6.67 cm.
The object of the game is to hit the ball across the net so that the opposition cannot return it within the bounds of the other half of the court. A player may hit the ball before it strikes the court or after the ball’s first bounce. If he allows it to bounce twice he loses a point. The scoring of each point begins when one player serves the ball, which must land in the opposite service court. In case of a fault on the part of the server, the ball may be served a second time. The server’s score is the first of the two listed. The first point is called “15,” the second “30,” the third, “40,” and the fourth, “game.” Players alternate serving and receiving after each game. To win a set, a player must win at least six games and lead by at least two games. To win a match, a player must win two out of three sets or three out of five. The categories used in competitions are singles (men’s and women’s) and doubles (men’s, women’s, and mixed).
The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) was established in 1912 in Paris. In 1974 it had approximately 100 million members from 100 countries. From the 1950’s through the 1970’s, tennis ranked first among all sports with regard to rate of development and number of international competitions. Between 1896 and 1924 tennis competitions were held in eight Olympic games.
Official world championships are not organized by the ILTF. The annual world champion of men’s teams is the winner of the Davis Cup, which was established in 1900 by an American, D. Davis, one of the best tennis players of his time. Individual world championships include the Wimbledon Championship, held in London since 1877, on grass courts, and the French Open, held in Paris since 1891, on clay courts. They have seven categories, including juniors’ singles. Since 1970 a new type of unofficial world championship has been held, consisting of 12 preliminary tournaments in various countries with 96 participants and a final tournament for the eight players with the best scores. These competitions admit both amateurs and professionals; the ILTF includes players of both categories. The European Championship has been held since 1968 exclusively for amateurs.
Outside the USSR tennis is most popular in the USA, Australia, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Socialist Republic of Rumania, the Hungarian People’s Republic, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, India, Spain, and Mexico.
Between 1900 and 1974, winners of the Davis Cup included players from the USA (26 times), Australia (23 times), Great Britain (nine times), and France (eight times). The best men players in the first half of the 20th century included W. Tilden, E. Vines, and D. Budge of the USA, A. Wilding of New Zealand, N. Brookes of Australia, H. Cochet, J. Borotra, and R. Lacoste of France, and F. Perry of Great Britain. The best women players of the same period included H. Wills and H. Jacobs of the USA and S. Lenglen of France. Between 1950 and 1970 the best men players were L. Hoad, K. Rosewall, R. Laver, J. Newcombe, and R. Emerson of Australia, S. Smith, A. Ashe, and J. Connors of the USA, M. Santana of Spain, I. Nastase from the Socialist Republic of Rumania, J. Kodes of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and A. I. Metreveli from the USSR. The best women players of the same period were M. Connolly, A. Gibson, B. J. King, and C. Evert of the USA, M. Bueno of Brazil, M. Smith Court and E. Goolagong of Australia, and O. V. Morozova of the USSR.
Tennis was first played in Russia in the late 1870’s, and the first tennis clubs were organized in the late 1880’s. Championships were first held in 1907. The All-Russian Union of Lawn Tennis Clubs, established in 1908, joined the ILTF in 1912. Beginning in 1903, Russian tennis players took part in international competitions. In 1914 there were 48 tennis clubs in Russia.
The first USSR tennis championship was held in 1924. In 1928 tennis was on the program of the first All-Union Spartakiad in Moscow. The All-Union Tennis Section was created in 1923; in 1956 it was reorganized as the Tennis Federation of the USSR and joined the ILTF. Tennis competitions are now held as part of the Spartakiads of the Peoples of the USSR. In 1974 tennis was played, taught, and coached in 1,300 physical-culture organizations by approximately 37,000 persons, including more than 11,000 persons with sports ratings, approximately 200 masters of sport, 16 honored masters of sport, more than 500 coaches, 2,100 instructors, and 2,700 referees. Soviet players have played for the Davis Cup since 1962, at Wimbledon since 1958, in the French Open since 1961, and in the European Championship since 1969. Significant victories include third place for the Davis Cup in 1974 and 1976, first place in team scores and first place in most categories of singles and doubles competitions at the European Championship from 1969 to 1976, an absolute victory at the 1973 World Student Games, second place in various categories four times at Wimbleton between 1969 and 1974, and third place in the men’s category in the 1972 French Open.
The development of the Soviet school of tennis is associated with such physical-culture and sports figures as I. A. Kulev, V. V. Kollegorksii, S. P. Belits-Geiman, A. V. Pravdin, S. S. Lomakin, D. A. Gosudarev, Iu. K. Rebane, V. V. Kandelaki, N. S. Teplia-kova, A. Khangulian, E. Ia. Kree, V. M. Bal’va, and E. V. Kor-but. Tennis players who won several championships of the USSR include E. A. Kudriavtsev, E. E. Negrebetskii, B. I. Novikov, N. N. Ozerov, S. S. Andreev, S. A. Likhachev, A. I. Metreveli, O. V. Morozova, A. V. Dmitrieva, G. P. Baksheeva, and M. V. Kroshina.
S. P. BELITS-GEIMAN