Tennis is a sport that people usually play individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racquet that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a good return.[1]

Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racquet, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis"

The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tie-break in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point.

Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the "Majors") are especially popular: the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.

The outcome of a tennis match is determined through a best of three or five sets system. Recreational players may agree to play any number of sets, depending upon time availability or stamina. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in a best-of-five, wins the match.[47] A set consists of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.

In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase "Game, set, match" followed by the winning person's or team's name. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5".

Clay court are red clay, used at the French Open, and green clay (an example of which is Har-Tru and used mainly in the U.S.). Almost all red clay courts are made not of natural clay but of crushed brick that is packed to make the court. The crushed brick is then covered with a topping of other crushed particles. This type of surface does not absorb water easily and is the most common in Europe and Latin America.[citation needed] Clay courts normally have a slower paced ball and a fairly true bounce with more spin.

Any form of removable court covering, including carpeting and artificial turf. The bounce can be higher or lower than a hard court. Carpet surface has not been used on the ATP and WTA tour since 2009.

Grand Slam Tournaments

Date Tournament Location Surface Prize Money First Held

January Australian Open Melbourne Hard (Plexicushion) A$26,000,000 1905

May–June French Open Paris Clay €18,718,000 1925*

June–July Wimbledon London Grass £14,600,000 1877

August–September US Open New York

City Hard (DecoTurf) US$21,016,000 1881

Roger Federer (17) Pete Sampras (14) Rafael Nadal (13) Roy Emerson (12) Rod Laver (11) Björn Borg (11) Bill Tilden (10) Fred Perry (8) Ken Rosewall (8) Jimmy Connors (8) Ivan Lendl (8) Andre Agassi (8) William Renshaw (7)

Richard Sears (7) William Larned (7) Henri Cochet (7) Rene Lacoste (7) John Newcombe (7) John McEnroe (7) Mats Wilander (7) Novak Djokovic (6) Lawrence Doherty (6) Anthony Wilding (6) Donald Budge (6) Jack Crawford (6) Boris Becker (6) Stefan Edberg (6) Frank Sedgman (5) hard courts are acrylic (e.g. Plexicushion used at the Australian Open, DecoTurf used at the US Open,GreenSet used at the ATP World Tour Finals), asphalt, and concrete. Hardcourts typically have a faster-paced ball with a very true bounce and it is the predominant surface type used on the professional tour.

A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.

A grip is a way of holding the racquet in order to hit shots during a match. The grip affects the angle of the racquet face when it hits the ball and influences the pace, spin, and placement of the shot

A serve (or, more formally, a "service") in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.

For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the body. There are various grips for executing the forehand, and their popularity has fluctuated over the years.

For right-handed players, the backhand is a stroke that begins on the left side of their body, continues across their body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of their body. It can be executed with either one hand or with both and is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand.

This is sometimes played instead of a third set. A match tie-break is played like a regular tie-break, but the winner must win ten points instead of seven. Match tie-breaks are used in the Hopman Cup and the 2012 Olympic Games for mixed doubles, on the ATP and WTA tours for doubles and as a player's choice in USTA league play.