A sport now played all over the world has an interesting history. Thousands of years ago, the game of tennis began; but to many peoples surprise, they started to play tennis not with a racquet but with their hands. Tennis was started by the European Monks that played for many’s entertainment during religious ceremonies.
After years of using their hands to play tennis they started to use a homemade leather glove, which soon developed an effective handle so it would be easier to serve and hit the balls; this is how the first tennis racquet came about. Along with the tennis racquet developing the tennis ball itself also changed. A wooden ball was used as the first tennis ball, which was soon to be found difficult to hit. After a few alterations they came about creating a cellulose material filled leather ball. Many people around Europe during the 14th century began to cherish the game of tennis. Soon the game of tennis became very popular; mostly in France, where the royal family adopted it.
The time period between the 16th and 18th centuries there was a game called “Jeu de paume” which was a game played by palm and was highly recognized by kings and some of the noblemen. Tennis players in France would usually begin the game by yelling “tenez!” which means ‘Play!’. Soon after this people started to call it real tennis or royal tennis.
In the year of 1874, Major Walter Wingfield chose the equipment and rules to the game of tennis which closely resembles the equipment and rules used in modern tennis. During that same year, in the United States, the first tennis courts came about. The game of tennis started to be spread all over the world in many different countries including India, China, Canada, and Russia (nowadays Russia is re...
... middle of paper ...
... to do my project on the history of tennis because I am a tennis player, but that is not the only reason. I have always wanted to know the history of tennis and it was a surprise to me what I actually found out. Reading about how they began tennis makes me appreciate the sport even more, because I honestly have it the easy way with the alterations over the years.
Throughout all the alterations, I still believe that tennis has a fantastic history and has impacted the world in ways, such as giving many people all over the world the opportunity to succeed in such an amazing sport. From thousands of years ago to today, I am thankful for the fact that I have the ability to play such an amazing sport. Even throughout the thousands of years of alterations tennis has been the same in one way: they gave people the opportunity to play an amazing game and entertain people.
Years of playing the game and not improving, Gawande incidentally finds himself play tennis with a young man who is a tennis couch. The young man gives Gawande a tip about keeping his feet under his body when hitting the ball. At first he is uncertain, stating, “My serve had always been the best part of my game….. With a few minutes of tinkering, he’d added at least ten miles an hour to my serve. I was serving harder than I ever had in my life” (Gawande, 2011, p.3).
One man, a musician by the name of Buddy Walker, saw Althea play one day and had a revolation. He figured that if Althea was so good at table tennis, then she would excel in regular tennis as well. At the time, no one realized just how beneficial this idea would be for the young Harlem girl, Althea Gibson. Through donations raised to pay for her membership and lessons, Althea became a member of an African American club called the Harlem Cosmopolitian Tennis Club. It was here that she aquired the skills needed to compete in tennis matches at a higher, more competative level.
Graf was introduced to tennis by her father was a tennis coach. She was three at that time. He taught her how swing a wooden racket in the family’s living room using the couch as the net. She got on to the courts when she was 4. Her first tournament was when she was 5. Later on she started to win tournaments. In 1982 she won the European championships 12s and 18s.
The innovations in the material of the tennis racquet — the strings and the frame — have changed tennis throughout the years; thus, fundamentally changing the game by allowing players to hit with more power, spin, and racquet speed. Many star professional tennis players in the past and present use new technology to help take their game to new levels. The change from a wooden racquet to a carbon-fiber tennis racquet and the change from cow gut strings to non-gut synthetic strings have changed the way tennis is played.
A champion was born unknowingly on September 2, 1952. A child was born to rise above his comrades. He was born James Scott Connors after his father. From the time he was barely three years old, no one could tell that little Jimmy was going to be a champion. Destined for glory his mother and grandmother knew that for Jimmy to be great he would have to work extremely hard. So everyday until Jimmy was a teenager his mother and grandmother would drill him with tennis balls, seeing early that he had tremendous talent. Small for his age, Jimmy had to make up for it somehow. So while other children his age played with toys or watched T.V., Jimmy would be out on the tennis court working on his game. Jimmy wanted to be the best. He knew that his success depended on his speed and his technique.
It is said that in 1949, Sobek and a partner began playing with a paddle and combined the rules of handball and squash to play what they called “paddle racquets.” He then decided to change from a paddle to a racquet itself using a tennis racquet as a model. He made 25 to sell to his friends to start the sport. There was one problem though; there were faults in the ball. Sobek then found a Spalding ball made for children that work well. He bought a lot of them and sold him to his friends in 1950 to keep his sport from dwindling out. Sobek eventually started his own company to make his own ball to his exact specifications for the game.
offshoots of it were created and played in London by a man named Spratt. The first versions are thought to be very similar to the current game that is widely played. The first ball however, was hard and made from wood, making it difficult to hit. Nowdays, it is often made of nylon. It is thought that the sport excelled and grew in popularity because it accepted both male and female players, wh...
A young African-American boy walks onto some rundown tennis courts at a local park with his father in Richmond, VA. Armed with an old wooden racket and a can of white tennis balls, his father begins to feed him some different shots and tells his son everything he knows about tennis. Being an African-American, this young boy did not have many friends that were as interested in tennis as he was. Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, Arthur Ashe’s desire to play was not encouraged by either race, but instead of giving up on the sport he loved, he continued playing to the dismay of many. Little did Ashe know, however, that his persistence would change the game forever. His efforts opened doors for many of the popular African-American tennis players, such as Serena and Venus Williams, MaliVai Washington, and Bryan Shelton. The class that he brought to the game of tennis and the bravery he showed by changing a sport dominated by whites made Arthur Ashe a legend in his own time.
As we all know, America is a nation of sports enthusiasts. Most Americans participate is some kind of sporting event, either as a spectator or as a competitor. In the pantheon of great American sports, there is one that stands out. It has been called the great American pastime. Yes, that great sport known as tennis. Tennis requires a mastery of many skills to be able to play competitively, but the primary skill needed to win in tennis is the serve. The serve is the primary offensive weapon used I tennis, because it is the only time when a player gets to put a ball into play. The player controls the speed, the placement, and the spin of the ball. With proper procedure, the serve can win many points and games for the server. The technique I will demonstrate is used by most professional ten...
The way Morgan incorporated tennis into his game is by using a similar net; however, he raised the height to six feet and six inches off the ground. He also created this game for his fellow businessman Blain. When Morgan invented his game he came up with a set of rules, however many of his rules have been changed or there are new ones. One of the rules to this game is that before the game starts, there is a coin toss. This coin toss determines which team gets to decide who gets the serve first.
Serving starts each point play. The players stand on opposite ends of each other, and the person serving is called the Server and the other the Receiver. Serving must be done from behind the baseline. When serving, toss the ball in the air and hit it before it touches the ground. There is a service court that the ball must land in first only when serving. It is a square opposite end of service area. The Server becomes the Receiver, and the Receiver becomes the Server after each game. After a good service ball, the ball is in play. Play does not stop until one of the players hits the ball out of bounds, into the net, or fail to hit the ball before it bounces twice. Serving just takes practice and can be a main asset in tennis.
Hearing the loud “thump” as the ball hits the racket is extremely satisfying, especially if your life now revolves around this fast-paced and exhilarating sport. Tennis is an outdoor game played by two individuals or pairs of players on a clay or grass court that’s divided by a low net. Each game is played with tennis rackets and small, yellow elastic balls. Tennis was first introduced in Wales and the United Kingdom in 1873 by “Major Walter Wingfield” (tennistheme.com). While most sports are easy to pick up, tennis takes extreme dedication to learn how to play the game, to perfect the amount of technique it takes, as well as its great impact on one’s personal life.
Peer relationships, obeying authority, and looking up to a role model, are all character traits that are learned through the practice of athletics. During a normal match of tennis, many mistakes will be made. However, these mistakes will be able to tell you the flaws in your swing and the ability to fix them and continue competing without getting frustrated. Tennis teaches the ability to handle mistakes and to use them to your advantages. Tennis teaches many positive characteristics that benefit the athlete in many areas of
My love for tennis blossomed at the young age of eleven. During middle school my peers knew me as the boy who was remarkably talented at tennis and I savored that title. Butterflies floated throughout my youthful body whenever someone complimented me. As the years passed, my dad nurtured me into a top player. Before I knew it high school arrived and it was time to compete at a higher level. My excitement was out of this world, but I knew my dad could no longer push me forward and my future was up to me. However, the ego I developed over the years blocked what lie in front of me. I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture; the hard work demanded of me, teamwork, and the motivation to reach an ultimate goal. Throughout my four years of participating
I 'm going to compare tennis to golf to reveal the similarities and differences between the two sports. I think you will be surprised how similar they are. They both depend on the swing of your body; grips of your hands, the strike zone of the ball and both are a mental game. Tennis and golf are also very different in many ways. The types of balls used to play the game, materials used to make the balls and equipment used to hit the balls. Tennis is a team sport and an individual sport. But golf is primarily a single player against the golf course. The exertion level differs by sport. Both sports are challenged by weather and attire. I 'm writing this essay because I had played golf for many years before I switched