Argumentative Essay: America's Sport In The United States

The oldest and most important tennis championships are held at the All England Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London. According to Tim Hammond, author of Sports, “The first championships were held in 1877.” Since the first championships Wimbledon has emerged from its background as a garden party tournament to a Grand Slam tournament with a following of millions around the world. Tennis is not only a sport, but has become an agent of change for all sports. Serena Williams is one of many idols that has changed the game for the better.

Though football would be considered America’s sport to watch during the 1970s, tennis strongly grew into America’s game to play, and became the “in” sport then as well. Tennis in the United States made a

huge change. By the end of the decade, tennis was estimated more than a quarter of America’s population. Tennis is played at least four times a year. Over the years many critics began to question the developments in the game, they warned that tennis was becoming too fast-paced, too rich, and too obnoxious. As the total population is now more than 292 million of the United States, each increase of 1 percent represents an additional 2.92 million players. As found in Sports, “In the 2010 survey, 9.51 percent of the U.S. population plays tennis, up from 8.74 percent in 2003”. Television-friendly yellow balls replaced white ones; vibrant colors became a part of tennis fashion; metal and graphite replaced wood in rackets built to be stronger, larger, and more powerful; and tournament prize money for the winners raised from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Therefore making tennis have the wealthy stereotype it has developed over the years.
Serena Williams is one of the most famous athletes in the world today. In addition Serena was also voted WTA Player Of The Year for the seventh time in her career, and on December 14, 2015, it was announced that Sports Illustrated named Serena their 2015 Sportsperson of the Year, the third solo woman to earn this honor. On December 22, 2015, Serena announced as the 2015 ITF World Champion for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in her career.