Tennis is one of the biggest sports around and thousands of kids pick up a racquet for the first time every day. Most just play for fun, but there are those who are desperate to improve their game. We have put a list of shots and skills together in an attempt to help you with your game.

The backhand

Overview

The Backhand Shot might feel like an unnatural one but when it is mastered it can elevate a player’s game into the highest realms. It’s an unnatural stroke to play because, when a right-handed person attempts any kind of body movement, they instinctively move towards their favoured side (right for right-handed and left for left-handed). We all do this because we often have the time in which to do so but, on the tennis court, there is often no time in which to chose your natural side so a Backhand Shot is used to give the player more versatility on court.

The Backhand Shot is simply when a ball approaches the player on the opposite side to their favoured hand and is returned over the net by moving the racket and playing it across their body. It is often used as a defensive move, with only top professionals able to generate the sort of power and accuracy necessary to end the rally conclusively. However, with enough practice, it can become an integral part of your arsenal and add another dimension to your game.

Technique

The technique adopted for a successful backhand requires very accurate and rehearsed body movements. As the ball approaches the player at waist-height, they are usually positioned between the base-line and the centre-line. Before the ball arrives at the player, they must position their body on their toes, with their knees bent, gripping the racket with their preferred grip. The grip in preparation for a Backhand Stroke will normally be with their favoured hand at the base of the grip, holding the racket as though they were shaking hands with it and the other hand just above it, touching the neck of the racket to give the player more control and power.

The shoulders are then turned forward and sideways, with the body’s weight pivoting on the opposite foot to their favoured hand (left foot for right-handed players etc). Their toes turn with the body so that they end up at around 90 degrees to the net. The dominant foot (right for right-handed etc) should then step slightly in front of the other foot to produce a shielding posture (the right side of the body being the shield for right-handed etc).

The elbow of the dominant arm is close to the body, around the waist, and the racket is brought back behind the opposite side of the body, with the face of the racket looking at the net ready to strike.

The big tip for a successful backhand is that the entire body should do all of the work collectively when pulling back and when striking the ball. When the ball reaches about a foot in front of the player’s body, the racket swings forward and should meet it there. The racket must meet the ball face on and not be tilted in any direction. If it is tilted then it could make the ball fly off in an unexpected direction.

When the ball is struck, the favoured arm propels it forward but the entire body provides the force. The eyes of the player must remain on the ball at all times, even just after the ball has been struck, to ensure it remains on course. The follow-through then mirrors that of the forehand and results in the racket rising over and above the opposite shoulder.

Here is a good example of a Backhand Stroke.

Variations

A One Handed backhand shot is very similar except the non-favoured hand acts as a balance rather than adding more force to the shot by holding the racket. The body movement doesn’t differ though.

Many players use the Backhand Shot (especially One Handed) to generate spin on the ball. By providing topspin, the ball will rise dramatically at first but drop rapidly towards the end. This is achieved by using the racket to clip the top of the ball and almost push it down.

Alternatively, to give the ball backspin, the racket is brought under the ball and shaves it. This slows the ball down considerably but it will land while still spinning in the air, making it hard for your opponent to return.

Bankhand

The Drop Shot

The drop shot is one of the most stylish and subtle shots in the game and also one of the most surefire ways of winning a point. A drop shot is used when a player and their opponent have been striking the ball from the back of the court, around the base-line, and one player surprises the other by hitting a much slower ball that ‘drops’ just over the net making it impossible for their opponent to return it before it bounces for a second time.

It is a shot that will catch the opponent off guard and will force them to adjust their position rapidly. If they do manage to reach the ball near the net in time, then the chances are they will be wrong-footed, off balance and running towards the net at speed, making it unlikely that they will win the point. The key to a successful drop shot is disguising it so that the opponent doesn’t know it is coming forcing them to rush towards the net suddenly.

The techniques used for a good drop shot might seem simple but they require a great deal of practice. Firstly there will normally be a series of deep shots that have been played at pace from around the base-line. It is this fast pace which is required in order to apply the necessary spin to the ball. As the ball approaches the player around the base-line they position themselves and their body to make it look as though they are about to return the ball with a conventional forehand or backhand drive shot.

Right at the last second though, the player shortens their swing considerably and the racket is brought to meet the ball at a much slower and fuller pace. The player’s grip becomes much looser and the face of the racket meets the oncoming ball full on and without much force. The existing pace of the ball will propel it over the net so only a small amount of additional force is then needed to help it over the net and then ‘drop’. It will look like a shot-gone-wrong if it doesn’t work but if it does then it will certainly look the complete opposite.

Another important part of the drop shot is the spin on the ball. In order to make absolutely certain that the ball will be unreachable for the opponent, many players apply spin to the ball to ‘kill it dead’ when it lands preventing it from travelling deeper into the court and nearer the opponent.

Back spin is used to make the ball drop over the net and bounce where it lands, or in some instances even back towards the net again. To apply back spin, a back hand stroke is often used and the ball is sliced underneath the base, as though it were having the underside shaved off mid-air. With enough follow-through, the player raising the racket high above their shoulders afterwards, it will then send the ball over the net, spinning backwards in the air and land over the net out of the opponent’s reach. The legs are stationary during this shot and all of the force comes from the arms and shoulders.

Here is an example of a successful drop shot

Drop Shot

Drop Shot 2

The Forehand

The forehand shot in Tennis is the game’s principle and most frequently used weapon. Most points are won on a forehand and the majority of players will seek to perfect this stroke before others. The forehand seems the most natural of shots, as it moves the body in its most obvious way when holding a racket and creates the maximum amount of power, apart from a serve.

The One Handed Static Forehand is chosen when the player’s body is in the position whereby the ball approaches them at around waist-height, on the same side that they hold their racket. The player will usually be positioned in between the base line and the centre line for this shot as the power provided will then keep it in play.

The grip on the racket is loose but still requires sufficient firmness to avoid it slipping, as though the player is going to be catching the ball and slinging it back at the same time in one motion. The most common forehand grip is called an Eastern Grip and it involves the player’s fingers being curled around the base of the grip in a handshake-like position.

When the ball approaches the player, their feet must be slightly apart, their knees slightly bent and in a position where they look ready to drive forward. As the ball approaches the player the shoulder with which they hit the ball (right if right handed, left if left handed) rotates back towards the base-line and the opposite foot steps in front of the body in a shielding position. It’s the shoulders that rotate the body not the arms.

The arm holding the racket then slowly swings back from the net and stops around the height of the player’s waist behind them, with the face of the racket facing the net.

Seconds before the ball passes the player’s body, the racket is brought into this swinging motion and when the ball is just in front of the player’s body the racket connects with the ball around waist height. The ball should land on the ‘sweet-spot’ of the racket, which is found at the very centre of the strings. This is where the most power, control and accuracy will come from.

When the ball has been hit, the racket then follows through and finishes around the area above the shoulders of the opposite arm, facing the sky. This follow through is what will often give the ball more power.

The Two Handed Static Forehand is sometimes used when a player wishes to apply more power to the shot, but it can sometimes mean that accuracy is sacrificed. The grip is similar to a back-hand whereby the principle hand of the player is higher up on the grip and the other hand just under it at the base. The movement of the body here is roughly the same as in the One Handed Forehand except when the shoulders rotate, the hips rotate with them and in the same direction. The whole body then pivots on the left foot if right handed and right foot if left handed.

The Moving Forehand is simply when the shot is played while a player is running to reach an oncoming ball. It will follow all the same rules as the Static Forehand in terms of the area above the waist of the player but the position of the feet and knees will differ as the player is moving to reach the ball.
Here is an example of an excellent forehand technique by Roger Federer in slow motion.

Forehand

Half-volley

Overview

The half-volley in tennis is a shot where you hit the ball as soon as it bounces on your side of the court. It is perhaps one of the most difficult techniques to master and usually a half-volley only happens by accident! However, professional tennis players such as Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have been known to occasionally deliberately use it to their advantage as well. As tennis is all about being prepared for anything, mastering the half-volley will add something extra to your game and, if you are particularly ambitious, could prove an important part in your arsenal.

Though it is one of the most neglected shots in tennis, often players will have to perform the half-volley when caught off guard, particularly around the baseline. The key determinant is the length of the return from your opponent. If the ball falls too close to your feet, you will be both unable to hit a full volley and an ordinary groundstroke. In these situations, hitting a half-volley will, if it is successful, send the ball back neatly in an upwards path and prolong the rally.

Technique

Experts say that the best technique for the half-volley is to keep a stiff wrist and follow the ball through with a quick bounce close to the court’s surface as soon as it arrives. When hitting the ball you should also make sure you keep your posture low by bending your knees to make sure it doesn’t go too high up.

Other tips include keeping the racquet just above the wrist before you attempt the half-volley, and keeping your arm extended while you perform the follow-through. Good timing is absolutely crucial to playing the shot well so it is perhaps useful to think of the half-volley’s common nickname which is the “Ba-Boom” shot. This should give you a rough idea of the way it is returned and the speed which you should aim for. If you say “Ba-Boom” out loud, it will sound similar to the consecutive bounce and hit of a good half-volley. Make sure you remain relaxed and maintain this rhythm, trying not to rush forward when you hit the ball but calmly controlling it.

There are a number of ways you can grip the racquet to make your half-volley more likely to be successful. Many believe that the best grip is a standard continental (also called the service grip). This is the usual way of holding the racquet and it means that the racquet will be tilted up slightly. Alternatively, some believe that the best grip is actually the Eastern grip because of the natural angle for the return. Every player is different so it is advisable for you to practise and work out which grip feels best for you and produces better results.

Since half-volleying is such a difficult shot to achieve, practice is vital. One good method is to get someone to feed the ball to you so that it lands near your feet. This can be difficult, however, as it really depends on how good your partner is at getting it in the right place. Some professional players believe the best practice is simply to drop the ball yourself and keep sending it over the net as demonstrated in this video.

Overall, the half-volley is an incredibly complex and often unnatural stroke with a very small margin of error. The shot requires patience, concentration and very accurate hand-eye coordination to return the ball effectively. It is worth remembering that the half-volley is more of a defensive stroke for when your opponent makes a particularly tricky shot and you need to return the ball without retreating or changing your position. It should be used at all other times with caution.

Half Volley

The Lob

A lob is one of the strangest shots in the game but also a great crowd-pleaser. A tennis lob is simply when the ball is struck underneath the very base (or at no more than 45 degrees from the ground) and sent into the air, without much speed, to land at the back of the opponent’s half of the court and bounce just inside their base-line. It is a strange shot because it can be used both offensively and defensively, the difference being not one of technique but of player positioning.

When lobbing the ball, it is struck on the underside of the ball’s surface. It is hit with much less power than any other stroke in the game but the technique of watching the ball at all times and following through with as much power as you want the ball to have, are the same.

Once the ball is struck, the follow-through brings the racket up into the air and over the opposite shoulder, as though the player were slinging the ball behind them. Ideally the ball will be struck when the player is motionless but this isn’t always possible, especially with a defensive lob.

The Offensive Lob is usually used when the player’s opponent is near to the net, in a position where they hope to volley the ball without it bouncing. The player about to lob the ball, will strike it on its underside with either backspin or topspin, depending on their preference and where their opponent is positioned.

The ball then rises high into the air travelling over the head of the opponent and then dips and drops behind them. The opponent is then forced to run backwards or perhaps even turn and run in order to get behind the ball to return it. If the shot is a success then the opponent will not be able to reach the ball to return it. The lob shot is quite a gamble since the opponent may well reach it and return the ball with even more power.

Here is a clip of a successful offensive lob

The Defensive Lob is quite different in terms of purpose but identical in terms of technique. With this shot the player about to lob the ball is likely to be in a bad position on the court, meaning they have been forced far onto one side of the court or perhaps off balance. They are also very likely to be moving when they try to lob the ball.

Either way the player will then use a defensive lob in order to give them more time to readjust and return to a more useful position on the court. In lobbing the ball high into the air, wherever their opponent is positioned, it gives them the vital seconds in which they can return to the middle of the court. The downside to this choice of shot is that their opponent is then presented with a weak and slow ball that they could easily return at speed and with precision.

Lob

The Serve

A player’s game can often be measured by their service (or serve). A serve is often the indicator of how skilled a player’s game is, how strong they are and how much they have practised. A serve is one of the most important areas of the entire game, being the point at which a player is given the most opportunity to score points, but it is also one of the hardest to master.

Two things make up a good serve, power and accuracy. There are two opportunities to serve a ball and more often than not the player’s first serve will be more powerful than their second attempt. There will always be accuracy in the first but there will predominantly be more power, as the player can afford to risk the chance of it not landing inside the court.

If the player’s first serve is out, then their second serve will often be slower and more accurate to avoid losing a point by being given a double fault. The key is to practice until the first serve blends both power and accuracy and avoids the need for a second serve altogether.

From a standing start the non-favoured foot is placed forward just behind the base-line. The ball is held in the non-favoured hand and often bounced to soften the ball (and to make sure it’s a good one). The favoured hand holds the racket loosely but with a steady grip. The racket is held at the base of the grip as though shaking hands with it.

The ball is then gently thrown into the air, reaching no more than a foot above the tip of the outstretched arm. The further the ball is thrown in front of the player, the harder the player will end up hitting it as they fall into the ball more. When the ball is released from the throwing hand, the player’s knees are slightly bent and their body leans on the non-favoured leg balancing their entire body weight on it as though the player might fall over.

Just before the player hits the ball, all of the muscles rise up through the player’s legs, especially from the non-favoured leg, as though the player is pushing all their force up at the floating ball. Just before the ball starts to drop from its ‘throw-up’, the player brings the elbow of their racket arm in up towards the net, then brings the racket back and behind their head, towards the back of their neck, and finally swings it forward and strikes the ball in the very middle of the racket (the ‘sweet-spot’) with very little spin and with a final flick of the wrist.

The power from the stretch and the pulling back of the arm has now been transferred into the ball but most of it is still in the player’s body on the base-line, enabling them to be propelled forward closer to the net ready to return the ball.

Ideally the return from the serve will be a ball that the serving player can volley (i.e hit without a bounce, see Volleying) and therefore have more chance of gaining the point. This is called a Serve and Volley Game. If the serve has been particularly powerful and accurate then it will be impossible to return (an Ace).

Here is an example of a good serving technique.

Serving

Slice

Although not as popular as it used to be, slice can be a very effective weapon, particularly if playing a ‘drop shot’. A slice is a shot played with backspin, which is effectively the opposite of topspin. The racquet, once again, should be almost parallel to the court, and ‘sliced’ underneath the ball. The more friction you get against the bottom of the ball, the more backspin will be applied to the ball. This has the effect of returning the ball whilst keeping it spinning in the same direction as your opponent’s shot. This means that when the ball bounces, it should not bounce to a height comfortable for your opponent; they will have to stoop, and should have difficulty in playing an aggressive returning shot.

The slice is particularly effective when combined with a drop shot, as the ball ‘dies’ when it bounces, meaning your opponent will have to be very quick on their feet to play the return.

Players also make good use of slice as an approach shot; they can be played with accuracy, and it gives the player time to get to the net. If the slice is played effectively, the receiving player should find it difficult to make an aggressive return, and the player poised at the net may be able to play a winning volley.

If you are able to anticipate a sliced shot being played against you, move towards where the ball will bounce – if you get to it in time, as the ball ‘sits up’, you might be poised to make an aggressive return.

Slice

Slice

Overview

The smash is often a spectacular shot to watch in tennis, a shot that can stir the spirits of the crowd. A well executed smash also raises the adrenaline of the player and inevitably wins the point. Although, the smash would appear to be a relatively simple and frequently used shot, it is in fact very difficult to execute well.

Pete Sampras possessed a great smash technique and was especially renowned for his athletic “Jump smash shot”. Other smash greats include, Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and of old, Rod Laver and Jimmy Connors, both of whom were left-handers who curiously mastered a devastating backhand smash.

Technique

A smash is a shot that is hit above the head utilising a motion similar to a serve. Hit effectively, a smash more often than not clinches the point for a player. It is a shot that can be hit with great force, but also accurately directed, as seen in the above video of Pete Sampras. If you observe a typical game of tennis, the majority of overhead shots will be struck near the net or mid-court, before the ball bounces, usually in response to a lob shot that has not achieved the elevation or depth of court to win the point.

Court position
It is also possible to smash a ball near to the service line, though this usually follows a very high and deep lob and in this case, it is probably advisable to allow the ball to bounce before executing the smash. Generally speaking, the higher a ball is lobbed, the more difficult it is to time your smash, and therefore the more likely it is that you will be unable to control your smash efficiently. Allowing the ball to bounce gives you time to pick your shot and placing of the ball, often a ground stroke, is the more effective shot in these circumstances.

Experienced and very skilful players can execute an overhead shot most of the time from 3/4 court or the service line. However, a deep smash shot can lack force and allowing the ball to bounce and choosing another type of shot is favoured by even the most experienced of players.

Moving into position
Generally, an overhead shot is hit in response to a lob shot, that goes high and over your head. It is therefore usually required to move back quickly to assume a striking position. When moving backwards it is important not to lose your balance and coordination, and the easiest way to achieve this is to keep your racket close to your body, down by your leg. Keeping your other arm by your side will help maintain your balance and alter your positioning efficiently.

In fact, most players will move backwards using sidesteps, opposed to “back pedalling”. Turning your torso slightly and sidestepping or cross-stepping will not only allow you to move back into position with more speed, but will also avoid a loss of balance.

Swinging the racket
Raise your racket on the last backward pace you make into position. Keep your racket close to your body when raising it upwards, which will also help to maintain your centre of gravity. In an overhead shot, your judgement and timing on the ball are all important. Do not move backwards with your arms and racket elevated upwards as this will unbalance you and probably make you misjudge the timing of the ball completely. What’s more, you will not be able to move backwards with as much speed and agility with your arms raised in the “trophy position”.

As you raise your racket to swing at the ball, begin from a raised and bent elbow position. The swing on an overhead shot is not the same as the wind-up for a serve. It would be too difficult to time with such a long wind-up. Keeping your arm relatively relaxed will naturally result in a flick of the wrist when you strike the ball and assist in its direction.

Aim to hit the ball deep into your opponent’s court. As a less experienced player, it is useful to aim a few feet beyond the service line of your opponent and this will help ensure that you do not drive the ball into the net.

Striking the ball
You should ideally strike the ball when your arm is fully extended and with the ball a little forward of the position of your head. It is highly important that you keep your head still as you strike the ball and keep your eyes on the position of the ball until half a second after making connection, therefore ruling out the possibility of misjudging your shot a split second before striking the ball.

Smash

Top-spin

Top-spin is the most common type of spin seen on courts today; the majority of ground shots played at higher level games will have some degree of top-spin. It is used to keep the ball low over the net whilst hitting with power, and gives the ball an extra ‘kick’ as it bounces, making for an uncomfortable return shot for your opponent.

It is achieved by whipping up the back of the ball, hitting from low to high. Your racquet face should be more or less parallel to the court as the stroke finishes, whereas it would be perpendicular if there was no spin. The racquet rolls over the top of the ball, causing the ball to spin through the air in the direction it is travelling.

It is called top-spin because the spin comes from friction with the racquet at the top of the ball. When playing a top-spin shot, you are effectively reversing the direction that the ball is spinning in, so greater energy is used in topspin than in hitting flat (ie, with no spin). Top-spin is used as a way of controlling powerful strokes; if you hit a ball flat with the same amount of power, it would have no force to make it dip over the net, and would just rocket out of the court.

Sergi Brugera, a former professional tennis player, was able to hit a tennis ball with top-spin of 3300 rpm, meaning the ball would turn 70-80 times between the time Brugera played the stroke and his opponent received it.

They key element to a successful return of a top-spin shot is your positioning on the court. You should be aware that a top-spin shot will bounce much higher than a flat shot, and it will also dip sooner. As a general rule, the greater the arc of the ball, the greater amount of top-spin is on the shot. If you are able to step up to the ball and take it while it is rising off the bounce, you may be able to hit an aggressive return. If you take the easier option and wait for the ball to reach the top of the arc, you will have been forced further towards the back of the court, giving your opponent more time to recover their position.

Top Spin

Top spin

The Volley

Overview

A volley in any sport is a shot that is hit before the ball hits the ground. In tennis, generally a player hits a volley when in a position near to the net, though there are certain volley shots that can be executed from mid-court or nearer the baseline.

A volley in tennis, as in many other sports is an attacking shot, reducing significantly the time your opponent has to return the ball. It is usually a pretty powerful shot and when well directed, can win a point outright. Being near the net means that the volleyer is able to direct the ball through a wide variety of angles and can make it impossible for the opponent to return the shot.

A volley is generally played as a player is advancing to the net in order to try and close the point. Often what you see in a game of tennis is a player volleying the ball twice in succession to win the point, the second volley a ‘put away shot’ and moving closer to the net in the process. For this reason, it is unusual that a volley is hit in the ‘last quarter’, in the area between the base and service lines.

Great volleyers of recent times include; Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and our very own Brit, Tim Henman, who is widely touted to be the best volleyer in the modern game. Sampras was a great athlete and was particularly famous for his spectacular “diving volley”.

Some great volleyers of old include; Vinnie Richards, Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Martina Navrátilová.

Technique

Perhaps most important of all when preparing to execute a volley shot is the positioning of the feet. As seen in the video by Brent Abel it is very important to align your position with the incoming ball by moving your feet, rather than reaching out to the ball with your arm. Stretching your racquet out in this way can cause you to unbalance, resulting in a poor connection with the ball.

As explained in the following video from Rick Macci the amount of racket swing that you put into a volley shot is also highly important. A ball that approaches you at speed should be volleyed using the racket to simply block the ball, often referred to as a stop volley. If you turn the racket head slightly in a stop volley, you can achieve some backspin which will cause the ball to fall short with little bounce. A slower moving ball however, can require a much deeper swing and is often called a deep volley.

There are various types of volley shots that can be played in a game of tennis. Volleys can be roughly divided into four groups: high volleys, low volleys, backhand and forehand volleys.

High and low volleys

High volleys are taken when the incoming ball is over waist height and can be either hit or blocked. Low volleys are almost always invariably blocked. As seen in the previous video, although you can take a short swing at a volley shot, there is actually very little follow through on the ball.

It is important to maintain the wrist in a tense position when dealing with either a high or low ball and to keep the wrist position behind the line of the racquet head. Maintaining a strong racket head should be enough to return the ball back over the net to your opponent, without having to swing at the shot.

As a rule, most high volleys should be hit with length and speed, whereas low volleys usually demand a softer touch and consequently fall a little shorter. A volley hit with more swing and speed can be driven aggressively downward, as in a normal ground shot. Drive volleys of this nature, if well executed, are an excellent means to reduce the time your opponent has to react and an opportunity to approach the net for that point winning shot.

Forehand and backhand volleys

Forehand volley shots more or less mirror a conventional forehand shot. The continental grip is often favoured when executing a forehand volley as the hand position does not have to be changed. An eastern grip could, however, offer more possibilities in terms of putting topspin or backspin on the ball, that can make that volley an even more devastating shot. To give your forehand volley shot more power, a two handed grip could be adopted, something used to devastating effect by Pancho Segura in the 1940s and 50s.

The backhand is a difficult shot to master in terms of shot consistency and accuracy, as you are “pulling” across the ball and it is therefore more tricky to time. It can be prudent to use a two-handed backhand shot when starting out as a player, until you have the strength in your backhand to rely solely on one hand. Many top tennis players chose to use a two handed backhand when volleying the ball.

The purpose of a volley shot is to be attacking and aggressive and hopefully force your opponent into a weak reply shot, or none at all. Overall, there is little swing in a volley shot. A strong, stable racket head must be offered and a punchy shot delivered as a result.

Volleying

The ITF was founded in Paris on 1st March 1913. Originally known as the International Lawn Tennis Foundation (ITLF), the organisation was created to satisfy the apparent need for a unifying body to bring together influential figures in the increasingly popular sport of Lawn Tennis.

Whilst the activities of the ITLF were initially disrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, by March 1923, the organisation had managed to codify a set of rules to be used in international competitions, including the four tournaments which would soon become known as the Grand Slams. In 1977, the organisation decided to modernise its name by omitting the word ‘Lawn’ from its title; it has been known henceforth as the International Tennis Federation.

The ITLF/ITF grew stronger during the course of the 20th Century and was involved in a number of important decisions relating to major Tennis tournaments, including the Grand Slams and the Davis and Fed Cup (the latter being the female equivalent of the Davis Cup). The organisation also works in conjunction with the ATF each year to ensure that the Masters Cup runs smoothly. The ITF has also worked hard to improve the international standing of Tennis, and was instrumental in persuading the International Olympic Committee to include Tennis as a full medal sport in the 1980s.

The information on the ITF website is well presented and comprehensive, but specific queries not addressed can be directed to:

International Tennis Federation
Bank Lane
Roehampton
London
SW15 5XZ
U.K.

Tel.: +44 (0)20 8878 6464
E-mail enquiries can be submitted by completing the feedback form on the ITF website.

Tennis Europe

Tennis Europe is affiliated with the ITF. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the organisation does the work of the ITF in Europe, including promoting the sport, providing information and organising events. It’s also responsible for competitions independently of the ITF such as the European Tennis Championships.

Tennis Europe currently has 48 member nations and is dedicated to improving cooperation between them. It was for this reason that the organisation was originally formed in the 1970s. Tennis Europe was officially recognised as a governing body for the European region in September 1976.

The website provides information about the Men’s and Women’s professional circuits, including the latest results and information about upcoming events. It also contains information about senior and youth Tennis, including player information, an events calendar and current rankings.

Any information not provided by the website can be obtained by contacting Tennis Europe by post, telephone or e-mail:

Tennis Europe
Zur Gempenfluh 36
4059 Basel
Switzerland

Tel.: +41 61 335 90 40
E-mail: contactus@tenniseurope.org

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)

The LTA was founded to support Tennis players of all abilities within Britain. Details about entering competitions and tournaments can be found on the website.

More information about the organisation, along with information about other British Tennis organisations, can be found in the section entitled ‘Playing Tennis in the U.K’.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA)

The USTA is the governing body for Tennis within the United States. The organisation was established in 1881 to promote the sport and oversee important competitions. The USTA oversees a number of American professional competitions, including the U.S. Open.

The USTA has a well organised and helpful website. Although much of the information provided is obviously of greatest interest to players within the United States, there is also a lot of advice which is relevant to anyone interested in the sport, including the latest news about the U.S. Open. A section containing advice for the parents of budding Tennis players is also included.

Those interested in the history of Tennis might be interested in visiting The International Tennis Hall of Fame in Rhode Island. The organisation was established as The National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame in 1954 to acknowledge the achievements of American players. In 1972, it was decided that foreigners who had made a significant contribution to the sport ought to be honoured as well.

In addition to acknowledging the achievements of players, the Hall of Fame is dedicated to educating people about the history of the sport and encouraging youth participation. Visitors are welcome between 9am and 5pm on every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day for an admission fee of $9 for adults, $7 for concessions (senior citizens, military officials or students) and $5 for children. Family tickets can also be purchased for $23. Tennis fans can also visit the Hall of Fame website to learn more about the organisation or to read player biographies.

General enquiries and group bookings can be addressed by post, telephone or e-mail:

International Tennis Hall of Fame
194 Bellevue Avenue
Newport
Rhode Island 02840
U.S.A.

Tel.: +1 (401) 849 3990
E-mail: newport@tennisfame.com

The achievements of some of the most famous Tennis stars in the history of the sport are listed below.

Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi finally retired in 2006 at the age of 36, after enjoying one of the most successful Tennis careers in living memory. Agassi remains one of only five players in the history of the sport to have won all four Grand Slam titles. As for many players, the victory which alluded Agassi for the longest was the Men’s Singles title at the French Open. After making a dramatic comeback from a two set deficit, he finally claimed the title in 1999, by defeating Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the Final of the tournament.

During the course of his career, Agassi won eight Grand Slam tournaments. He was one of the most popular players of the 1990s, frequently drawing attention to himself with his well-developed sense of fashion. His rivalry with compatriot Pete Sampras drew a great deal of public interest; any match which saw them pitched against each other was always guaranteed to draw a large audience.

Agassi was the object of great tabloid scrutiny for a time in 1996 following his split with the actress Brooke Shields. His personal troubles led to a slump in his career, but he recovered quickly and enjoyed a further ten years as a professional player before a back injury forced him into retirement. Agassi married fellow Tennis star Steffi Graf in 2001.

Those interested in learning more about Agassi and his career can visit the star’s Official website or his Online Fan Club.

Boris Becker

Boris Becker stormed onto the international Tennis stage in 1985, when he defeated Kevin Curran to become the youngest ever player to win Wimbledon, at the age of just 17. His power was immediately admired by observers and he acquired the nick-name ‘Boom Boom Becker’ on account of his formidable serve. He would win Wimbledon again in 1986 and 1989. He was finally ranked as the World Number One after his impressive performance in the 1991 Australian Open. By the end of his career, Becker had won 49 Singles titles (including 6 Grand Slams) and 15 Doubles titles. He also won a Gold medal for Germany with Michael Stich in the Men’s Doubles in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Björn Borg

Björn Borg was born in Stockholm in 1956. He enjoyed a successful Tennis career which included eleven Grand Slam titles, including an impressive six victories at the French Open. Borg’s notorious icy exterior meant Tennis commentators tagged him with the nickname ‘Ice Borg’ relatively early in his career. This name never seemed more apt than when Borg faced his nemesis John McEnroe.

The intensity of McEnroe and Borg’s rivalry was never greater than during the famous Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final of 1980. Unfortunately for Borg, most Tennis fans look back nostalgically at McEnroe’s dramatic fourth set victory, and sometimes forget that Borg was the eventual victor in what is generally considered to be one of the greatest finals in the history of the tournament. The final score was 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (16-18), 8-6. During the course of his career, Borg amassed over $3 million in prize money. His achievements were recognised when he was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

Jimmy Connors

Connors won 109 titles during his career, including two Wimbledon Men’s Singles titles, off the back of his fantastic array of shots, most notably his incredible backhand. He also distinguished himself by becoming the only player to win the U.S. Open on all three surfaces on which it has been played: grass, clay and the hard court. A contemporary of Björn Borg and John McEnroe, the 1970s and early 1980s were the heyday of Connors’ career. In 1974, he came close to grasping a Golden Grand Slam, managing to win three of the four Grand Slam tournaments; only the French Open alluded him that year, as it would for the duration of his career.

For further study of Jimmy Connors then check out his specialist page here on TalkTennis.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer looks set to become one of the greatest Tennis players of all time. Federer is currently the undisputed World Number One and has already won ten Grand Slam tournaments and won over $30 million in prize money. He has become particularly skilled on grass, and took the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title with relative ease for four consecutive years between 2003 and 2006.

Born in 1981 in Basel, Switzerland, the esteem with which Federer is held by his compatriots was recently made plain by the commission of a postage stamp bearing the Tennis star. Such an honour is unprecedented in Switzerland, as this accolade is usually reserved for long-dead national heroes. More information about Federer’s achievements and developments in his career can be found on his Official Website.

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf is an undisputed Tennis legend. A number of pundits and polls have claimed that the former German star might even have been the greatest female player of the 20th Century. During the course of her career Graf won an incredible 22 Grand Slam tournaments, and accomplished the rare feat of winning all four Grand Slams in a single year (1988). She is also the only player to have won each of the four Grand Slams at least four times.

Graf was comfortable on all surfaces, reflected in the 377 weeks she spent ranked as the World Number One by the Women’s Tennis Association. Her Grand Slam victories were also complemented by many other Singles titles, two Olympic Gold medals (in 1984 and 1988) and a Silver medal in 1992. Graf was a member of the Fed Cup team for seven years.

Steffi Graf retired from professional Tennis in August 1999 at the relatively young age of 30 due to persistent knee problems. In the same year, she delighted tabloid editors by becoming involved with fellow Tennis player Andre Agassi. The couple were married in 2001 and have two children together.

For more on Steffi Graf then click here

Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis was born in Slovakia (formally Czechoslovakia) in 1980. She became the youngest ever Wimbledon Champion when she and her partner Helena Suková won the Ladies Doubles title when Hingis was only fifteen years old. By 1997, she had reached Number One in the world rankings, had won the Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles title and the Australian Open. She had also managed to deny Venus Williams the Women’s Singles U.S Open title. While injuries forced her to withdraw from the game in 2001, she made a return to professional Tennis in the 2006/2007 season.

Hingis has had quite a career – to read more about it then check out our page dedicated to her.

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King was born in California in 1943. By the end of her career she had amassed a whopping 39 Grand Slam victories (12 Singles, 16 Ladies’ Doubles and 11 Mixed Doubles) and over $1 million in prize money at a time when tournaments did not have the immense purses typical today.

The American was ranked fourth in the world by 1960 when she was only seventeen years old, and first won a Wimbledon title, the Ladies’ Doubles, a year later. King’s contribution to Tennis did not end with her incredible achievements on the court. Both during her career and after her retirement, King’s dedication to securing equal opportunities (and, controversially, equal prize money) for women has been second to none. In recent years, the dedication of King and other advocates for complete equality has paid off; the French Open and Wimbledon will pay the winners of the Ladies’ and Men’s Finals equal amounts for the first time in 2007. Such developments have not been without serious debate though.

King is well remembered for defeating Bobby King in a match broadcast to over 50 million people from the Houston Astrodome in 1973. She defeated King 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the match which became known as the “Battle of the Sexes”.

John McEnroe

When most people think of John McEnroe, they recall his notoriously short fuse. His frequent displays of temper, including explosions such as “You cannot be serious!”, earned him the nick-name “the Super-brat”.

McEnroe is remembered for the tense Men’s Singles Final of 1980, when he finally succumbed to his great rival Björn Borg in the fifth set, despite an impressive victory in the fourth. He exacted his revenge on Borg later in 1980, and again in 1981, when he defeated the Wimbledon Champion at the U.S. Open. He took particular pride in representing the United States in the Davis Cup, an honour he perhaps took particularly seriously as a consequence of his father’s military background. Indeed, McEnroe was born in Germany, where his father was serving, in 1959 before moving back to New York as a toddler.

While McEnroe might have almost as many tantrums as aces to his name during his career, he will ultimately be remembered for consistently ranking amongst the top ten male players in the world for ten consecutive years. During that time, he accumulated an impressive seventeen Grand Slam titles: seven Singles’; nine Men’s Doubles; and one Mixed Doubles. McEnroe is now a popular tennis commentator.

Fred Perry

As visitors enter the All England Club to watch Wimbledon each summer, they walk past a statue of Britain’s greatest Tennis hero. Fred Perry is the most successful British male Tennis star of all time. His achievements are all the more remarkable considering that he did not take up Tennis until he was eighteen years old; prior to being introduced to the sport, Perry had been a World Table Tennis Champion.

Born in Stockport in Cheshire in 1909, Perry went on to win each of the Grand Slam tournaments during the course of his career; the so-called Career Golden Grand Slam. He ranked amongst the top ten players in the world between 1931 and 1936, and was consistently ranked at Number One from 1934-6. Perry represented Great Britain a number of times in the Davis Cup, leading the team to the success which has alluded the national team in recent years. He died in Australia in 1995.

For more on the last male English Wimbledon Champion this click here.

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras was born in 1971 in Washington D.C. He first captured international attention when he beat Andre Agassi in the final match of the U.S. Open at the age of only nineteen. The roots of a long rivalry were born during the match.

Sampras was always at his most comfortable on the lawns of Wimbledon. He often referred to Centre Court as his “Cathedral”. He won his first Wimbledon title in 1993 and would dominate Centre Court for the duration of the 1990s, losing out only to Dutchman Richard Krajicek in the 1996 semi-finals. Fans who flocked to Wimbledon to see Sampras play became even more excited when he was pitched against Agassi. Yet his success was not restricted to Wimbledon alone; from 1993-8 Sampras was ranked as the World Number One on the basis of his success in a variety of Championships.

Those interested in learning more about Sampras might want to look at his Official Website or the Pete Sampras Fan Site.

Monica Seles

Monica Seles was born in Novi Sad in the former Yugoslavia in 1973. Seles has also represented the United States, as she became a U.S citizen in 1994. She became the youngest ever Champion of the French Open in 1990. She went on to win a further eight Grand Slam tournaments.

Seles’ career was interrupted in 1993 when she was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg in front of 6000 spectators. Her attacker turned out to be a mentally unstable man who was unhappy that Seles had usurped Steffi Graf from the Number One ranking. Fortunately, Seles’ injuries were not life threatening and she recovered quickly.

For more on Monica Seles then read our page on her.

Serena Williams

There are few professional Tennis players who have had the experience of battling their way through the initial stages of a Grand Slam tournament only to look across the net in the Final to be confronted by their own sibling. This is, however, a scenario which the Williams sisters have become accustomed to in recent years. Venus and Serena are the two youngest of the five daughters of Richard Williams. They were raised in the rough L.A. suburb of Compton. Determined for his daughters to find a way out of their deprived neighbourhood, Richard Williams drilled them in the fundamentals of Tennis. When Serena and Venus showed clear aptitude for the sport, he started them on a carefully regimented training programme and began to enter them in youth competitions.

Serena was born in Michigan in 1981. Despite being a year younger than Venus, she managed to win a Grand Slam tournament before her sister. She subsequently won another seven Grand Slams and a number of other Singles and Doubles titles. Before 2002, Serena existed somewhat in the shadow of Venus, but emphatically bucked that trend when she won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open that year. Since that point, she has been a prominent figure in women’s tennis, although her forays in other areas such as fashion have seen her influence dwindle.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams was born in Lynnwood, California in 1980. Venus has had a career marked by winning and losing streaks, but her losing streaks have not detracted from an extraordinary record. She entered her first Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open, in 1997, where she became the first unseeded player to reach the Final. She was denied the title in that year, however, by Martina Hingis.

Venus fulfilled a dream in 2000 when she won Wimbledon after beating her sister in the the semi-final and her compatriot Lindsay Davenport in the Final. On the following day, she also claimed the Ladies’ Doubles title, with Serena as her partner. The sisters also played together in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when they took home a Gold medal on behalf of the United States. Venus also managed to win the Gold medal in the Women’s Singles event.

The Australian Open

The Australian Open is held every January and is the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Players battle it out at Melbourne Park, under the notoriously fierce Australian sun. The tournament was first held in 1905 on a grass surface. Today, the competition takes place on Rebound Ace, which is a hard court with a rubber surface topped with acrylic. This surface tends to produce a predictable bounce, but players have frequently claimed that the surface becomes sticky under the intense glare of the sun, increasing the risk of injury and inhibiting movement.

The entrants of the Women’s Singles event compete for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. The trophy is named for the Australian Tennis star Daphne Akhurst, who won the Australian Open five times in the 1920s. Akhurst died tragically in 1933 at the age of only 29 following complications associated with pregnancy.

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup is presented to the winner of the Men’s Singles. Norman Brookes represented Australia almost forty times between 1905 and 1920 in the Davis Cup. He also secured a number of personal victories, including the Men’s Singles title at Wimbledon twice; in 1907 and 1914.

The Australian Open is overseen by Tennis Australia, the national governing body for the sport.

Purchasing tickets

A number of tickets are made available to the general public each year. Tickets usually need to be purchased in advance, as early as the previous October. Bookings can be made on the Official Website or by telephone. The international booking line number is +61 (2) 8736 2711. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased in person at booking offices in Australia and New Zealand.

Prices vary, and usually begin at around $40 for an adult ticket and $34 for concessions in the earlier stages of the tournament. The cost rises as the tournament progresses. Adults should expect to pay around $100 for a Semi-Final seat and $174 for the Final, although these tickets are obviously in high demand and can be difficult to acquire. To be in with a chance of getting a ticket for one of the last stages of the competition, it is imperative to buy as soon as the tickets are released. The official website announces the exact date that tickets will be available annually.
The French Open

The French Open takes place during two weeks in late May and early June every year, and is the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament is officially called the Roland Garros Tournament, although it is usually referred to as the French Open. The tournament takes place at the Stade de Roland Garros, which was named after a French World War I aircraft hero. The competition was first held in 1891. Before the stadium was built in 1928, the Open was hosted by the Stade Français Club in Paris.

The tournament was originally held on grass, but a clay surface is now used. As balls tend to bounce higher and more slowly on clay, it can be difficult for players who are used to playing on hard courts or grass to adjust to clay. It is perhaps for this reason that it has often been the French Open which has prevented players from achieving a coveted Golden Grand Slam.

The prize purse of the tournament is generous. The prize money between the Men’s and Ladies’ is to be equal for the first time in 2007: the princely sum of €7,060,176 for the Singles’ events, and €1,666,564 for the Doubles’ events.

Purchasing tickets

Priority is always given to people who are registered with the French Tennis Federation but a number of tickets are made available to the general public. The most convenient way to acquire some is to fill out the online order form on the official website, which can be found here.

Alternatively, the form can be requested and posted back to:

FFT
Service Réservations
2 Avenue Gordon-Bennett
75016 Paris
France
Wimbledon

The Championships, or Wimbledon as it has become more commonly known, is the oldest Tennis tournament in the world. It is held annually over two weeks at the end of June and the beginning of July at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London. Each year, the Men’s and Ladies’ Singles, the Men’s and Ladies’ Doubles, the Mixed Doubles and senior and youth events take place on the nineteen courts of the club. The competition dates back to 1877 and is one of the British sporting highlights of the year.

The competition takes place on grass and, like the other Grand Slam tournaments, proceeds on a knockout basis. Qualification for the tournament is based upon world rankings. However, each year the committee admits a player to each event who would not otherwise qualify; the so-called ‘wild card.’ It is rare for these players to progress to the final stages of the competition. The notable exception is Goran Ivanisevic who won it all in 2001 as a wild card entrant.

The Wimbledon Finals always take place on Centre Court. The winner of the Men’s Singles receives a silver cup which was first presented to a Wimbledon champion in the 19th Century. The winner of the Ladies’ Singles receives the Rosewater Dish. The winners can also expect a generous cash prize. The prize money for the Men’s and Ladies’ Singles events will be equal for the first time in 2007; both winners will receive £700,000. The winners of the Men’s Doubles and Ladies’ Doubles will receive £222,900 per pair and the winners of the Mixed Doubles will receive £90,000 per pair.

Purchasing tickets

Demand for tickets always exceeds supply. For this reason, an annual ballot is held to ensure that the allocation of tickets designated for members of the public is as fair as possible. These tickets are sold on the condition that they will be used by the people who bought them originally.

The U.K. ticket office is open for general enquiries about tickets and the ballot between 9am and 5pm on weekdays and can be contacted by calling 020 8971 2473. Those calling from abroad should dial +44 20 8971 2473.

The Wimbledon Museum

The home of The Championships is also open throughout the year. Visitors from all over the world visit the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum to learn more about the tournament and the history of Tennis. The museum also has a number of interesting exhibits, including a section dedicated to on-court fashions from when Tennis first became popular to the present day. Admission for adults is £8.50 (or £14.50 for a guided tour), £7.50 for concessions (£13.00 with tour) and £4.75 for children (£11 with tour). Bookings can be made online and the admission fee is payable on arrival. The museum can also be contacted by telephone or by post:

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Church Road
Wimbledon
London
SW19 5AE

Tel. +44 (020) 8946 6131
The U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is the final Grand Slam tournament of the year. It begins towards the end of August and is held at the West Side Tennis Club in Queen’s, New York City. The tournament first moved to the West Side Tennis Club in 1968. Originally, the Open had been known as the U.S. National Championships and the Men’s and Women’s events were held as completely separate competitions. The men’s event took place at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island and the women’s event was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. At first, only members of the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association were allowed to participate but orgnanisers later permitted foreign tennis players to enter.

Like all of the Grand Slam tournaments, the competition was once held on grass. In the mid 1970s, a clay court was introduced, before this was replaced with a hard court in 1978. Players now compete on a hard court coated with acrylic; a surface known as Deco-Turf. The ball moves slightly faster on this surface than on the Rebound Ace used at the Australian Open.

The U.S. Open has pioneered the use of an electronic device known as the ‘Hawk-eye’ in recent years. The Hawk-eye is the best piece of equipment produced yet for detecting whether a ball was in or out. Each player is allowed to question two decisions in every set, but is not penalised if it turns out that they were correct. If the Hawk-eye continues to be successful it is likely that they will be used more in professional Tennis tournaments. Some competitions already use similar technology; for example, the ‘Cyclops’ used at Wimbledon.

Purchasing tickets

Tickets can be purchased for either day or evening games. Prices start at around $48 for adults, rising to around $79 for a seat in the upper promenade in the later stages of the competition. The best way to purchase tickets is through Ticket Master.
The Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is a Men’s competition (the Women’s equivalent is the Fed Cup) which originated in 1900, when a coterie of Harvard students including Dwight D. Davis and Holcolme Ward challenged British players to a tournament. The first tournament took place in Boston in 1900. The event was a great success and a number of other national teams, including the Belgian, French, Austrian and Australasian (which combined players from Australia and New Zealand) teams, had become involved by 1905. The Davis Cup is overseen by the ITF.

The Structure of the tournament

The tournaments which make up the competition are known as ties. Each of these ties is comprised of five matches, played over the course of three days. The individual matches in each tournament are referred to as rubbers. Five sets are usually played in each rubber. The first two matches are usually Singles matches and teams tend to choose their best players to compete in this initial stage. On the second day of the tie, attention turns to the Doubles competition, before returning to Singles on the third day. There are no rules against fielding the same team members for the second round of Singles matches as were used on the first day, so long as the players face a different opponent from the opposing team.

Those who qualify for the main competition are known as The World Group, which is comprised of sixteen national teams. These teams face each other in a knock-out tournament before an overall champion is declared. Eight members of the World Group will be the teams which won in the first round in the last Davis Cup. The eight teams who lost in the previous year’s competition may still be allowed to re-enter the World Group, but must first prove themselves in a Play-off tournament. Their opponents in this tournament will be the winners of the top regional groups.

These regional groups are made up of national teams which did not qualify for the World Group in the previous year, but have been competing in separate regional tournaments. These regions are: the Americas; Europe/Africa; and Asia/Ocean. These zonal competitions involve dividing the teams in their region into four groups, the first group being the most successful teams and the fourth group being the least successful. These teams take part in a separate competition to determine the final placing of each team; teams are promoted and relegated between the groups based on the outcome.

Each year, eight successful teams from the first groups of these regional tournaments are invited to participate in the Play-offs; two each from the Asia/Oceania group and the Americas, and four from the Europe/Africa group. If these teams are successful in the Play-offs, they qualify for the World Group and take part in the main Davis Cup tournament.

Purchasing tickets

If you are interested in supporting your national team, the best way to go about acquiring tickets is to contact your national association. Contact details for each national association are listed on the ITF website. The website can also tell you which group your team is currently in, and the date and location of their next fixture.
The Fed Cup

The Fed Cup is a Women’s competition and the equivalent of the Davis Cup. Each year, national teams compete in a tournament over the course of one week. The location of the competition varies from year to year.

The Fed Cup (originally known as the Federation Cup) originated in 1963 to mark the 50th anniversary of the ITF. The first tournament took place in London, when the United States became the first winners. In 1963, only sixteen national team chose to enter the competition. In recent years, entry has become much more competitive, and qualifying rounds were introduced after 1992. The structure of the Fed Cup is now similar to the Davis Cup tournament, with a World Group made up of eight national teams, and a World Group II made up of a further eight.

The World Group is comprised of the four teams which won the first round tie in the previous Fed Cup. As is the case in the Davis Cup tournament, the remaining places in the World Cup can only be secured by participation in a Play-off tournament. The opponents of these losing teams in the Play-offs are the four most successful teams of World Group II. The four losing teams of the Play-offs will become part of World Group II, and the four winners go on to compete in the main competition.

The final placing of each national team in the World Group and World Group II are determined by a committee which seeds each team after careful consideration of a number of factors. Points towards Fed Cup rankings depend on such things as the position of a team’s opponents in the rankings. Performance over a four year period is taken into account, although recent performance is considered to be most relevant.

Fed Cup Ties have a similar structure to those of the Davis Cup. Individual matches are also played to the best of three sets in the Women’s tournament. On the first day, two Singles matches take place, generally involving the best players on each team. Further Singles matches, against different partners are held during the second round. The Doubles matches are held last.
The Olympics

Tennis was one of the original Olympic sports at the Athens Olympics of 1896. However, after 1924, a decision was taken to exclude Tennis as an Olympic Sport. After considerable lobbying by organisations including the ITF, it was decided that Tennis should return as a demonstration sport in 1984. When this proved to be successful, the IOC re-introduced Tennis as a full medal Olympic sport in time for the 1988 Games.

Olympic Tennis has been popular ever since, attracting a number of famous Tennis stars. Steffi Graf won a Gold medal in the Singles event at the 1988 Olympics and a Silver medal in 1992. Serena and Venus Williams teamed up in 2000 to win the Gold medal for the Women’s Doubles. Andre Agassi is another renowned Tennis player to take home a Gold Medal; he won the Men’s Singles in 1996.

The competition is a knockout tournament. Most matches are played to the best of three sets, although the Men’s Singles and Doubles Finals are played to the best of five. Players are allowed to compete in both the Singles and Doubles events if they wish to do so.

Whether or not a player qualifies for the Olympics is decided by a committee, which admits 48 players based on their position in the world rankings. A further two players who do not meet this requirement are invited to take part in the tournament by the committee. When allocating places in the tournament, a number of factors are taken into account, including whether or not a player’s nation is already being represented at the event, and the number of ITF ranked players in the country of the player in question.

The Tennis event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be held at the Beijing Olympic Tennis Centre. Further information about the competition can be found here on the ITF website.
The ATP Tour

The ATP Tour is a men’s competition overseen by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The Tour is comprised of a series of international Tennis tournaments, in which players compete for prize money and to accumulate points towards their ATP ranking. The number of points allocated to each player depends upon the prestige of the tournament in which they are competing, and their final position in the competition.

The least notable series of events in the ATP Tour are the Challenger Tournaments. Lower seeded players tend to compete in this series, and the prize purse for its events tends to be significantly smaller than for the Masters Series events and the Grand Slams.

The International Series Tournaments and the International Series Gold Tournaments also allow players to accumulate points towards their overall ATP ranking. The ATP website is the best source of information about upcoming tournaments in these categories.

The Masters Series attracts Tennis stars of the highest calibre from across the world. In fact, the Masters Series is compulsory for the highest seeded male players. The tournaments which comprise the Masters Series are listed below:

* The Pacific Life Open Indian Well, California, U.S.A.
* The Sony Ericssopen.com/ Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
* The Monte-Carlo Masters Series Monte-Carlo, Monaco
* Internazionali BNL D’Italia Rome, Italy
* Masters Series, Hamburg Hamburg, Germany
* Rogers Cup Toronto (Women’s) and Montreal (Men’s)
* Western and Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
* Masters Madrid Madrid, Spain
* BNP Paribas Masters

The ATP Tour climaxes in the annual Masters Cup, which pitches the eight most highly ranked players in the ATP against each other to determine an overall champion. The event also involves the International Tennis Federation.

Players are divided into two equal groups, each of which plays a round robin tournament. The two most successful players from each group are invited to progress to the Semi-finals, where two players are eliminated. The player who goes on to win the Masters Cup Final becomes the ATP Champion.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

The WTA Tour is the Women’s equivalent of the ATP Tour. The Tour is overseen by the Women’s Tennis Association. It is organised similarly to the ATP Tour, with players competing for prize money and points towards their overall WTA rankings. Points are awarded in proportion with the prestige of the tournament and the final position of the player in the competition.

Tournaments which allow players to accrue points include the Tier Tournaments, which are divided into four groups, from Tier I to Tier IV.

The The Sony Ericsson Championships is the most important part of the WTA Tour and the equivalent of the Masters Cup. The competition pitches the highest ranking players against each other to determine the overall champion.

Tennis is a game played with a racket and a ball by two (as in singles) or four (as in doubles) competitors, on a rectangular court with a net strung between the midpoints of the longer sides of the court. Tennis may be played indoors or outdoors. The game ranks as one of the most popular spectator and participation sports in the world, with fans and competitors in more than 100 countries. Originally called lawn tennis to distinguish it from the sport of court tennis, from which it was derived, the game is now commonly known as tennis.

SAFETY AND FIRST AID
Tennis is one of the safest sports you can play but there is still the chance of an injury. Luckily, you don’t have to worry about being tackled or elbowed or tripped by some big galoot. Most tennis injuries are ones you’ll do to yourself. Most can be prevented with a little common sense.

BE PREPARED
If someone is injured, you need to know what to do. When you go out to play, always check where the nearest telephone is because you’ll need it in an emergency. Also check whether there are any adults nearby and where can you get some ice in a hurry. If you have all this under control in advance, you’ll avoid a panic if something does happen on the court.

Now, what can happen to injure a player in tennis? Usually, it will be either a joint sprain (wrist, knee, ankle), a strained (pulled) muscle or a blow from a ball or a racquet.

A sprain happens when the ligaments and soft tissues around a joint are suddenly twisted very hard, or are torn. Sometimes it’s only minor (you hit a backhand with the wrong grip and your wrist gets a bit too far), but it can be very serious (you step on a ball and all your weight comes down on your twisted ankle. POP!)

TREATMENT
Remember the word R I C E for all sprains and strains, and for some blows from a ball or racquet.

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

Sprains
· Rest. Stay quiet and don’t move the injured joint.
· Ice. Put an ice pack, wrapped in a towel, on the injury for about 20 minutes. Put it on again every 2 hours. This helps stop the bleeding around the joint. (Even though you can’t see it, there’s actually bleeding inside.) The ice pack also relieves pain.
· Compression. Take the ice pack off and wrap the joint-not too tightly-with a stretch bandage. This also slows bleeding and helps keep the swelling down.
· Elevation. Get the injured joint above the heart. Lie down, then rest the injured limb on a pillow. Put an injured arm in a sling. Elevation reduces

BEFORE YOU HIT A BALL
What happens when you stretch a cold rubber hand too fast? It doesn’t stretch too easily and will probably break if you pull it hard enough. That’s exactly what can happen to your muscles if you don’t do some proper warm-up and stretching before you start to play.

There’s a very simple routine that should become part of your normal tennis time. It doesn’t take long but it will give you a great start.

THE WARM-UP
First, you need to get your heart pumping and your muscles loose and warm. Start running on the spot or go for a little jog. Take it nice and easy-you are not in a race. After a minute or two of this, you’ll be ready for some stretching.

STRETCHING
Work through each set of these stretches twice.

Legs
Stand with your hands on your hips. Put your right leg back, foot flat on the ground. Slowly bend your left leg until you feel a slight pull at the back of your right leg (in the calf muscle, just below the back of the knee) Hold the stretch for at least 10 seconds then change legs. Keep the back leg straight back foot flat on the ground.

Next, stand with hands on hips and your feet spread wider than your shoulders. Facing forward, bend your right leg and put most of your weight onto it. You should feel a slight pull on the inside of your left leg, above the knee. This time, keep both feet flat on the ground. Hold the stretch for at least 10 seconds, then change legs.

Stand with your legs together. Lift your right foot up behind you, towards your buttocks, and reach back to grab your right ankle with both hands. Keep your knees together and pull gently up with your hands. You’ll feel the stretch in the front of your right leg. Hold for 10 seconds, then change legs.

Trunk
Next, stretch the big muscles in the stomach, the back and the side of the upper body. This one’s a bit tricky, so check the illustration.

Sit down and put your left leg straight out in front of you. Put your right foot on the outside of your left knee, bending your right leg. Turn your shoulders to the left and put your left arm out behind you, hand on the ground. Now reach across with your right arm and put your right

GETTING THE GEAR
If you had to pick a sport which needed very little equipment, at a low cost, and which could be played nearly everywhere you go, you couldn’t find a better one than tennis. To get started you need a racquet, a few balls, tennis shoes, and some loose comfortable clothes. What could be simpler than that? The only real problem you’re going to have is in choosing a particular brand, model, or style, but there are points to watch for.

CHOOSING A RACQUET
You can’t always go by price. The more expensive racquets are usually designed for more experienced players who are bigger and stronger. If you’re just starting out or haven’t played much before, you won’t be able to get the best out of an expensive racquet.

On the other hand, very cheap racquets are not always well made and tend to break. As a general rule, stick to the major brands and you should be able to play for a few years with the same racquet. Then you can buy a better model as your game improves.

Getting the Right Fit
You may have heard people talking about grip sizes, racquet weights and balance points. These are things that make a racquet “fit” your hand and strength.

Grip Size
Grip size is an important measurement to look at. The grip size is the distance around the handle-you’ll see it marked on the side of the racquet.

All grips are measured in inches. Racquets for players with small hands may be around 4 inches and players with very big hands may need grips over 5 inches. To find out your grip size, look at the palm of your racquet hand (the hand you’ll use to hold the racquet). Now measure the distance from the tip of your ring finger to the second line across your palm.

The nearest 1/8-inch to this distance is your grip size.

Keypoints
It’s important to find the right size-a grip that’s too big will make your arm tired from trying to hold on too tightly and a grip that’s too small will slip around.

Racquet Weight
Again, avoid the extreme-a racquet that’s too heavy will be hard to play with but one that’s too light won’t give you a good feel of the ball hitting the strings. On the side of the racquet where the grip size is marked, you’ll also notice one or two letters-usually SL (super-light), L (light), or LM (light-medium). Sometimes you’ll see an M (medium) but not very often. The letters tell you how heavy the racquet is (in grams). As a beginner or an occasional player you should be using a super-light or light-weight racquet.

Balance Point
The balance point tells you whether the racquet has more weight near the head, or near the handle. To find the balance point, put the racquet on a pencil, which is on a flat surface, like this:

When the racquet is perfectly balanced, measure the distance (in millimeters), from the end of the handle to the pencil. This distance is the balance point. If the distance is less than about 300 mm, the racquet is “head-light”: it will be best for someone who likes to play at the net a lot. At about 300 mm to 320 mm, the racquet is evenly balanced and suits a player with a good all-round game. A balance point of 320 mm or above means the racquet is “head-heavy” and will be better for someone who likes to stay back and hit from the back of the court.

Ask a qualified tennis coach or staff at a specialist tennis shop to help you get the right fit.

What Material to Choose
Some of the materials that racquets are made of sound more like they belong on spaceship-graphite, fibreglass, boron, ceramic, Kevlar, titanium, Twaron, Zytel. A lot of these really are used in spaceships and are now also being used in tennis racquets to make them lighter and stronger. The catch is that they also make the racquets more expensive.

At this stage you’ll probably be using something with a bit of graphite, quite a lot of fibreglass and maybe a sprinkling of ceramic. Stay away from super-stiff racquets for now-they can cause some arm problems and are better suited to more experienced players. Again, ask a qualified racquet specialist for advice.

BALL
This is where price is important. Tennis balls have to measure up to certain standards before they can be approved for play.

They have to be a certain size and weight and they must bounce to a certain height. Balls that aren’t approved are usually much cheaper, but they are seldom as good. The covers on cheap balls are not as tough and the seams (the lines going around the ball) are not as strong, so the bail will often split after a short time. I’ve even seen cheap balls that weren’t completely round! Don’t make life harder for yourself by using bad balls. If you can’t afford new first quality balls, check with a local tennis club. They will often have used balls you can use to practice with, or they may even sell them to you cheaply.

SHOES
(The shoe has to support and cushion your foot because there’s a lot of pounding going on down there (that is, if you run the way you should). The sole of the shoe must be flat so it won’t leave marks on the court. (No cricket shoes please!) You can buy shoes made specially for tennis but at this stage of your game, you re probably better off getting shoes you can use for several sports. They don’t have to cost a fortune either. If you start playing tournaments then you can look at the high-performance models.

COURT CLOTHES
Tennis fashion is definitely changing. Most clubs used to allow only white clothes but colours are now quite acceptable. Check the requirements if you play at a club.

Wear clothes that are loose and comfortable. They should be made of something that can “breathe” like cotton. Try to remember that you’re playing tennis, not going to the beach, so no singlets, okay?

LOOK AFTER YOUR SKIN
There are two other things you should always wear when you’re playing. Sun block (SPF 15+) and a hat. You don’t want to end up with a leathery, wrinkled face, or skin cancer.

KNOW YOUR RULES
The rules of tennis are not very complicated but they are very detailed, so what you need is a feeling for the general rules of the game. If you want to study all the official rules, call your state tennis association for a copy of the book. For now, let’s keep it simple.

Who Plays Whom?
In singles, two people play, one on each end of the court. In doubles, two players at one end play against two players at the other end.
To start a match, the players will toss a coin or spin a racquet to decide one of four things:

· the player winning the toss can choose to serve

· the player can choose to receive serve

· the player can choose which end to play from in the first game

· the player can give up the choice and make the opponent choose first (but you won’t see this happen very often).
Note that a player can’t pick two things: you can’t choose to serve and choose the end you will start.

THE AIM OF THE GAME
There are only two principles in tennis. All of the rules are just details to support these two principles.

Principle One:
You must get the ball over the net.

Principle Two:
The ball must land in the court on your opponent’s side of the net.

If you always do these two things, guess what? It is almost impossible to lose! All you have to do is get the ball over the net and into the court one more time than your opponent, and you’re practically unbeatable. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

SERVING THE BALL
To start the game, one player (the server) stands behind the baseline, just to the right of the centre service mark (no standing on the line-that’s called a foot fault.) The server hits the ball across the net into the service court on the opposite side of the centre service line. If the first serve doesn’t land in the service court, it’s a fault and the player gets one more chance. If this second serve is also a fault, the server loses the point (a double fault). If either of those two serves is “good” (lands in the correct service court) the receiver has to hit the ball back over the net.

If the ball touches the net when it is served but still bounces into the correct service court, a let is called and the server gets to try that serve again. If the ball hits the net and then lands outside the correct service court, the serve is a fault.

PLAYING THE POINT
Play continues until one player hits the ball into the net or outside their opponent’s court, or until one player hits a shot so well that the opponent can’t reach it. (This is called ‘hitting a winner”)

After each point in singles, the server and receiver change sides (not ends-just left to right or right to left). In doubles, the server changes sides but the receivers stay where they are and receive alternate points.

After the serve, all balls must land on or inside the baseline. They must also land on or inside the singles sideline (in singles) or the doubles sidelines (in doubles). You can hit the ball after one bounce or before it bounces (except on a return of serve, when you have to let it bounce). You must hit it before it bounces twice. Just be sure you don’t reach over the net before the ball crosses onto your side-if you do, you lose the point,

KEEPING SCORE
It sounds weird but it’s really very simple. Scoring in tennis starts at zero (love). The first point is 15, the second 30, then 40, then game. So, if you’ve won two points and your opponent has won one, the score is 30-15 if you are serving, 15-30 if you are receiving (the server’s score is always called first). If the score goes to 40-40(40-all), it’s called deuce. From deuce, one player must win two points in a row to win the game. The player who wins the first point after deuce is said to have the ad (advantage). The score will be called as “advantage server” (ad in) or “advantage receiver” (ad out). If the player with the ad loses the next point, the score goes back to deuce, but if the player with the ad wins the ad point, game is scored.

Players change ends of the court whenever the total of the games played is an odd number (1-0, 4-3, 5-2, 1-4, for example). A set of tennis is won when one player reaches 6 games with a lead of at least 2 games. From a game score of 5-5, a player can win the set by a score of 7-5

The Tiebreak

If the score goes to 6-6, a tiebreak is usually played: The aim here is to win 7 points with a lead of at least 2 points. (If the score gets to 7-6 or 7-5, the tiebreak keeps going until one player is 2 point ahead 12-10, for example.) The player who does that wins the tiebreak and the set with a game score of 7-6.

Most matches are best of three sets, so the player winning two sets wins the match.

Those are the very basic rules but I strongly suggest that you get a copy of the booklet The Official Rules of Tennis and read it carefully.
You’ll earn a lot of respect from other players if they see that you know the rules-and play by them.

DID YOU KNOW?
The word love in tennis is said to come from the French 1′oeuf (the egg) because that’s what a zero looks like on the scoreboard. The scores 15, 30 and 40 are from the old game of Real Tennis.

Although the origins of tennis are not clear, many experts believe tennis, then called lawn tennis, was invented in 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, a British army officer. Although Wingfield claimed that he modeled the game, which he called Sphairistiké (Greek for “playing at ball”) after an ancient Greek game, many authorities believe that he adapted the principles of the popular English games of court tennis, squash racquets, and badminton for outdoor play. Early players preferred to call Wingfield’s game tennis-on-the-lawn, or lawn tennis. The game was introduced to Bermuda in 1873, and from Bermuda was brought to the United States by Mary Ewing Outerbridge of Staten Island, New York. The first game of lawn tennis in the United States was probably played in 1874 on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club.

The first world amateur championships were held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England (men, 1877; women, 1884). By the end of the 19th century, lawn tennis had been introduced into British colonies and other nations throughout the world. In the United States, local rules and standards for the game varied widely until 1881, when the United States Lawn Tennis Association (now the USTA) was organized to standardize rules and equipment. Under its auspices, play for the annual U.S. singles championships for men began in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1881. The national men’s singles championships continued to take place annually in Newport until 1915, when they moved to the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The national women’s singles matches began in 1887, at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and continued there until 1921, when they were also brought to Forest Hills. In 1978 the U.S. championships, which had been renamed the U.S. Open in 1968, moved to the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in New York City.

At the beginning of the 20th century the major international tournaments were Wimbledon and the U.S. championships. Early Wimbledon men’s champions included British players Arthur Gore and brothers Reggie and Laurie Doherty. Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers of England won the women’s title at Wimbledon seven times (1903, 1904, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914). The U.S. men’s championships were dominated by American William Larned, who won seven times (1901, 1902, 1907-1911). Americans Elisabeth Moore and Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman both won several U.S. women’s championships in the early 1900s, and Norwegian-born Molla Mallory won eight such titles (1915-1918, 1920-1922, 1926).

In the 1920s British, American, and French players were the most successful in international play. American Bill Tilden dominated the men’s game, winning Wimbledon three times (1920, 1921, 1930) and the U.S. championships seven times (1920-1925, 1929). French players Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, and Henri Cochet were also successful, particularly at Wimbledon, which one of the three of them won each year from 1924 to 1929. Suzanne Lenglen of France and Helen Wills Moody (see Wills, Helen Newington) of the United States were the leading female players. In the 1930s outstanding men’s players included Don Budge and Ellsworth Vines of the United States and Fred Perry of England. During the same period Moody continued her success, finishing her career with eight Wimbledon titles (1927-1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938), seven U.S. championship titles (1923-1925, 1927-1929, 1931), and four French championship titles (1928-1930, 1932). Other leading female players included Alice Marble and Helen Jacobs of the United States and Dorothy Round of England.

During the next decade American players such as Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer continued their successful play. Pancho Segura of Ecuador, whose career would continue into the 1960s, also started playing internationally in the 1940s. Dominant female players who began their careers at this time included Americans Pauline Betz, winner of four U.S. championships (1942-1944, 1946) and Louise Brough, winner of four Wimbledon titles (1948-1950, 1955). In the 1950s, Australia became a tennis power, and Australian men won the Davis Cup 15 times from 1950 to 1967, led by outstanding players such as Frank Sedjman, Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad, Roy Emerson, and Ashley Cooper. American Tony Trabert also became a premier player during this time. Maureen Connolly was the dominant female player of the early 1950s, winning the grand slam in 1953. Althea Gibson won both the Wimbledon and the U.S. championships in 1957 and 1958, becoming the first black player to win those tournaments. During the 1960s, Australians Rod Laver, Fred Stolle, and John Newcombe continued that country’s tennis success, and other male players who became prominent included Manuel Santana of Spain and Arthur Ashe(Link to Txt)and Stan Smith of the United States. Leading female players included Maria Bueno of Brazil, Margaret Smith Court, Virginia Wade of England, and Billie Jean King(Link to Txt) of the United States, who won Wimbledon six times (1966-1968, 1972, 1973, 1975).

In 1968 the open era began when tournaments were opened to professionals as well as amateurs. In the 1970s Newcombe, Ashe, and Smith continued their success, joined by such players as Ilie Nastase of Romania and Guillermo Vilas of Argentina. Jimmy Connors, whose career spanned from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, won five U.S. Opens (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983). Björn Borg of Sweden won five consecutive Wimbledon titles (1976-1980). Borg’s rivalry with American player John McEnroe during this period ranks as one of the best in tennis history. Among female players, Court, Wade, and King continued their success, joined by Australian Evonne Goolagong.

Connors, Borg, and McEnroe continued their successful play in the 1980s, and other leading male players of this decade included Czech-born Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg of Sweden, and Boris Becker of Germany, who in 1985 at the age of 17 became the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon. One of the most successful female players ever was Czech-born Martina Navratilova, whose career spanned from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. During her career, Navratilova won 167 singles titles, including nine Wimbledon titles (1978, 1979, 1982-1987, 1990). American Chris Evert was another dominant female player during the 1970s and 1980s, winning seven French Opens (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986) and six U.S. Opens (1975-1978, 1980, 1982). The rivalry between Navratilova and Evert was one of the most intense and long lasting in tennis history. In 1988 Steffi Graf had an outstanding year, capturing the grand slam and the Olympic gold medal. Other leading female players of the 1980s included American Tracy Austin and Czech Hana Mandilikova.

In the 1990s, Lendl, Edberg, and Becker continued their success, joined by outstanding American players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang. Graf developed a rivalry with Serbian-born Monica Seles, who emerged as a dominant player, winning the U.S., French, and Australian opens in both 1991 and 1992. Navratilova remained one of the highest ranking players until her retirement from singles competition in 1995, and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain, Jennifer Capriati of the United States, and Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina also encountered success.