HISTORY OF TENNIS
Most historians believe that tennis originated in the monastic cloisters in northern France in the 12th century, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand, hence the name jeu de paume ("game of the palm"). It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "tennis." It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which historians now refer to as real tennis.
The Medieval form of tennis is termed as real tennis. Real tennis evolved over three centuries from an earlier ball game played around the 12th century in France. This had some similarities to palla, fives, pelota, and handball, involving hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. One theory is that this game was played by monks in monastery cloisters, based on the construction and appearance of early courts, some of which were grass fields. By the 16th century, the glove had become a racquet, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area, and the rules had stabilized. Real tennis spread in popularity throughout royalty in Europe, reaching its peak in the 16th century.
The four Majors or Grand Slam tournaments, the four biggest competitions on the tennis circuit, are Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open. Since the mid 1920s they became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Winning these four tournaments in the same year is called the Grand Slam.
1877, Wimbledon:
The Championships, Wimbledon, were founded by the All England Club in 1877 to raise money for the club. The first Championships were contested by 22 men and the winner received a Silver Gilt Cup proclaiming the winner to be "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World".
1881, U.S. Open:
Tennis was first played in the U.S. at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge at the Staten Island Cricket Club in New Brighton Staten Island, New York in 1874. In 1881, the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs.
1891/1925, French Open:
Tennis was predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by Great Britain and the United States. It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis. This tournament was not recognised as a Major or Grand Slam tournament until it was opened to all nationalities in 1925.
1905, Australian Open:
The Australian Open was first played in 1905 as The Australasian Championships. Because of its geographic remoteness, historically, the event did not gain attendance from the top tennis players. It became one of the major tennis tournaments starting in 1924.
1900, The Davis Cup was first created for competition when American collegian Dwight Filley Davis challenges British tennis players to come across the Atlantic and compete against his Harvard team.
1950, Pro Tour created by Jack Cramer becomes very popular to both amateur tennis players and the public.
1953, Maureen Connolly becomes the first woman to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single year.
1963, Open Era:
Open tennis dissolved the boundary between professionals and amateurs, and resulted in professionals who had been restricted in their engagements being freed to play all events.
1972, The Association of Tennis Professionals(ATP) was formed to protect the interests of male professional tennis players.
1973, A computer ranking system is introduced so that players can gain rightful entries into tournaments.
1982, The Championships adopted yellow tennis balls for the first time.
1989, Sweeden establishes a Clay Court, it slow down the ball and produce a high bounce.
2004, Year of Roger Federer:
Roger Federer becomes the first man in tennis history since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three of the four grand slam events in a calendar year.