|
Tennis (Lawn Tennis) is a game for two or four players played by striking a ball with a racket over a net stretched across a rectangular court of either grass or clay, or sometimes indoors on an artificial floor. Each playing surface has its own characteristics and affects the bounce of the ball, so that individual players may be more adept at playing on grass than clay or vice-versa.
Tennis may be played by two individual players of the same sex (singles) or by two teams each of two players of the same sex (doubles) or by two teams of two players comprised of one player of each sex (mixed doubles).
A tennis match consists of three or five sessions known as 'sets', each set being comprised of usualy six games. The winner of a set being the player or pair of players to first win six games or seven games if the opponent has also won five games, thus one can win 6-0, 6-1,6-2, 6-3, 6-4 or 7-5. The winner of the match being the player or team that wins two of the three or three of the five sets.
Scoring of a game of tennis is unique. The first point is scored as 'fifteen', the second 'thirty' and the fourth is known as 'fourty'. If a player wins a fifth point they win the game, unless both players have scored fourth points ('deuce') in which case one player must win the next two consecutive points, the first point being called 'advantage'. If a player wins a point from deuce and the opponent wins the nest point, the scores revert to deuce. A score of zero is known as 'love'. Thus one can realise a game in which the score follows 'fifteen-love', 'thirty-love', 'fourty-love' and 'game'.
Opponents take it in turns to serve for the duration of each game until that game is won or lost, and then the opponent serves for the following game.
Modern lawn tennis was developed in England during the mid-19th century and probably evolved from similar games already being played.
Tennis has a number of international competitions of which perhapsthe most famous is the annual tournament for mens-singles, womens-singles, mens-doubles, womens-doubles and mixed-doubles played during the summer on grass courts at the home of England's Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, known simply as 'Wimbledon'.
 Research Tennis
|
Abbreviations
Recreation
