Tennis

Tennis is a sport played either between two players - called a singles game or between two teams of two players each - called a doubles game.

Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's side of the court.

The court is a rectangular flat surface, either of grass, clay, concrete or of a synthetic material nature. The court is 23.78 m long, and its width is 8.23 m for a singles match and 10.98 m wide for a doubles match. Additional clear space around the perimeter of the court is needed in order for players to reach overrun balls for a total of 18.3 mwide and 36.7 mblong. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, thus dividing the court into two equal sides. The net is 1.07 m high at both the posts, and 920 mm high in the center.

The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" for which it is still know today, and had heavy connections to the ancient game of real tennis. After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world.

Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair bound players.

Except for the adoption of the tiebreaker in the 1970s, the rules of tennis have changed very little since the 1890s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the option of instant replay technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the official call of a point if deemed necessary.

Along with its millions of players, millions of people worldwide follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments which are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.