What is tennis?
A sport that originated in France before being reworked by the British, tennis is a descendant of the French jeu de paume and came into being in 1869 in the English town of Leamington Spa, where a sportsman, Harry Gem, and his friends founded a lawn tennis club.And it was all made possible by rubber. What? Yes, before the invention of vulcanised rubber, balls were made of cork and cloth didn’t bounce very high on grass courts, which was pretty tiresome for budding players.
And what exactly does the word “tennis” mean anyway?It finds its origin in jeu de paume, a game in which, in the server shouts the word “tenez”, meaning “hold”, “receive”, or “take” and which was later Anglicised to become “tennis”, though who knows why. The expansion of the game.
The first Wimbledon Championships were held in 1877, with the final being played in front of a crowd of only 200 people.France’s first tennis club was founded in the town of Dinard the following year, with Australia, Ireland and the USA’s first clubs being set up at around the same time.
It is now the second most-played sport in France, with over a million registered players. It’s a game for young and old alike and can be played in singles and doubles formats.
Surfaces and styles of play:
➡️ Clay: a slow surface that absorbs the impact of the ball. Made from limestone and crushed brick, clay courts cause the ball to bounce higher and place higher technical demands on players.
➡️ Hard: tough on the joints, hard courts play faster than clay but slower than grass.
➡️ Grass (natural or artificial): a fast surface on which the ball bounces low, it encourages attacking play.
💡 Grass is mown twice a week, to a length of between 6 mm and 8 mm. Fascinating stuff, right?