Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. If a player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point.
Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages. The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis.
The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye. (Full article...)
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France (to distinguish it from longue-paume, and in reference to the older, racquetless game of jeu de paume, the ancestor of modern handball and racquet games). Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
The term real was first used by journalists in the early 20th century as a retronym to distinguish the ancient game from modern lawn tennis (even though, at present, the latter sport is seldom contested on lawns outside the few social-club-managed estates such as Wimbledon). (Full article...)
Queen's is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world, and serves as a warm-up for Wimbledon. Andy Murray has won a record five titles between 2009 and 2016. (Full article...)
The tournament is the best-attended tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam tournaments (493,440 in total attendance during the 2024 event); it is often called the "fifth Grand Slam" in reference to this. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden has the second-largest permanent tennis stadium in the world, behind the US Open's Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The Indian Wells Open is the premier tennis tournament in the Western United States and the second largest tennis tournament throughout the United States and the Americas (behind the US Open in the Eastern United States). (Full article...)
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The Becker–Edberg rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who met 35 times between 1984 and 1996. Although Becker led their overall head-to-head 25–10 and won all three of their Davis Cup matches, Edberg won three of their four meetings in Grand Slams. Edberg and Becker also reached the championship match of the 1989 World Tour Finals, which Edberg won in four sets. Edberg led their five-set matches at 2–1.
The most defining aspect of their rivalry was the three successive Wimbledon finals that they played. In the 1988 meeting, Becker was the huge favorite, and stormed to the first set 6–4. The second set was to be the most memorable, when in a fit of courage and tennis acumen Edberg won a tight set in a tiebreaker 7–2. Edberg went on to win the next two sets 6–4, 6–2 to win his first Wimbledon title and deny Becker a third title in four years. In the 1989 meeting, Becker, having lost to Edberg a month earlier in the French Open semifinals, raced to win the first set 6–0. The second set was closer, but won in a tiebreak by Becker 7–1 after saving 3 set points (Edberg led 6-5 40-0 and service). Becker went on to win the third set 6–4. This was Becker's third Wimbledon title, which would be his last Wimbledon crown. In the 1990 meeting, Edberg won the first two sets 6–2, 6–2. However, Becker rallied to win the next two sets 6–3, 6–3. Becker broke Edberg early in the fifth set, setting up the possibility of being the first Wimbledon champion since Henri Cochet in 1927 to win the final after losing the first two sets. Yet, this was not to be as Edberg regained the break and then broke Becker in the ninth game of the set with a topspin lob winner, eventually serving it out for a second Wimbledon championship. (Full article...)
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This article covers the period 1884 to present. Before the beginning of the Open era in April 1968, only amateurs were allowed to compete in established tennis tournaments, including the four Grand Slams. Wimbledon, the oldest of the majors, was founded in 1877, followed by the US Open in 1881, the French Open in 1891, and the Australian Open in 1905. Beginning in 1905 and continuing to the present day, all four majors have been played yearly, with the exception of the two World Wars, 1986 for the Australian Open, and 2020 for Wimbledon. The Australian Open is the first major of the year (January), followed by the French Open (May–June), Wimbledon (June–July), and US Open (August–September).
There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. A player who wins all four current major tournaments in the same calendar year, as an individual or as part of a doubles team, is said to have achieved the "Grand Slam". If the player wins all four consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, it is called a "Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam". Winning all four at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Grand Slam". Winning the four majors and a gold medal in tennis at the Summer Olympics has been called a "Golden Slam" since 1988. Winning all four plus gold at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Golden Slam". Winning the Year-end Championship also having won a Golden Slam is referred to as a "Super Slam". Winning the four majors in all three disciplines a player is eligible for–singles, doubles, and mixed doubles–is considered winning a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles. (Full article...)
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The Djokovic–Murray rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They met 36 times, and Djokovic leads 25–11 overall and 11–8 in finals. Ten of their encounters were played in majors, with Djokovic leading 8–2. Djokovic and Murray are one of two male pairs to have contested the finals of each of the four majors (Djokovic–Nadal is the other pair).
Djokovic leads on hard courts 20–8 and 5–1 on clay, while Murray won their two matches played on grass. The rivalry began highly competitive and remained so for many years. However, after Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships over Djokovic in the final, Djokovic took a commanding lead, winning 14 of their last 17 encounters. (Full article...)
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Wimbledon men's wheelchair doubles Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennisadapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, and the ball may bounce up to two times, where the second bounce may also occur outside the court.
Wheelchair tennis has been played at all four Grand Slams since 2007 and is one of the sports played at the Summer Paralympics. There are three categories, Men, Women, and Quads; each category has singles and doubles tournaments. The Quad, the newest division, is for players that have substantial loss of function in at least one upper limb, but may include various disabilities besides quadriplegia. The division is sometimes called Mixed, especially at the Paralympic Games. Quad players often tape the rackets to their hand, to compensate for loss of function, and some players are allowed to use electric-powered wheelchairs. (Full article...)
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The Australian Open is an annual tennis tournament created in 1905 and (since 1988) played on outdoor hardcourts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Open is played over a two-week period beginning in mid-January and has been chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments each year since 1987. The event was not held from 1916 to 1918 because of World War I, from 1941 to 1945 because of World War II and in 1986. The timing of the Australian Open has changed several times. In 1977, the date of the final moved from January to December, which resulted in having two Australian Opens in 1977; there was a January edition and a December edition that year. The originally planned December 1986 edition was moved forward to January 1987, resulting in no Australian Open in 1986. The Australian Open was an Open Era event for the first time in 1969. One year previously in 1968 the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open were Open Era events for the first time. (Full article...)
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In tennis, "Battle of the Sexes" describes various exhibition matches played between a man and a woman, or a doubles match between two men and two women in one case. The term is most famously used for an internationally televised match in 1973 held at the Houston Astrodome between 55-year-old Bobby Riggs and 29-year-old Billie Jean King, which King won in three sets. The match was viewed by an estimated fifty million people in the United States and ninety million worldwide. King's win is considered a milestone in public acceptance of women's tennis.
Two other matches commonly referred to as a "battle of the sexes" include one held four months earlier in 1973 between Riggs and Margaret Court over the best of three sets, and one in 1992 between Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova over the best of three sets, with hybrid rules favoring the female player dubbed "The Battle of Champions". These matches were won by Riggs and Connors, respectively. (Full article...)
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Players on Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2008, a year before the installation of a retractable roof The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules.
Most rules of (lawn) tennis derive from this precursor and it is reasonable to see both sports as variations of the same game. 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 (lit.'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 the Kingdom of France as well as in England, where Henry VIII of England was a notable enthusiast of the game, which is now referred to as 'real tennis'. (Full article...)
The ITF's governance responsibilities include maintaining and enforcing the rules of tennis, regulating international team competitions, promoting the game, and preserving the sport's integrity via anti-doping and anti-corruption programs. The ITF partners with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to govern professional tennis. (Full article...)
Margaret Court has 24 singles majors, an all-time record. In 1970, Court became the first woman during the Open Era to win the Grand Slam in singles.
This article details the list of women's singles Grand Slam tournaments tennis champions. Some major changes have taken place in history and have affected the number of titles that have been won by various players. These have included the opening of the French national championships to international players in 1925, the elimination of the challenge round in 1922, and the admission of professional players in 1968 (the start of the Open Era). Since then, 60 women have won at least one grand slam.
All of these tournaments have been listed based on the modern definition of a tennis major, rather than when they were officially recognized by the ILTF. The Australian, French Championships, and U.S. tournaments were officially recognized by the ILTF in 1924, though the French Championships were not played in 1924 because of the Olympics. The United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) had several grievances with the ILTF and refused to join when it was formed in 1913. (Full article...)
Image 23Marcelo Arévalo was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his second major title. (from French Open)
Image 24Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Image 25Matthew Ebden was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his second major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 31Elise Mertens was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. It was her fourth major title and second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 32Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 45Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles and mixed doubles team. It was her seventh major title in women's doubles and first major title in mixed doubles. (from Australian Open)
Image 46Coco Gauff was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
Image 61Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 men's singles champion. At 21, he became the youngest male player to win a major title on three different surfaces. (from French Open)
Image 63Kateřina Siniaková was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her eighth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 64Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history (from Wimbledon Championships)
... that in high school, tennis player Sara Daavettila went an entire season without losing a game?
... that American Colossus is a biography of a man who was "the most famous sportsman in the world" and "the most forgotten great athlete in American history"?
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Jeļena Ostapenko was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Henry Patten was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Aerial view of the grounds (from Wimbledon Championships)
Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Sara Errani was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Rod Laver Arena night session in 2007, the last year the tournament used the Rebound Ace surface. (from Australian Open)
Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023. (from Australian Open)
Barbora Krejčíková, the 2024 ladies' singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her second major title and her second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Taylor Townsend was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Max Purcell was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jordan Thompson was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 gentlemen's singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022. (from Australian Open)
Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)
Harri Heliövaara was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Lyudmyla Kichenok was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Marcelo Arévalo was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his second major title. (from French Open)
Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Matthew Ebden was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his second major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Rafael Nadal, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from French Open)
The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Iga Świątek, the 2024 women's singles champion. It was her fifth major title and her fourth at the French Open. (from French Open)
Laura Siegemund was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
Molla Mallory, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Elise Mertens was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. It was her fourth major title and second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Andrea Vavassori was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))
The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her third major title. (from US Open (tennis))
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
Martina Navratilova, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Édouard Roger-Vasselin was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019 (from Wimbledon Championships)
The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. (from US Open (tennis))
Roger Federer, the all-time record holder in men's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles and mixed doubles team. It was her seventh major title in women's doubles and first major title in mixed doubles. (from Australian Open)
Coco Gauff was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon (from Wimbledon Championships)
Kateřina Siniaková was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Mate Pavić was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his fourth major title. (from French Open)
New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian Open)
Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Bill Larned, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Bill Tilden, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 prior to its redevelopment. Rod Laver Arena is in the background. (from Australian Open)
Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006. (from French Open)
Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 men's singles champion. At 21, he became the youngest male player to win a major title on three different surfaces. (from French Open)
Chris Evert, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from French Open)
Kateřina Siniaková was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her eighth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history (from Wimbledon Championships)
Richard Sears, a joint all-time record-holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20th August 1930 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Rohan Bopanna was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from Wimbledon Championships)
People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf (from Wimbledon Championships)_(52144317609).jpg)
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British player Betty Nuthall in 1932.
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