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 of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
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...)
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...)
Wimbledon has been held since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019. It is the only major still played on grass, the traditional tennis playing surface. It is also the only major that retains a night-time curfew, though matches can now continue until 23:00 under the lights. (Full article...)
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Radio Wimbledon was the official radio station to the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the AELTC in Wimbledon. Their contract finished in 2011. It has now been replaced by the similar Live@Wimbledon station. (Full article...)
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This article covers the period from 1877 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 Slam tournaments (also known as the majors). 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 during 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 the US Open (August–September). There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. A player who wins all four majors, in singles or as part of a doubles team, in the same calendar year is said to have achieved a "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 in the same calendar year has been called a "Golden Slam" since 1988. Winning all four majors plus an Olympic gold at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Golden Slam". Winning the year-end championship while also having won a Golden Slam is referred to as a "Super Slam". Winning all four majors, an Olympic gold, and the year-end championships at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career 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.
The Graf–Sabatini rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, who played each other on 40 occasions between 1985 and 1995. Graf was the world No. 1, and Sabatini reached a career high of No. 3. Both are Major champions, Graf winning 22 titles, and Sabatini won her only major title at the 1990 US Open over Graf. They also teamed in doubles, reaching three French Open finals and winning the 1988 Wimbledon crown.
In Grand Slams, they met 12 times, three of them in finals. Graf leads 11–1. In 1988, Graf beat Sabatini in the semifinals of the French Open, the US Open final, and the Olympic final to complete the calendar-year Golden Slam. In the 1991 Wimbledon final. Sabatini was two points away from capturing the singles title, but Graf took the match 8–6 in the deciding set. (Full article...)
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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual team sporting competition. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
The most successful countries over the history of the competition are the United States (winning 32 titles and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 titles, including six with New Zealand as Australasia, and finishing as runners-up 21 times). The current champions are Italy, who beat Australia to win their second title in 2023. (Full article...)
A 178-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Trans Arts, co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 2001 to March 2005. A sequel of three original video animation (OVA) series, totaling 26 episodes, were released from March 2006 to January 2009. In North America, the anime series was first licensed by Viz Media and later by Crunchyroll LLC. (Full article...)
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The New York Sportimes were a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in eastern Long Island from 2000 to 2002, before moving to Westchester County, New York in 2003, and then to New York City in 2009. The team was founded as the New York Hamptons in 2000, before changing its name to the New York Sportimes in 2003. In 2005, the team made its first playoff appearance and went on to defeat the Newport Beach Breakers in the WTT Final to win its first King Trophy.
On February 14, 2011, WTT announced that the New York Sportimes and New York Buzz had merged and would play the 2011 season as the New York Sportimes. In the three seasons following the merger, the Sportimes played 12 home matches in New York City and nine in the Capital District. On January 16, 2014, Claude Okin, CEO of the New York Sportimes announced that the franchise had been sold to businessman Russell Geyser, and the team would be relocated to San Diego, California and renamed the San Diego Aviators. (Full article...)
The Australian Open starts in the middle of January and continues for two weeks, coinciding with the Australia Day holiday. It features men's and women's singles, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, juniors’ championships, wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. (Full article...)
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Throughout its history, many changes in the Grand Slam tennis tournaments have affected the number of titles 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).
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 Grand Slam tournaments are the annual four major tennis events played in the Open Era, which began in 1968, superseding the Amateur Era. The Australian and U.S. tournaments were officially recognized by the ILTF in 1924, and the French Championships followed a year later in 1925 when it became open to all international players. 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...)
World number 1 ranked male tennis players is a year-by-year listing of the male tennis players who were ranked as world No. 1 by various contemporary and modern sources. The annual source rankings from which the No. 1 players are drawn are cited for each player's name, with a summary of the most important tennis events of each year also included. If world rankings are not available, recent rankings by tennis writers for historical years are accessed, with the dates of the recent rankings identified. In the period 1948–1953, when contemporary professional world rankings were not created, the U.S. professional rankings are cited. (Full article...)
The Agassi–Sampras rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, who were both ranked world No. 1 during the 1990s. Sampras held the world's top ranking for (a then-record) 286 weeks while Agassi held it for 101 weeks. With contrasting styles and temperaments, they played each other 34 times from 1989 through 2002, with the head-to-head finishing 20–14 favoring Sampras. They are tied in their five-set matches at 1–1. It has been named as one of the greatest tennis rivalries of all time.
In Grand Slam tournaments, they played in five finals, with Sampras winning four. They met for the first time in a Grand Slam final at the 1990 US Open, with Agassi the favorite because of his superior ranking even though Sampras had defeated former world No. 1 players Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe en route to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets. (Full article...)
Image 14A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 15Mate Pavić was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his fourth major title. (from French Open)
Image 16Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Image 17Kateřina 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 22Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 23Matthew 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 24Marcelo Arévalo was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his second major title. (from French Open)
Image 28Elise 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 42Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 43Hsieh 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 44Iga Świątek, the 2024 women's singles champion. It was her fifth major title and her fourth at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 45New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian 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)
Kuerten suffered from injuries that limited his attendances at tournaments in 2002 and from 2004 and 2008. After two hip surgeries and a few attempted comebacks, he retired from top-level tennis in May 2008. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016, Kuerten was asked to be a torch bearer for the Rio Olympics. (Full article...)
... 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"?
Tennis taught me so many lessons in life. One of the things it taught me is that every ball that comes to me, I have to make a decision. I have to accept responsibility for the consequences every time I hit a ball.
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).
Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006. (from French Open)
Richard Sears, a joint all-time record-holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Taylor Townsend was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 gentlemen's singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Kateřina Siniaková was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Sara Errani was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Max Purcell was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her second major title and her second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jeļena Ostapenko was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005 (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)
Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (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)
Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Molla Mallory, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from US Open (tennis))
The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from Wimbledon Championships)
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)
Marcelo Arévalo was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his second major title. (from French Open)
Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Barbora Krejčíková, the 2024 ladies' singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Harri Heliövaara was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
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)
Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Jordan Thompson was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history (from Wimbledon Championships)
The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon (from Wimbledon Championships)
Roger Federer, the all-time record holder in men's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20th August 1930 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)
Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Lyudmyla Kichenok was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Édouard Roger-Vasselin was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (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)
Iga Świątek, the 2024 women's singles champion. It was her fifth major title and her fourth at the French Open. (from French Open)
New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian Open)
Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023. (from Australian Open)
Bill Larned, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf (from Wimbledon Championships)
Rod Laver Arena night session in 2007, the last year the tournament used the Rebound Ace surface. (from Australian Open)
Laura Siegemund was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. (from US Open (tennis))
Rafael Nadal, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from French Open)
Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her third major title. (from US Open (tennis))
Coco Gauff was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022. (from Australian Open)
Rohan Bopanna was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Aerial view of the grounds (from Wimbledon Championships)
Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Henry Patten was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
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)
Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 prior to its redevelopment. Rod Laver Arena is in the background. (from Australian Open)
Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
Andrea Vavassori was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Bill Tilden, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Chris Evert, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from French Open)
Martina Navratilova, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))
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French player Amélie Mauresmo during the quarter-finals of the 2002 Sydney WTA tournament.
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