Knowing history of the sport you are interested in never hurts. If you are thinking about getting into tennis here are somethings that you maybe interested in knowing. It's a sport that has been played for hundreds of years. It is thought that possibly European monks created the game. There were many different forms of racquets used and the ball also evolved with the racquet. The game was very well liked among the monasteries in Europe, but at one point the church thought about banning the game. Major Walter C. Wingfield patented equipment and rules for a game very close to the game of tennis we play today. That same year tennis courts were made in the U.S. The year after that equipment could be found in many countries. Because croquet was a popular game at that time, people took the croquet courts and set them up for tennis. The first Wimbledon tournament was held in 1877. The court was a bit different from the court that is used today. The rules were basically the same as they are today though. In the 1930's the game of tennis became rather chic. The outfits for tennis were a little different from what is commonly worn today. The outfits were longer and more constricting. Shorts were not worn in the game until 1933 by Bunny Austin. Throughout the times there have been many champions in the game of tennis. The game became so popular that in 1986 the yellow ball was introduced for the first time to make the balls easier to see on television! |
