Portal:Tennis Resource | Learn About, Share and Discuss Portal:Tennis At Popflock.com

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Welcome to the Tennis Portal

Panoramic view of Stadium Court in Tennis Center at Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Florida, United States. Taken during the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open.

Shahar Pe'er (bottom) vs. Anna Chakvetadze at the 2007 US Open

Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with 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 who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.

Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections both 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...)

More about Tennis history, glossary, equipment, courts, scores, types of matches, officials, shots, tournaments, and statistics

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected articles - load new batch

Image 1
Tennis New Zealand (commonly known by the acronym Tennis NZ or TNZ) (formally the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association) is the governing body of tennis in New Zealand. Founded in 1886, it is one of the world's oldest tennis associations. It is affiliated to both International Tennis Federation and Oceania Tennis Federation. Tennis NZ has six geographically divided regional centres. Tennis NZ operates all of the New Zealand's national representative tennis sides, including the New Zealand Davis Cup team, the New Zealand Fed Cup team and youth sides as well. Tennis NZ is also responsible for organising and hosting tennis tournaments within New Zealand and scheduling the home international fixtures. (Full article...)
Image 2

Court Philippe Chatrier at Stade Roland Garros in Paris during the 2006 French Open

A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament.

The French Open uses clay courts, the only Grand Slam tournament to do so. Clay courts are more common in Continental Europe and Latin America than in North America, Asia-Pacific or Britain.
Two main types exist: red clay, the more common variety, and green clay, also known as "rubico", which is a harder surface. Although less expensive to construct than other types of tennis courts, the maintenance costs of clay are high as the surface must be rolled to preserve flatness. (Full article...)
Image 3
The Open Era is the current era of professional tennis. It began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments allowed professional players to compete with amateurs, ending the division that had persisted since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first open tournament was the 1968 British Hard Court Championships held in April, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam tournament, the 1968 French Open, a month later. Unless otherwise sourced, all records are based on data from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official websites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. All rankings-related records are based on ATP Rankings, which began in 1973. The names of active players appear in boldface. (Full article...)
Image 4

Owen Davidson is the last player to complete the Grand Slam.

List of Mixed Doubles Grand Slam tennis tournament champions:

Many mixed doubles tennis players have won at least one title in each of the four Majors, a career slam. Only three players have won the coveted "Grand Slam", all four titles in a single calendar year, of which one mixed doubles team, Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher in 1963. Margaret Court and Owen Davidson also won an individual "Grand Slam" with different partners. Billie Jean King completed the "Non-calendar year Grand Slam" by winning all four majors in a row in a period spanning two calendar years. (Full article...)
Image 5

The Bentley Fortissimo tennis racquet

The Bentley Fortissimo tennis racquet of 1972 was the first oversize tennis racquet to be produced and demonstrated publicly. Prior to its introduction, all tennis racquets were much smaller in terms of the stringbed size, measured in square inches. Today, that size, known as standard, is not used by any professional player for professional match play.

The Fortissimo was shown in 1972 at the "Spoga", a sporting goods show in Germany. Its designer is Kurt Klemmer, who made the racquet with an epoxy fiberglass process. The Fortissimo was not produced on a commercial scale. Racquet engineer Siegfried Kuebler stated that it did not create a favorable impression with tennis players but was positively received by racquet designers. (Full article...)
Image 6

The Djokovic-Nadal rivalry is a modern-day tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The rivalry is the most prolific in men's tennis in the Open Era. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history by players, coaches, and pundits, and was listed as the third greatest rivalry in the 2000s decade in 2009 by atptour.com despite only starting in 2006.

The two have faced each other 58 times, including in all four major finals, with Djokovic leading 30-28. Djokovic leads 15-13 in finals. Of all matches, 17 have been in majors with Nadal leading 10-7. Nadal leads 7-2 at the French Open and 2-1 at the US Open, while Djokovic leads 2-0 at the Australian Open and 2-1 at Wimbledon. To date, Djokovic is the only player to have beaten Nadal in all four majors. (Full article...)
Image 7

Jesmond Dene jeu à dedans court, view toward service end

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, formerly 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...)
Image 8
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...)
Image 9
World number 1 ranked female tennis players is a year-by-year listing of the female tennis players who were ranked as world No. 1 by various contemporary and modern sources.

Notes: (Full article...)
Image 10

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; junior's championships; and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. Before 1988, it was played on grass courts, but since then three types of hardcourt surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007, blue Plexicushion from 2008 to 2019, and blue GreenSet since 2020.

First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere. Nicknamed "the happy slam", the Australian Open is the highest attended Grand Slam event, with more than 812,000 people attending the 2020 tournament. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs. (Full article...)
Image 11

Murray and Djokovic in 2012.

The Djokovic-Murray rivalry is a modern-day tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They have met 36 times (including 19 finals), and Djokovic leads 25-11 overall and 11-8 in finals. Seven of these meetings have been in Major finals: the 2011 Australian Open, which Djokovic won in straight sets; the 2012 US Open, where Murray defeated Djokovic in an almost five-hour long match to claim his maiden major title; the 2013 Australian Open, with Djokovic prevailing in four sets; the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, where Murray won in straight sets; the 2015 Australian Open and 2016 Australian Open, with Djokovic again prevailing in four and three sets, respectively; and the 2016 French Open, where Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam with a four-set victory.

Djokovic leads 5-1 in their matches on clay, Murray has won both of their matches on grass, and Djokovic leads on hard courts, 20-8. The rivalry began highly competitive and remained so for many years. However, since Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Djokovic has taken a commanding lead, winning 14 of their last 17 encounters. (Full article...)
Image 12
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...)
Image 13
The San Francisco Golden Gaters were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The Golden Gaters won two Western Division Championships and lost in the WTT Finals both times. The team was founded in 1973 and made the playoffs in each of the five seasons in which it participated in the league. Following the 1978 season, eight of the then 10 WTT franchises folded leaving only the Golden Gaters and the Phoenix Racquets prepared to participate in the 1979 season. WTT suspended operations of the league in March 1979, ending the Golden Gaters existence. (Full article...)
Image 14

Arthur Gore (3 Major singles, 1 Major doubles, 2 Olympic Golds, singles, World No.1 )

This was a tennis rivalry played between British player Arthur Gore and the New Zealand player Anthony Wilding, which in their respective careers met 14 times from 1905 until 1912.

Gore and Wilding were both former World number 1 and both Grand Slam winners with Gore winning three slam titles and two olympic golds and Wilding winning six slam titles and three world championship titles both Davis Cup champions. (Full article...)
Image 15

On 20 June 1789, the members of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) in the tennis court which had been built in 1686 for the use of the Versailles palace. The vote was "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the Constitution of the kingdom is established". [1] It was a pivotal event in the French Revolution. The Estates-General had been called to address the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis, but they had become bogged down in issues of representation immediately after convening in May 1789, particularly whether they would vote by order or by head (which would increase the power of the Third Estate, as they outnumbered the other two estates by a large margin).

On 17 June, the Third Estate began to call themselves the National Assembly, led by Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau. On the morning of 20 June, the deputies were shocked to discover that the chamber door was locked and guarded by soldiers. They immediately feared the worst and were anxious that a royal attack was imminent from King Louis XVI, so upon the suggestion of one of their members Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the deputies congregated in a nearby indoor Royal Tennis Court of Versailles in the Saint-Louis district of the city of Versailles near the Palace of Versailles. There 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate took a collective oath "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". The only person who did not join in the oath was Joseph Martin-Dauch from Castelnaudary, who would only execute decisions that were made by the monarch. (Full article...)

More selected articles

General images

The following are images from various tennis-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Joe Salisbury, was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2021. (from French Open)
Image 2Thanasi Kokkinakis was part of the 2022 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 3Elise Mertens was part of the winning women's doubles title in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 4Kristina Mladenovic was part of the 2022 winning mixed doubles team. It was her third major title and second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 5Novak Djokovic, 2021 men's singles champion. (from French Open)
Image 6Nikola Mekti? was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 7The Newport Casino Tennis Court (as of 2005), where the US Open was first held in 1881 (from US Open (tennis))
Image 8Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires. (from French Open)
Image 9Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Image 10People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 11Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 12Neal Skupski was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 13Nicolas Mahut, was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2021. (from French Open)
Image 14The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 15Novak Djokovic was the winner of the gentlemen's singles in 2021. It was his twentieth Grand Slam Men's Singles title and his sixth Wimbledon title. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 16Desirae Krawczyk, was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2021. (from French Open)
Image 17Ashleigh Barty, 2022 women's singles champion. It was her third major title and her first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 18Ashleigh Barty was the winner of the ladies' singles in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 19Zhang Shuai was part of the 2021 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 20Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 21Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 22Kate?ina Siniaková, was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2021. (from French Open)
Image 23The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 24Barbora Krej?íková was part of the 2022 winning women's doubles team. It was her fourth major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 25A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 26Rajeev Ram was part of the 2021 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 27Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Image 28Joe Salisbury was part of the 2021 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 29Barbora Krej?íková, 2021 women's singles champion and was part of the winning women's doubles team. (from French Open)
Image 30Desirae Krawczyk was part of the 2021 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 31Hsieh Su-wei was part of the winning women's doubles title in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 32Samantha Stosur was part of the 2021 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 33Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 34Emma Raducanu, 2021 women's singles champion. It was her first Major singles title. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 35Pierre-Hugues Herbert, was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2021. (from French Open)
Image 36Rafael Nadal, 2022 men's singles champion. It was his twenty-first major title and his second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 37Kate?ina Siniaková was part of the 2022 winning women's doubles team. It was her fourth major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 38View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 39Mate Pavi? was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 40The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 41Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Image 42Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 43Joe Salisbury was part of the 2021 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 44Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)
Image 45Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 46Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open with the old Rebound Ace surface. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background. (from Australian Open)
Image 47Aerial view of the grounds. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 48Rod Laver Arena. (from Australian Open)
Image 49Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's Doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 50Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20. August 1930. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 51Spencer Gore, the winner of the inaugural Wimbledon Championship (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 52Ivan Dodig was part of the 2022 winning mixed doubles team. It was his fourth major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 53Desirae Krawczyk was part of the winning mixed doubles title in 2021. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 54Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007. (from The Championships, Wimbledon)
Image 55Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010 (from US Open (tennis))
Image 56Nick Kyrgios was part of the 2022 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 57Daniil Medvedev, 2021 men's singles champion. It was his first Major singles title. (from US Open (tennis))

Related WikiProjects

WikiProject Tennis
Grandslam project o Davis Cup/Fed Cup project
WikiProject Sports o WikiProject Olympics

Selected biography - show another

Hantuchová at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships

Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation: ['daela '?antuxa:]; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.

Hantuchová reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in January 2003, after playing the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has won seven WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007, with the 2015 Thailand Open being her last victory. She reached the semifinals of the 2008 Australian Open, her best result in a Grand Slam tournament. Her biggest career wins include victories over defending champion Serena Williams in the third round of the 2006 Australian Open and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the 2011 French Open. Hantuchová became the 37th woman in the Open Era to reach 500 career wins when she beat Laura Robson in the second round of the 2013 Aegon Classic on her way to the title. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Carl Linde, a Swedish football Hall of Fame inductee, also participated in the founding of the International Table Tennis Federation?
... that Ekkehard von Kuenssberg turned down an invitation to join the SS and migrated to Britain, carrying a hockey stick and a tennis racquet?

Selected quote - show another

"

Previously I always thought it was just tactical and technique, but every match has become almost mental and physical--I try to push myself to move well. I try to push myself not to get upset and stay positive, and that's what my biggest improvement is over all those years. Under pressure I can see things very clear.

"

-- Roger Federer, At a post match press conference after winning the 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships

More selected quotes

Read more...