When you watch the Olympic Games, the
Commonwealth Games, and a host of other international sports
competitions that take place throughout the year, do you ever wonder
when and how such games began?
Take tennis for example. I too, like many
others, love tennis. However, I had never perceived that tennis
started such a long time ago! According to "Ancient
Beginnings" on the Cliff Richards Tennis website.
The Ancient Egyptians and the people that
followed actually played ball games as part of their religious
ceremonies. These traditions and the whole concept of the ball game
spread into Europe in the 8th century, the influence spread by the
Moors whose Empire reached into Southern France. As strange as it
may seem, it was the meeting of this eastern culture with
Christianity which eventually gave rise to tennis!
During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries
"real tennis" (royal tennis), which was played indoors,
became the fashionable sport of kings and noblemen. Later, tennis
spread throughout Europe. It became particularly popular in England
and also spread to Spain, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and Germany.
Today, tennis remains extremely popular.
Old champions like Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Steffi Graff, among
many others, are remembered fondly, and new champions are constantly
appearing on the scene. Tennis is played in almost every country in
the world and can be enjoyed by anyone who wants to keep fit and have
fun. Tennis uses almost every muscle group, especially in the legs and
arms. It provides an excellent workout and the wide range in motion
increases flexibility.
How Tennis Is
Played
The average tennis court is about 78 feet
long and 27 feet wide for single play, or 36 feet wide for double
play. A singles game is played with two people and a doubles game is
played with four people. A net runs across the middle of the court.
The object of tennis is to keep the ball in
play once it has been served, that is, once it has been hit over the
net. Each player on each side attempts to hit the ball and send it
back over top of the net to the opposing side.
Scoring is different in tennis than in any
other game. Each point is not counted as a single point. Rather, the
scores are kept track of as follows: the first game point is 15, while
the second game point is 30. The nextgame point made is 40, and one
more point is needed from there in order for either side to win the
game. So a tennis game actually consists of four points.
When a player or a team wins six games, it
is said that a set is won. However, the winners must have won at least
two more games than the opponent has won.
The Health
Benefits of Tennis
Playing tennis regularly is good for the
body, the mind, and the heart. It also produces "physical,
physiologic and psychological benefits." Playing tennis burns
calories and reduces blood pressure and stress. These benefits, in
turn, reduce the risk of developing heart disease, which is the
number-one killing disease among adults.
When you play tennis, make sure that you
drink lots of water between play and to try not to play when the sun
is at its strongest.
Did You Know?
-
Tennis balls are made of rubber
-
The pressure inside a tennis ball is
26.7 psi
-
The fastest service ever measured was
one of 163.6 mph by American William Tatem Tilden (1893-1953)
in 1931.
-
The first Wimbledon Championship was in
1877 and was watched by some 200 spectators. In 1999 it was
broadcast to 174 countries, with an estimated global audience of 1
billion people.
-
The first tennis balls were made of
leather stuffed with wool or hair. They were hard enough to cause
a serious injury and could even kill someone!
Sources:
