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Tennis BettingTennis Betting - Tennis History - Tennis Glossary The History of TennisOpinions differ slightly on the origins of tennis. What we do know about tennis is that people were playing a game that resembles today's tennis early in the 12th century in France. At this time, people used their bare hands to hit the ball. Eventually, as the tennis evolved, people began using gloves and later bats. In the early 17th century, tennis was played by the nobility throughout England and France. By this time, tennis was very much like it is today. In fact, a court built in 1625 by Charles I is still used today for championship play. The game lost its appeal late in the 18th century, only to be reborn in the mid 19th century. In 1876, the first court in the USA was built, and Australia followed in 1882. Prior to this time, tennis had been played almost exclusively in England and France. The very first Lawn Tennis Championships at The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club was an amateur event in 1877. Tennis of one kind or another was played in France as far back as the twelfth century. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the tennis, in a somewhat different form, began to take on popularity in Britain with the advent of lawn tennis. Eventually the tennis was modified from the prescriptions laid out by Major Wingfield. For instance, Wingfield's rules called for tennis to be played on a court the shape of an hourglass. Soon tennis was played on a rectangular plain. Since World War II tennis has generally become more egalitarian than it once was. In Australia by the 1930’s tennis became that nation's most popular recreational sport and Australia went on to dominate tennis like no nation ever has, or most likely ever will. The tennis boom had already begun by the 1960s. 'I think about that sometimes - learning to play in a parking lot, stringing nets between cars. I learned to play by hitting against a brick wall, not a ball machine or other players. And my Father was my coach - teaching me from a twenty year-old book. When I hear people say that you can't make it in tennis if you don't have a lot of money, I know they're wrong. We didn't have much money. But I loved the sport and that was enough.' Monica Seles |
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