Portal:Tennis

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.

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 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 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 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 string in closeup view

In tennis, the strings are the part of a tennis racquet which make contact with the ball. The strings form a woven network inside the head (or "hoop") of the racquet. Strings have been made with a variety of materials and possess varying properties that have been measured, such as dynamic stiffness, tension retention, thickness (gauge), string texture (shape of the string), and rebound efficiency. (Full article...)
Image 2
Russian Tennis Federation (Russian: Федерация тенниса России) is a national governing body of tennis in Russia, founded as the All-Russia Tennis Association in 1989 and reorganized under the current name in 2002. It is the successor of Tennis Federation of the RSFSR (1959–1989) and the Tennis Federation of the USSR (1959–93, known before as All-Union Tennis Section, 1929-1959).

In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Tennis Federation suspended the Russian Tennis Federation. In addition, Tennis Europe suspended the federation's membership. Teams representing Russia were therefore ineligible to compete at all Tennis Europe events (including Winter & Summer Cups, European Beach Tennis, and Senior Club Championships). All Tennis Europe events in Russia were suspended, including the European Junior Tennis Championships (16 & Under) in Moscow, and delegates from Russia were not eligible to attend the 2022 Annual General Meeting of Tennis Europe. (Full article...)
Image 3
Jesmond Dene jeu à dedans court in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 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, 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 4
The 2020 US Open was the 140th edition of tennis's US Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was part of the calendars for the 2020 ATP Tour and the 2020 WTA Tour, the top professional men's and women's tennis circuits, respectively.

Held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament saw changes in format and personnel compared to previous editions. As a result, withdrawals and opt-outs became a theme of the competition. Defending men's singles champion and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 9 Gaël Monfils withdrew due to COVID-19 safety concerns, while No. 4 Roger Federer, No. 12 Fabio Fognini, and No. 15 Stan Wawrinka opted out for other reasons. On the women's side, defending singles champion and world No. 6 Bianca Andreescu did not return due to safety concerns, nor did No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, No. 2 Simona Halep, or No. 5 Elina Svitolina, among others. Further, the qualifying rounds of the tournament, in addition to the mixed doubles and juniors draws, were not held due to the pandemic. (Full article...)
Image 5

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility with three courts, three outdoor hard courts, one green clay court, a court tennis facility, and a theatre. The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization with the goal of preserving, celebrating, and inspiring the sport of tennis around the world. (Full article...)
Image 6

The Djokovic–Murray rivalry is a modern-day tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They have met 36 times, and Djokovic leads 25–11 overall and 11–8 in finals. Ten of their encounters were played in majors, with Djokovic leading 8–2. Djokovic and Murray are one of two male pairs to have contested the finals of each of the four majors (Djokovic–Nadal is the other pair).

Djokovic leads on hard courts 20–8 and 5–1 on clay, while Murray has won their two matches played on grass. 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 7

John McEnroe (7 Major singles titles, world No.1 for 170 weeks; pictured in 2012)

The Borg–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Björn Borg and John McEnroe, who met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total between November 1978 and April 1981. Their head-to-head was even at 7–7. Their on-court rivalry was highlighted by their contrasting temperaments and playing styles: the Swede Borg was known for his cool and emotionless demeanor on court, while the American McEnroe was famed for his court-side tantrums. Because of this, their rivalry was described as "Fire and Ice".

In 1980, McEnroe reached the singles final at Wimbledon for the first time, where he faced Borg, who was aiming for an Open Era record fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. At the start of the final McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered Centre Court following his heated exchanges with officials during his semi-final clash with Jimmy Connors. In a fourth set tie-breaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five match points (seven altogether in that set) and eventually won 18–16. However, he was unable to break Borg's serve in the fifth set and Borg went on to win 8–6. This match is widely considered one of the best tennis matches ever played. McEnroe defeated Borg at the US Open final the same year in five sets. (Full article...)
Image 8
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 9

The Evert–Navratilova rivalry was a tennis rivalry in the 1970s and 1980s between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, widely regarded as two of the greatest female tennis players of all time. It is considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history and sports in general. The pair contested 80 matches between 1973 and 1988 (60 of which were finals), with Navratilova leading the overall head-to-head 43–37 and 36–24 in finals. It is the most prolific tennis rivalry of the Open Era.

In the 12 years from the introduction of the WTA rankings in November 1975 until August 1987, one of the two held the top spot in all but 23 weeks. More specifically, in the first 615 weeks of the WTA rankings they collectively held the No. 1 ranking for 592 weeks, Navratilova at 332 weeks and Evert at 260 weeks. Such was their dominance over other players, that for the period 1977–1987 when the two rivals were first ranked world No. 1 and No. 2 (and generally the top two players for the entire ten-year period), only three times did any other player beat them both back-to-back in the same tournament: Evonne Goolagong Cawley at the 1978 Virginia Slims of Boston, Tracy Austin at the 1979 US Open, and Hana Mandlíková at the 1985 US Open. From the 1981 Australian Open to the 1985 Wimbledon Championships, the duo won a record 15 consecutive major singles titles. From the 1981 Wimbledon Championships to the 1988 Australian Open, they won 22 of 27 major singles titles, and at least one of them appeared in each of those 27 finals. (The five defeats in those 27 finals were Navratilova losing to Austin at the 1981 US Open, to Mandlíková at the 1985 US Open and 1987 Australian Open, and to Steffi Graf at the 1987 French Open; Evert lost to Graf in the 1988 Australian Open final.) (Full article...)
Image 10
"Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2001. In the episode, the Simpsons build a tennis court in their backyard and are ridiculed by the entire town because of Homer's inferior tennis ability. Homer therefore tries to please Marge by entering the two into a tournament, but they quickly turn into rivals when Marge replaces Homer with Bart as her partner.

The episode features guest appearances from tennis professionals Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and the Williams sisters as themselves. "Tennis the Menace" was directed by Jen Kamerman and written by Ian Maxtone-Graham, who also directed the Williams sisters' performance. The episodes title is a parody of Dennis the Menace. The animators of The Simpsons experimented with digital ink and paint on "Tennis the Menace", making it the first episode of the series to be animated using the process since season 7's "Radioactive Man". (Full article...)
Image 11

The US Open Tennis Championships, commonly called the US Open, is a hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Queens, New York. Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year (except in 2020, when the French Open was delayed to occur after the US Open due to the COVID-19 lockdowns). The other three, in chronological order, are the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. The US Open starts on the last Monday of August and continues for two weeks, with the middle weekend coinciding with the US Labor Day holiday. The tournament is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, originally known as the U.S. National Championship, for which men's singles and men's doubles were first played in August 1881. It is the only Grand Slam that was not affected by cancellation due to World War I and World War II, nor interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. All the players participating should be at least fourteen (14) years old.

The tournament consists of five primary championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The tournament also includes events for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. The US Open is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), a non-profit organization, and the chairperson of the US Open is Patrick Galbraith. Revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television contracts is used to develop tennis in the United States. (Full article...)
Image 12
The Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is regarded by many as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass, the traditional tennis playing surface. Also, it is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew, though matches can now continue until 11.00 pm under the lights. (Full article...)
Image 13
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 in men's tennis since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first "open" tournament was held in Bournemouth, England, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam tournament a month later. All records are based on data from the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official sites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Active streaks and active players are in boldface. (Full article...)
Image 14
The US Open men's singles championship is an annual tennis tournament that is part of the US Open and was established in 1881. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, New York City, United States. The US Open is played during a two-week period in late August and early September, and has been chronologically the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987. Newport (1881–1914), Forest Hills (1915–1920, 1924–1977), and Philadelphia (1921–1923) held the event before it settled in 1978 at the USTA National Tennis Center, now the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York City. The inaugural tournament, in 1881, was reserved for United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) club members, before the championships opened to international competitors in 1882. The USTA is the national body that organizes this event. (Full article...)
Image 15
Mario Power Tennis is a sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. The game is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 title Mario Tennis, and is the fourth game in the Mario Tennis series. Power Tennis was released for the GameCube in Japan and North America in late 2004, and in PAL regions in early 2005. The game was ported for the Wii in 2009 as part of the New Play Control! series, and was also re-released as a Nintendo Selects title in 2012. A companion handheld game, Mario Tennis: Power Tour, was also released on Game Boy Advance around the same time as the original GameCube release, bearing the same title as Power Tennis in Europe.

Power Tennis incorporates multiple characters, themes, and locations from the Mario series. The game includes standard tennis matches, but contains variants that feature different scoring formats and objectives. Other variants include "Gimmick" courts, thematic areas with components and properties that directly affect gameplay. The game has 18 playable characters, each categorised by their style of play and each with a pair of unique moves known as "Power Shots". Power Tennis was developed simultaneously with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and the pair shared similar technology and concepts with each other during production. Such similarities include an emphasis on the Mario theme in characters and settings as well as alternative game modes such as "Ring Shot". (Full article...)

More selected articles

General images

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

Image 1Rafael Nadal, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from French Open)
Image 2The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 3New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian Open)
Image 4Novak Djokovic, the 2023 men's singles champion. It was his record-breaking twenty-third major title and his third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 5Richard Sears, a joint all-time record-holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 6People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 7Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 8Neal Skupski was part of the 2023 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 9The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
Image 10Miyu Kato was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2023. It was her first major title. (from French Open)
Image 11Ivan Dodig was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2023. It was his third major title and second at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 12Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 13Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 14Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Image 15The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 16Rod Laver Arena night session in 2007, the last year the tournament used the Rebound Ace surface. (from Australian Open)
Image 17View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 18Markéta Vondroušová, the 2023 ladies' singles champion. It was her first major title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 19Lyudmyla Kichenok was part of the 2023 winning mixed doubles title. It was her first major title overall. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 20Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 21Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her second major title and her second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 22Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20. August 1930. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 23New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022. (from Australian Open)
Image 24Bill Larned, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 25Bill Tilden, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 26Roger Federer, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 27Barbora Strýcová was part of the 2023 winning women's doubles title. It was her second major title and her second Wimbledon title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 28Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 29Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Image 30Spencer Gore, the winner of the inaugural Wimbledon Championship (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 31Matthew 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 32Iga Świątek, the 2023 women's singles champion. It was her fourth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 33Hsieh Su-wei was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2023. (from French Open)
Image 34Aerial view of the grounds (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 35Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006. (from French Open)
Image 36The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 37Carlos Alcaraz, the 2023 gentlemen's singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 38Wesley Koolhof was part of the 2023 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 39Martina Navratilova, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 40Elise 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 41Chris Evert, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from French Open)
Image 42Molla Mallory, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 43A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 44Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 45Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023. (from Australian Open)
Image 46Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 47Tim Pütz was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2023. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Image 48Wang Xinyu was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2023. (from French Open)
Image 49Austin Krajicek was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2023. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Image 50Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Image 51Su-Wei Hsieh was part of the 2023 winning women's doubles title. It was her sixth major title and her fourth Wimbledon title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 52Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 prior to its redevelopment. Rod Laver Arena is in the background. (from Australian Open)
Image 53Mate Pavić was part of the 2023 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, third mixed doubles major title, and sixth overall major title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 54Hsieh 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 55Rohan Bopanna was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 56Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 57Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 58Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 59Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 60The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
Image 61Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)

edit

Related WikiProjects

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

Selected biography - show another

Lenglen in 1922

Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (French pronunciation: [syzan lɑ̃ɡlɛn]; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World Hard Court Champion in singles, and ten times in total. Lenglen won six Wimbledon singles titles, including five in a row from 1919 to 1923, and was the champion in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the first two open French Championships in 1925 and 1926. In doubles, she was undefeated with her usual partner Elizabeth Ryan, highlighted by another six titles at Wimbledon. Lenglen was the first leading amateur to turn professional. She ranked as the greatest women's tennis player from the amateur era in the 100 Greatest of All Time series on the Tennis Channel in 2012.

Coached by her father Charles throughout her career, Lenglen began playing tennis at age 11, becoming the youngest major champion in history with her 1914 World Hard Court Championship title at age 15. This success, along with her balletic playing style and brash personality, helped make Lenglen a national heroine in a country coping with the aftermath of World War I. After the war had delayed her career four years, Lenglen was largely unchallenged. She won her Wimbledon debut in 1919 in the second-longest final in history, the only one of her major singles finals she did not win by a lopsided scoreline. Her only post-war loss came in a retirement against Molla Mallory, her only amateur match in the United States. Afterwards, she began a 179-match win streak, during which she defeated Helen Wills in the high-profile Match of the Century in 1926. Following a misunderstanding at Wimbledon later that year, Lenglen abruptly retired from amateur tennis, signing to headline a professional tour in the United States beginning that same year. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies