Tennis Facts & Rules
Tennis originated from a game played by the ancient Greeks. It involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. Tennis was first played in the United States in 1874, at the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club.
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Equipment
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Tennis is played on a regulation-size court that is 78 feet long and 36 feet wide for doubles, or 27 feet wide for singles, with a 3-foot-tall net dividing it down the center. The other equipment needed for play are tennis rackets, with a standard size of 27 inches long and 11 1/2 inches wide, and yellow or white tennis balls.
Game
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Player A hits the ball from an assigned corner of the court. Player B returns the ball, bouncing it no more than once and not letting player A hit it back. One point is scored when either player A or B is not able to return the ball or returns it with more than one bounce.
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Format
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Tennis is played in three formats. Singles matches are played between two players, and doubles are teams of two, male or female. In mixed doubles, one male and one female player form a team.
Score
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Four points wins a game. A player has to win to six games, with a difference of two games, to win a set. Men play best-of-five sets, and women play best-of-three sets.
Major Tournaments
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The Majors are the most important tennis tournaments in a year. They include the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Opens. Winning all four majors in a calendar year means winning the Grand Slam.
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