The History of Tennis

Tennis has been around for a much longer time than most people think. Many indicators show that prior to the development of tennis as a sport in England, it has already been played thousands of back—during the time of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Many crucial moments in the history of tennis have helped make the game what it is today. The rich history of tennis has also spurred the development of high-tech tennis equipment to make the game better and enable players to play safely.

‘Jeu de paume’ is the earliest recognizable variant of tennis and it was played in France in the eleventh century on a monastery courtyard. Sloping roofs and walls were used as courts, and the palm of the hand was used to hit the ball. By the late nineteenth century in England, lawn tennis became more popular than croquet. As a result, the All England Croquet Club started converting some croquet lawns into tennis courts. The popularity of tennis with amateur and recreational players certainly helped in its evolution. Courtyard playing venues were transformed into indoor courts, and the wooden balls became bouncier because of the use of different materials like leather and cellulose. In 1874, the rules and equipment were patented by Major Walter Wingfield for a game known as ‘sphairistike’. All these were later modified by the All England Club Croquet for its first tennis Wimbledon tournament in 1877.

By 1913, lawn tennis has already become popular around the world, with different national-level tennis associations working together to ensure a uniformly structured game. Twelve nations attended an international conference in Paris, and this gave birth to the International Lawn Tennis Federation. Tennis has always been part of the Olympics, but it was withdrawn in 1924 and returned only in 1988.