Tennis
History of Tennis
The earliest origins of tennis are a matter of some dispute.
One side believes that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans played a precursor to tennis. Drawings or descriptions of any tennis-like games have not been discovered, but a few Arabic words dating from ancient Egyptian times are cited as evidence. The theory says that the name tennis derives from the Egyptian town of Tinnis alongside the Nile and the word racquet evolved from the Arabic word for palm of the hand, rahat.
Aside from these two words, evidence for any form of tennis preceding the year 1000 is lacking, and most historians credit the first origins of the game to 11th or 12th century French monks, who began playing a crude handball against their monastery walls or over a rope strung across a courtyard. The game took on the name jeu de paume, which means "game of the hand." Many who dispute more ancient origins argue that tennis derived from the French tenez, which meant something to the effect of "take this," said as one player would serve to the other.
As the game became more popular, courtyard playing areas began to be modified into indoor courts, where the ball was still played off the walls. After bare hands were found too uncomfortable, players began using a glove, then either a glove with webbing between the fingers or a solid paddle, followed by webbing attached to a handle--essentially a racquet. Rubber balls were still centuries away, so the ball was a wad of hair, wool, or cork wrapped in string and cloth or leather, then in later years, hand-stitched in felt to look something like a modern baseball.
The nobility learned the game from the monks, and some accounts report as many as 1800 courts in France by the 13th century. The game became such a popular diversion, both the Pope and Louis IV tried unsuccessfully to ban it. It soon spread to England, where both Henry VII and Henry VIII were avid players who promoted the building of more courts.
By the year 1500, a wooden frame racquet strung with sheep gut was in common use, as was a cork-cored ball weighing around three ounces. The early tennis courts were quite different from the modern "lawn tennis" court most of us are used to. The early game matured into what is now called "real tennis," and England's Hampton Court, built in 1625, is still used today. Only a handful of such courts remain. It's a narrow, indoor court where the ball is played off walls that include a number of openings and oddly angled surfaces toward which the players aim for various strategic purposes. The net is five feet high on the ends, but three feet in the middle, creating a pronounced droop.
The game's popularity dwindled almost to zero during the 1700s, but in 1850, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process for rubber, and during the 1850s, players began to experiment with using the bouncier rubber balls outdoors on grass. An outdoor game was, of course, completely different from an indoor game played off walls, so several new sets of rules were formulated.
In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield patented in London the equipment and rules for a game fairly similar to modern tennis. In the same year, the first courts appeared in the United States. By the following year, equipment sets had been sold for use in Russia, India, Canada, and China.
Croquet was highly popular at this time, and the smooth croquet courts proved readily adaptable for tennis. Wingfield's original court had the shape of an hourglass, narrowest at the net, and it was shorter than the modern court. His rules were subjected to considerable criticism, and he revised them in 1875, but he soon left the further development of the game to others.
In 1877, the All England Club held the first Wimbledon tournament, and its tournament committee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The net was still five feet high at the sides, a carryover from the game's indoor ancestor, and the service boxes were 26 feet deep, but by 1882, the specifications had evolved to their current form.
How to Choose a Racquet
The amount of research you do before buying a racquet should correspond to how seriously you play. For the casual player, a solid introduction to racquets in the detailed FAQ here should provide enough information to make an adequate choice. For those willing to invest more time, Racquet Research has a wealth of detailed performance data and information.
The first time I bought a racquet, making the choice was pretty simple. As I recall, I had $12 to spend, and the store had perhaps seven models from which I could choose, all with the same head size, the same profile, nearly the same weight, and the same composition: wood. Now, the variety of head sizes, profiles, weights, and compositions is almost endless. It's a lot harder to choose the right racquet from among so many options, but almost any model you might buy today will be a lot easier to use than even the very best of the old woodies.
Amazingly enough, you can still get a racquet for $12. It will be made of aluminum, factory strung, usually with a medium-wide profile and a mid-plus to oversize head. The big discount chains always have several models under $20. If you just hit around casually now and then, you probably don't need anything more, but if you're serious about becoming a better player, you'll probably want to invest at least $70, more likely over $100.
In deciding where to shop for a "serious" racquet, you have three main choices. A local tennis shop will generally give you the best service, including the all-important option to demo several models. Some pro shops have excellent prices, but you might spend even less at one of the big mail-order houses such as Holabird Sports or Tennis Warehouse. You can also check for sales at large, general sports stores, although their tennis expertise will generally lag far behind that at a pro shop.
A good pro shop will ask you about your playing ability and style and will be able to explain which racquet characteristics fit your game and why. A few Web sites use a similar process, including those from Head and Wilson, where they will help you choose which of their racquets suits you best. You'll get a sense of the selection process even if you don't buy one of their racquets, and you can use that knowledge to help you use other resources, such as the very good annual Gear Guide issue from Tennis Magazine, which usually comes out in April.
I would have to write a small book to cover everything you would want to know before making the best decision on a racquet. This isn't the place for a small book, so I'll just offer a few extra tips that your other references might not discuss:
Look for a widely spaced (more open) stringing pattern if you want to maximize spin.
Consider the profile of a racquet in relation to the amount of spin you like to hit. If you're a heavy spinner, avoid the very wide beams.
If you hit flat, a fairly wide beam will feel more solid.
If you're considering a racquet weighing less than 10.5 ounces, make sure you demo it through several matches. The closer the weight of a racquet gets to that of a ball, the less the racquet dominates a collision between the two.
Try to demo racquets strung at the middle of their recommended tension range. Most pro shops will string demos this way, but the racquet you borrow from a friend might be strung very tightly or loosely, and this will have a profound effect on how it plays.
Remember that different head sizes of the same model can play very differently.
- Tennis shoes - you can play tennis in your regular running shoes but it's better to get the special tennis running shoes to improve your speed and efficiency on the tennis court.
- Tennis clothes - T-shirt and shorts will do just fine. There are also more specialized tennis clothing for more fashion-aware players. These clothes are sold at sports stores such as Sports Check and others.
- Tennis balls - buy as many as you can, it makes the game easier and faster to play so that you don't have to collect the very few balls you have every five minutes.
- Tennis court - you can find a number of free public courts in your neighborhood. There are also tennis courts in country clubs and indoor courts local gyms.
- Tennis classes - take some classes to learn the right techniques from the start. It's very important for the quality of your play. Also learn the rules.
- Tennis partner - you need a partner unless you have a ball-throwing machine:-) to practice and play. You can also play doubles games with three other players.