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 strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. If a player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point.
Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis 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 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...)
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...)
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The New York Sportimes were a professional tennis team competing in World TeamTennis (WTT). The team was originally based in eastern Long Island from 2000 to 2002, before moving to Westchester County, New York, in 2003, and then to New York City in 2009. The team was founded as the New York Hamptons in 2000, before changing its name to the New York Sportimes in 2003. In 2005, the team made its first playoff appearance and went on to defeat the Newport Beach Breakers in the WTT Final to win its first King Trophy.
On February 14, 2011, WTT announced that the New York Sportimes and New York Buzz had merged and would play the 2011 season as the New York Sportimes. In the three seasons following the merger, the Sportimes played 12 home matches in New York City and nine in the Capital District. On January 16, 2014, Claude Okin, CEO of the New York Sportimes announced that the franchise had been sold to businessman Russell Geyser, and the team would be relocated to San Diego, California, and renamed the San Diego Aviators. (Full article...)
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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual team sporting competition. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis" and the winners are referred to as the world champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
The most successful country over the history of the competition is the United States (winning 32 titles and finishing as runners-up 29 times). The most recent champions are Italy, who beat Netherlands to win their third title (and second consecutive one) in 2024. (Full article...)
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The Cincinnati Open (also known as the Cincinnati Masters) is an annual professional tennis event held in Cincinnati, United States. Due to previous sponsorship, it has also been known as: the Thriftway ATP Championships, the Great American Insurance ATP Championships, the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open and, most recently, the Western & Southern Open. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, and is held in August. The event started on September 18, 1899, and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States still played in its original city. It also is the third largest tennis event in the United States, after the US Open and the Indian Wells Masters. It is one of the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments on the ATP Tour, and one of the WTA 1000 tournaments on the WTA Tour. (Full article...)
Radio Wimbledon was the official radio station to the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the AELTC in Wimbledon. Their contract finished in 2011. It has now been replaced by the similar Live@Wimbledon station. (Full article...)
The Australian Open typically starts around the middle of January and continues for two weeks, concluding with the men's final traditionally held on the last Sunday of the month. It features men's and women's singles, men's, women's and mixed doubles, juniors’ championships, wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. (Full article...)
The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
The term Grand Slam is also attributed to the Grand Slam tournaments, referred to as Majors, and they are the world's four most important annual professional tennis tournaments. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of the field and, in recent years, the longest matches for men (best of five sets, best of three for the women). The tournaments are overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), rather than the separate men's and women's tour organizing bodies, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA), but both the ATP and WTA award ranking points based on players' performances in them. (Full article...)
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The Djokovic–Murray rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They 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 won their two matches played on grass. The rivalry began highly competitive and remained so for many years. However, after Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships over Djokovic in the final, Djokovic took a commanding lead, winning 14 of their last 17 encounters. (Full article...)
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This article covers the period 1884 to present. Before the beginning of the Open era in April 1968, only amateurs were allowed to compete in established tennis tournaments, including the four Grand Slams. Wimbledon, the oldest of the majors, was founded in 1877, followed by the US Open in 1881, the French Open in 1891, and the Australian Open in 1905. Beginning in 1905 and continuing to the present day, all four majors have been played yearly, with the exception of the two World Wars, 1986 for the Australian Open, and 2020 for Wimbledon. The Australian Open is the first major of the year (January), followed by the French Open (May–June), Wimbledon (June–July), and US Open (August–September).
There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. A player who wins all four current major tournaments in the same calendar year, as an individual or as part of a doubles team, is said to have achieved the "Grand Slam". If the player wins all four consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, it is called a "Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam". Winning all four at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Grand Slam". Winning the four majors and a gold medal in tennis at the Summer Olympics has been called a "Golden Slam" since 1988. Winning all four plus gold at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Golden Slam". Winning the Year-end Championship also having won a Golden Slam is referred to as a "Super Slam". Winning the four majors in all three disciplines a player is eligible for–singles, doubles, and mixed doubles–is considered winning a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles. (Full article...)
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Throughout its history, many changes in the Grand Slam tennis tournaments have affected the number of titles won by various players. These have included the opening of the French national championships to international players in 1925, the elimination of the challenge round in 1922, and the admission of professional players in 1968 (the start of the Open Era).
All of these tournaments have been listed based on the modern definition of a tennis major, rather than when they were officially recognized by the ILTF. The Grand Slam tournaments are the annual four major tennis events played in the Open Era, which began in 1968, superseding the Amateur Era. The Australian and U.S. tournaments were officially recognized by the ILTF in 1924, and the French Championships followed a year later in 1925 when it became open to all international players. The United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) had several grievances with the ILTF and refused to join when it was formed in 1913. (Full article...)
Tennis for Two on a DuMont Lab Oscilloscope Type 304-A
Tennis for Two (also known as Computer Tennis) is a sports video game that simulates a game of tennis, and was one of the first games developed in the early history of video games. American physicist William Higinbotham designed the game in 1958 for display at the Brookhaven National Laboratory's annual public exhibition after learning that the government research institution's Donner Model 30 analog computer could simulate trajectories with wind resistance. He designed the game within a few hours, after which he and technician Robert V. Dvorak built it over a period of three weeks. The game was displayed on an oscilloscope and played with two custom aluminum controllers. Its visuals show a representation of a tennis court viewed from the side, and players adjust the angle of their shots with a knob on their controller and try to hit the ball over the net by pressing a button.
The game was very popular during the three-day exhibition, with players lining up to see the game, especially high school students. It was shown again the following year with a larger oscilloscope screen and a more complicated design that could simulate different gravity levels. It was then dismantled and largely forgotten until the late 1970s when Higinbotham testified in court about the game during lawsuits between Magnavox and Ralph H. Baer over video game patents. Since then, it has been celebrated as one of the earliest video games, and Brookhaven has made recreations of the original device. Under some definitions Tennis for Two is considered the first video game, as while it did not include any technological innovations over prior games, it was the first computer game to be created purely as an entertainment product rather than for academic research or commercial technology promotion. (Full article...)
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The practice of doping in tennis involves the use of prohibited, performance-enhancing substances listed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The practice is considered unsportsmanlike and unethical, with punishments for such offences ranging from official warnings to career bans, depending on the severity of the offence.
Widespread illegal substance abuse in tennis developed during the 1980s and 1990s as performance-enhancing substances became increasingly available in professional sport. The detection and punishment for the use of drugs in this period was aided by the takeover of policing drug cheating by the International Tennis Federation in 1993. (Full article...)
Image 6Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 7Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 8Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 men's singles champion. At 21, he became the youngest male player to win a major title on three different surfaces. (from French Open)
Image 14The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
Image 15Kateřina Siniaková was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her eighth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 38The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
Image 39Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Originally coached by his mother Judy alongside his older brother Jamie, Murray moved to Barcelona at age 15 to train at the Sánchez-Casal Academy. He began his professional career around the time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal established themselves as the two dominant players in men's tennis. Murray had immediate success on the ATP Tour, making his top 10 debut in 2007 at age 19. By 2010, Murray and Novak Djokovic had joined Federer and Nadal in the Big Four, the group of players who dominated men's tennis for most of the 2010s. Murray initially struggled against the rest of the Big Four, losing his first four major finals (three to Federer and one to Djokovic). He made his breakthrough in 2012 by defeating Federer to win the London Olympics and defeating Djokovic to win the US Open, becoming the first British major singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977. He then beat Djokovic to win Wimbledon in 2013, the first home champion at the men's event since Fred Perry in 1936. (Full article...)
... that in high school, tennis player Sara Daavettila went an entire season without losing a game?
... that American Colossus is a biography of a man who was "the most famous sportsman in the world" and "the most forgotten great athlete in American history"?
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...)
Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 prior to its redevelopment. Rod Laver Arena is in the background. (from Australian Open)
Laura Siegemund was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf (from Wimbledon Championships)
Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))
Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023 (from Australian Open)
Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history (from Wimbledon Championships)
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 men's singles champion. At 21, he became the youngest male player to win a major title on three different surfaces. (from French Open)
The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from Wimbledon Championships)
John Peers was part of the 2025 winning mixed doubles team. (from Australian Open)
Chris Evert, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from French Open)
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
Kateřina Siniaková was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her eighth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022 (from Australian Open)
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 gentlemen's singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Roger Federer, the all-time record holder in men's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Taylor Townsend was part of the 2025 winning women's doubles team. (from Australian Open)
Olivia Gadecki was part of the 2025 winning mixed doubles team. (from Australian Open)
Kateřina Siniaková was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from Wimbledon Championships)
Marcelo Arévalo was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his second major title. (from French Open)
Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006. (from French Open)
Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)
Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20th August 1930 (from Wimbledon Championships)
View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Harri Heliövaara was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Max Purcell was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Jordan Thompson was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Harri Heliövaara was part of the 2025 winning men's doubles team. (from Australian Open)
Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her third major title. (from US Open (tennis))
Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. (from US Open (tennis))
Rafael Nadal, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from French Open)
The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Édouard Roger-Vasselin was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2024. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Sara Errani was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Iga Świątek, the 2024 women's singles champion. It was her fifth major title and her fourth at the French Open. (from French Open)
Molla Mallory, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jannik Sinner, 2025 men's singles champion. (from Australian Open)
Henry Patten was part of the 2025 winning men's doubles team. (from Australian Open)
Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Henry Patten was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Madison Keys, 2025 women's singles champion. (from Australian Open)
Bill Tilden, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Bill Larned, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Lyudmyla Kichenok was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Aerial view of the grounds (from Wimbledon Championships)
Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Richard Sears, a joint all-time record-holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Mate Pavić was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2024. It was his fourth major title. (from French Open)
Barbora Krejčíková, the 2024 ladies' singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Martina Navratilova, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from Wimbledon Championships)
Rod Laver Arena night session in 2007, the last year the tournament used the Rebound Ace surface. (from Australian Open)
New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian Open)
Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Coco Gauff was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2024. It was her second major title. (from French Open)
Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from Wimbledon Championships)
A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Jeļena Ostapenko was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
Andrea Vavassori was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. (from US Open (tennis))
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Horace Rice, winner of the 1907 Australasian Championships.
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