Portal:Tennis

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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

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Image 1

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 150 competiting 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 countries over the history of the competition are the United States (winning 32 titles and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 titles, including six with New Zealand as Australasia, and finishing as runners-up 21 times). The current champions are Italy, who beat Australia to win their second title in 2023. (Full article...)
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This article covers the period from 1877 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 Slam tournaments (also known as the majors). 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 during 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 the US Open (August–September). There was no prize money and players were compensated for travel expenses only. A player who wins all four majors, in singles or as part of a doubles team, in the same calendar year is said to have achieved a "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 in the same calendar year has been called a "Golden Slam" since 1988. Winning all four majors plus an Olympic gold at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career Golden Slam". Winning the year-end championship while also having won a Golden Slam is referred to as a "Super Slam". Winning all four majors, an Olympic gold, and the year-end championships at some point in a career, even if not consecutively, is referred to as a "Career 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.

Prior to 1924, the major tennis championships, governed by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), were the World Hard Court Championships, World Grass Court Championships (Wimbledon), and World Covered Court Championships. (Full article...)
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Owen Davidson is the most recent player to complete the Grand Slam.

List of Mixed Doubles Grand Slam tennis tournament champions:

Although several players have won at least one title in each of the four majors to achieve the Career Grand Slam, only three players have won the Grand Slam, all four titles in a single calendar year. This includes one team, Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher in 1963, as well as Court and Owen Davidson separately with different partners. Billie Jean King completed the "non-calendar year Grand Slam" by winning all four majors in a row in a period spanning two calendar years. (Full article...)
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The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Hard Rock Stadium, and is held in late March and early April. The tournament is part of the ATP Masters 1000 events on the ATP Tour and part of the WTA 1000 events on the WTA Tour.

The tournament was held at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida from 1987 through 2018, featuring the top 96 men and women tennis players in the world. It moved to Miami Gardens for 2019. Following the Indian Wells Open, it is the second event of the "Sunshine Double" — a series of two elite, consecutive hard court tournaments in the United States in early spring. (Full article...)
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The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia. The tournament was played annually at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre in Sydney Olympic Park. It is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world, dating to 1885. In 2020 and 2021, the tournament was briefly replaced by the ATP Cup, before briefly returning in 2022 and has since been replaced in both men's and women's calendars by the United Cup.

The Sydney International was most recently held in 2022 as an ATP 250 event on the men's tour and a WTA 500 event on the women's tour. The tournament is held annually in January immediately prior to the Australian Open as a lead up tournament as part of the Australian Open Series. (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. 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...)
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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...)
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Tennis New Zealand (commonly known by the acronym Tennis NZ or TNZ) (formally the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association) is the governing body of tennis in New Zealand. Founded in 1886, it is one of the world's oldest tennis associations. It is affiliated to both International Tennis Federation and Oceania Tennis Federation. Tennis NZ has six geographically divided regional centres. Tennis NZ operates all of the New Zealand's national representative tennis sides, including the New Zealand Davis Cup team, the New Zealand Billie Jean King Cup team and youth sides as well. Tennis NZ is also responsible for organising and hosting tennis tournaments within New Zealand and scheduling the home international fixtures. (Full article...)
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Drawing by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath.

The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) was taken on 20 June 1789 by the members of the French Third Estate in a tennis court on the initiative of Jean Joseph Mounier. Their vow "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the Constitution of the kingdom is established" became a pivotal event in the French Revolution.

The Estates-General had been called to address the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis, but they had become bogged down in issues of representation immediately after convening in May 1789, particularly whether they would vote by order or by head (which would increase the power of the Third Estate, as it outnumbered the other two estates by a large margin). On 17 June, the Third Estate began to call itself the National Assembly, led by Jean Sylvain Bailly. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, took a prominent role. (Full article...)
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The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant tennis event in the men's annual calendar after the four majors, as it features the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams based on their results throughout the season. The eighth spot is reserved, if needed, for a player or team who won a major in the current year and is ranked from ninth to twentieth.

The tournament uses a unique format not seen in other ATP Tour events, where the singles players and doubles teams are separated into two groups of four, within which they each play three round-robin matches. After the round-robin stage, the top two performers from each group play in knock-out semifinals and a final to determine the champion(s). (Full article...)
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Steffi Graf

The Graf–Sabatini rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, who played each other on 40 occasions between 1985 and 1995. Graf was the world No. 1, and Sabatini reached a career high of No. 3. Both are Major champions, Graf winning 22 titles, and Sabatini won her only major title at the 1990 US Open over Graf. They also teamed in doubles, reaching three French Open finals and winning the 1988 Wimbledon crown.

In Grand Slams, they met 12 times, three of them in finals. Graf leads 11–1. In 1988, Graf beat Sabatini in the semifinals of the French Open, the US Open final, and the Olympic final to complete the calendar-year Golden Slam. In the 1991 Wimbledon final. Sabatini was two points away from capturing the singles title, but Graf took the match 8–6 in the deciding set. (Full article...)
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World number 1 ranked male tennis players is a year-by-year listing of the male tennis players who were ranked as world No. 1 by various contemporary and modern sources. The annual source rankings from which the No. 1 players are drawn are cited for each player's name, with a summary of the most important tennis events of each year also included. If world rankings are not available, recent rankings by tennis writers for historical years are accessed, with the dates of the recent rankings identified. In the period 1948–1953, when contemporary professional world rankings were not created, the U.S. professional rankings are cited. (Full article...)
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The Davis Cup is an annual international team event in men's tennis. Established in 1900 as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, it is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), who describe it as the "World Cup of tennis." The first event in 1900 was a match between Great Britain and the United States, while 135 nations entered the 2016 Davis Cup.

The tournament sees players competing for their country in four singles and one doubles matches, known as rubbers, over the course of three days, with the team that wins three rubbers progressing. The countries are divided into groups based upon their location or performance in previous years. The Davis Cup World Group is the top level of the competition and features matches between players from the top 16 countries at the start of the year. Countries that lose their first round match face a relegation play-off against winning countries from the continental zones. World Group winning countries progress to the quarter-finals. Nations have to win a further three ties in order to claim the position of Davis Cup champions.The United States are the most successful nation in the history of the competition, with 32 victories. Australia are second with 28 (individually or in a combined Australasia team) and Great Britain and France are tied for third with 10. Teams from Europe have won the competition the most with 48 victories, followed by North America with 33 and Oceania with 28. (Full article...)
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International Tennis Federation Headquarters

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016,^[update] there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up the ITF's membership.

The ITF's governance responsibilities include maintaining and enforcing the rules of tennis, regulating international team competitions, promoting the game, and preserving the sport's integrity via anti-doping and anti-corruption programs. The ITF partners with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to govern professional tennis. (Full article...)
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The Prince of Tennis (Japanese: テニスの王子様, Hepburn: Tenisu no Ōjisama) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 1999 to March 2008, with its chapters collected in 42 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for English release in North America.

A 178-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Trans Arts, co-produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 2001 to March 2005. A sequel of three original video animation (OVA) series, totaling 26 episodes, were released from March 2006 to January 2009. In North America, the anime series was first licensed by Viz Media and later by Funimation, which was renamed to Crunchyroll, LLC in 2022. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Laver in 2015

Rodney George Laver AC MBE (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was ranked the world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969 and by some sources also in 1964 and 1970. He was also ranked as the number 1 amateur in 1961 and 1962. Laver won 198 singles titles which is the most won by a player in history.

Laver won 11 Grand Slam singles titles and 8 Pro Majors titles. He completed the Grand Slam (winning all four slams in a calendar year) in singles twice in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He also completed the Pro Slam (winning all three pro majors in one year) in 1967. Laver won titles on all court surfaces of his time: grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The Rod Laver Arena and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him. (Full article...)

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