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61-640: Before the Open Era , popular professional tennis players, such as Suzanne Lenglen and Vincent Richards , were contracted to professional promoters. Amateur players were under the jurisdiction of their national (and international) federations. Later professional promoters, such as Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer , often convinced leading amateurs like Pancho Gonzales and Rod Laver to join their tours with promises of good prize money. But these successes led to financial difficulties when players were paid too much and falling attendances resulted in reduced takings. In

122-534: A basket of them is given to King Henry as a mockery of his youth and playfulness; the incident is also mentioned in some earlier chronicles and ballads . One of the most striking early references appears in a painting by Giambattista Tiepolo entitled The Death of Hyacinth (1752–1753), in which a strung racquet and three tennis balls are depicted. The theme of the painting is the mythological story of Apollo and Hyacinth , written by Ovid . Giovanni Andrea dell'Anguillara translated it into Italian in 1561 and replaced

183-508: A group of 17 giants in The Turke and Gowin (c. 1500). The Medieval form of tennis is termed as real tennis , a game that evolved over three centuries from an earlier ball game played around the 12th century in France that involved hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. By the 16th century the glove had become a racquet, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and

244-553: A guarantee. The manipulation of Grand Slam tournaments by professional promoters at the start of the Open Era led promoter Jack Kramer, the top male tennis player in the world in the 1940s and 1950s, to conceive of the Grand Prix in 1969. He described it as "a series of tournaments with a money bonus pool that would be split up on the basis of a cumulative point system." This would encourage the best players to compete regularly in

305-589: A severe chill after playing and Charles VIII after hitting his head during a game. King Charles IX granted a constitution to the Corporation of Tennis Professionals in 1571, creating the first pro tennis 'tour', establishing three professional levels: apprentice, associate, and master. A professional named Forbet wrote and published the first codification of the rules in 1599. Royal interest in England began with Henry V (1413–22). Henry VIII (1509–47) made

366-601: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). The word tennis came into use in English in the mid-14th century from French, via the Anglo-Norman term Tenez, which can be translated as 'hold!', 'receive!' or 'take!', a call from the server to his opponent indicating that he is about to serve. The first known appearance of the word in English literature is by poet John Gower in his poem titled 'In Praise of Peace' dedicated to King Henry IV and composed in 1400; "Of

427-493: Is commonly believed, mistakenly, that Wingfield obtained a patent on the game he devised to be played on that type of court, but in fact Wingfield never applied for nor received a patent on his game, although he did obtain a copyright — but not a patent — on his rules for playing it. And, after a running series of articles and letters in the British sporting magazine The Field , and a meeting at London's Marylebone Cricket Club ,

488-404: Is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules. Most rules of (lawn) tennis derive from this precursor and it is reasonable to see both sports as variations of the same game. Most historians believe that tennis originated in the monastic cloisters in northern France in the 12th century, but

549-534: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1877 to raise money for the club. The first Championships were contested by 22 men and the winner received a Silver Gilt Cup proclaiming the winner to be "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World". The first Championships culminated a significant debate on how to standardize the rules. The following year, it was recognized as

610-704: The Australian Labor Party and held the seat until his retirement before the 1966 election . He married Kathleen Amelda Garvey in December 1942—they had no children. From 1943 to 1946 he served as chairman of committees in the House of Representatives. Riordan was appointed Minister for the Navy in the Chifley ministry from November 1946 to the defeat of the government at the 1949 election . Kennedy

671-986: The Austro-Hungarian Empire but suffered under English Puritanism . By the Age of Napoleon the royal families of Europe were besieged and real tennis was largely abandoned. Real tennis played a minor role in the history of the French Revolution , through the Tennis Court Oath , a pledge signed by French deputies on a real tennis court, which formed a decisive early step in starting the revolution. An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written circa 1705 read, in part: Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball: Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. In England, during

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732-624: The Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1936). He was educated at state schools at Chillagoe, Mareeba and Gordonvale and at Brisbane Grammar School . He worked in the Queensland Department of Justice and then became secretary to his father when he was appointed to the Industrial Court of Queensland in 1933. On the death of his uncle Darby Riordan in 1936 he won the subsequent by-election for

793-811: The US Open , was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island . The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia. The tournament was made officially one of the tennis 'Majors' from 1924 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). Name change 1881: U.S. National Championship 1968: U.S. Open Surface change 1881: Grass 1975: Clay Har-Tru 1978: Hard DecoTurf Venue change (men's championship) 1881: Newport 1915: Forest Hills 1921: Germantown 1924: Forest Hills 1978: Flushing Meadows Tennis

854-639: The "Tennis Masters Series" until 2004, then the "ATP Masters Series" until 2009. They are now called the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments . Grand Prix tournaments below this level were originally called the Grand Prix Super Series . They were retained by the ATP and renamed as the " Championship Series ". All remaining Grand Prix Tour events became part of the " World Series ". Based on USLTA Tennis Yearbooks and Guides and World of Tennis yearbooks

915-576: The 18th and early 19th centuries as real tennis declined, three other racquet sports emerged: racquets , squash racquets and lawn tennis (the modern game). The lawyer and memoirist William Hickey recalled that in 1767 "in the summer we had another club, which met at the Red House in Battersea fields, nearly opposite Ranelagh.... The game we played was an invention of our own, and called field tennis, which afforded noble exercise.... The field, which

976-728: The 1971 WCT circuit, which included Ilie Năstase , Stan Smith , Jan Kodeš , Željko Franulović , and Clark Graebner . The Australian Open was part of the WCT circuit while the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open were Grand Prix events. The conflict between the ILTF (running the Grand Prix) and WCT was so strong that Rosewall, Gimeno, Laver, Emerson, and other WCT players boycotted the 1971 US Open . The third professional circuit that year

1037-708: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club for the first lawn tennis championship, The Championships, Wimbledon in 1877. The Davis Cup , an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup , was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Tennis Federation , also known as

1098-611: The Australian Championships. For most of the 1970s and the early 1980s, the event lacked participation from top ranked tennis professionals. Since its move to Melbourne Park in 1988, the Australian Open has gained the popularity of the other three majors. Name change 1905: Australasian Championships 1927: Australian Championships 1969: Australian Open Bill Riordan William James Frederick Riordan CBE (8 February 1908 – 15 January 1973)

1159-758: The French courts were decommissioned with the terror that accompanied the French Revolution . The Tennis Court Oath ( Serment du Jeu de Paume ) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution; it was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. Marylebone Cricket Club 's Rules of Lawn Tennis have been official, with periodic slight modifications, ever since 1875. Those rules were adopted by

1220-481: The Grand Prix points system – to January for the 1987 edition so that the Grand Prix Masters could be held in December from 1986 onwards. It failed, however, to prevent the number of tournaments on the Grand Prix circuit from growing, with 48 being held in 1974 compared to 75 in 1989. The WCT and Grand Prix circuits were separate until 1978, when the Grand Prix circuit integrated the WCT circuit. In 1982,

1281-543: The Grand Prix was led by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC) from 1974 through 1989. (Its name was shortened to the Men's Tennis Council (MTC) in 1988.) The MIPTC's duties included imposing fines for violations of its Code of Conduct, drug testing, and administrating the Grand Prix circuit. It also moved the Australian Open from its December date – which had been adopted in 1977 so that it could be included in

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1342-532: The ILTF and WCT agreed to divide the 1973 tour into a WCT circuit that ran from January through May and a Grand Prix circuit that ran for the rest of the year. The conflict between the ILTF and WCT led all tennis players to attend the 1972 US Open where they agreed to form their own syndicate, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), through the efforts of Jack Kramer, Donald Dell , and Cliff Drysdale. In 1973, there were four rival professional circuits:

1403-669: The ITF. Promoter C. C. Pyle created the first professional tennis tour in 1926, with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen . Players turning pro could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968 commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under

1464-665: The MTC over the organisation of the Grand Prix and key issues such as player fatigue. During this press conference, the ATP declared that it would be starting its own tour in 1990, meaning that the 1989 Grand Prix would effectively be its last. The final event of the Grand Prix was the Nabisco Masters Doubles held at the Royal Albert Hall 6–10 December 1989. Its last champions were Jim Grabb and Patrick McEnroe , who beat John Fitzgerald and Anders Järryd in

1525-653: The U.S. on a grass court set up on the Estate of Col. William Appleton in Nahant, Massachusetts by James Dwight , Richard Dudley Sears and Fred Sears in 1874. In 1881, the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs. The first American National tournament was played in 1880 at the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club in New York. An Englishman named Otway Woodhouse won

1586-679: The United States, setting up supposedly the first tennis court in the United States on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, which was near where the Staten Island Ferry Terminal is today. The club was founded on or about 22 March 1872. She is also mistakenly said to have played the first tennis game in the U.S. against her sister Laura in Staten Island, New York on an hourglass-shaped court. However, all this would have been impossible, as

1647-595: The WCT circuit battled with the U. S. Indoor Circuit from January to April and the Grand Prix until July; both tours competed with the "European Spring Circuit" until June. In that same year, the ATP created controversy by calling for a boycott of the 1973 Wimbledon Championships after one of its members, Niki Pilić, was suspended by the Yugoslav Tennis Federation for failing to play in a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand. The ATP boycott went ahead after negotiations failed, with only three members of

1708-405: The WCT circuit split from the Grand Prix again and created a more complex WCT ranking, similar to the ATP ranking. The split was short-lived, however, and in 1985 the Grand Prix absorbed the four remaining WCT tournaments. During the 1988 US Open the ATP, led by then-World No. 1 Mats Wilander , staged an impromptu meeting known as the "Parking Lot Press Conference" during failed negotiations with

1769-633: The Warneford Hospital, founded the world's first tennis club, the Leamington Tennis Club. In December 1873 Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed an hourglass-shaped tennis court in order to obtain a patent on his court (as the rectangular court was already in use and was unpatentable). A temporary patent on this hourglass-shaped court was granted to him in February, 1874, which he never renewed when it expired in 1877. It

1830-543: The ancient game of discus in the original text with pallacorda or tennis, which had achieved a high status at the courts in the middle of the 16th century. Tiepolo's painting, displayed at the Museo Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid , was ordered in 1752 by German count Wilhelm Friedrich Schaumburg Lippe, who was an avid tennis player. The game thrived among the 17th-century nobility in France, Spain, Italy and

1891-698: The ball was then struck with the palm of the hand, hence the name jeu de paume ( lit.   ' game of the palm ' ). It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called 'tennis'. It was popular in the Kingdom of France as well as in England, where Henry VIII of England was a notable enthusiast of the game, which is now referred to as 'real tennis'. Many original tennis courts remain, including courts at Oxford, Cambridge, Falkland Palace in Fife where Mary Queen of Scots regularly played, and Hampton Court Palace . Many of

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1952-573: The best players came under contract to one of two professional tours: When the Open Era began in 1968, tournaments often found themselves deprived of NTL or WCT players. The first open tournament, the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth , was played without WCT players, as was that year's French Open. In 1970, NTL players did not play in the Australian Open because their organization did not receive

2013-512: The biggest impact as a young monarch, playing the game with gusto at Hampton Court on a court he had built in 1530. It is believed that his second wife, Anne Boleyn , was watching a game when she was arrested and that Henry was playing when news of her execution arrived. During the reign of James I (1603–25) London had 14 courts. Real tennis is mentioned in literature by William Shakespeare , who mentions "tennis balles" in Henry V (1599), when

2074-656: The chairman of the Wimbledon Championships . In 1967, David announced that a professional tournament would be held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club after the 1967 Wimbledon Championships . This tournament was televised by the BBC and built public support for professional tennis. In late 1967, the best of the amateur players turned professional, paving the way for the first open tournament. Some professionals were independent at this time, such as Lew Hoad , Luis Ayala , and Owen Davidson , but most of

2135-518: The court only, and the service had to bounce beyond the service line instead of in front of it. He adopted the rackets-based system of scoring where games consisted of 15 points (called 'aces'). None of these quirks survived the Marylebone Cricket Club 's 1875 Rules of Lawn Tennis that have been official, with periodic slight modifications, ever since then. Those rules were adopted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club for

2196-516: The early 1960s, the professional tour began to fall apart. It survived only because the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships , having been unable to give prize money to its 1963 winner, received prize money from the First National Bank of Boston for its 1964 tournament. At the same time, the concept of "shamateurism" – amateur promoters paying players under the table to ensure they remained amateurs – had become apparent to Herman David ,

2257-501: The final. In 1990, the Association of Tennis Professionals , led by Hamilton Jordan , replaced the MTC as the sole governing body of men's professional tennis and the ATP Tour was born. The nine most prestigious Grand Prix tournaments became known as the "Championship Series Single Week" from 1990 through 1995. In 1996, Mercedes began sponsoring these series of events, renamed as the "Super 9" until 1999. In 2000, they became known as

2318-413: The first Lawn Tennis Championship, at Wimbledon in 1877 (the men who devised those rules were members of both clubs). Wingfield does deserve great credit for popularizing the game of lawn tennis, as he marketed, in one boxed set, all the equipment needed to play his or other versions of it, equipment that had been available previously only at several different outlets. Because of this convenience, versions of

2379-545: The game for the amusement of his guests at a weekend garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan , Wales in 1874, but research has demonstrated that even his game was not likely played during that country weekend in Wales. He had likely based his game on both the evolving sport of outdoor tennis and on real tennis. Much of modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, for Wingfield and others borrowed both

2440-563: The game spread like wildfire in Britain, and by 1875 lawn tennis had virtually supplanted croquet and badminton as outdoor games for both men and women. Mary Ewing Outerbridge played the game in Bermuda at Clermont, a house with a spacious lawn in Paget parish. Innumerable histories claim that in 1874, Mary returned from Bermuda onboard the ship S.S. Canima and introduced lawn tennis to

2501-400: The game. Wingfield did patent his hourglass court in 1874, but not his eight-page rule book titled "Sphairistike or Lawn Tennis", but he failed in enforcing his patent. In his version, the game was played on an hourglass-shaped court, and the net was higher (4 feet 8 inches) than it is in official lawn tennis. The service had to be made from a diamond-shaped box in the middle of one side of

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2562-464: The history of sponsors is as follows: NB : All rankings were calculated using the Grand Prix points system and do not necessarily reflect the ATP rankings at the same time. History of tennis#Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston , Warwickshire , England, now commonly known simply as tennis ,

2623-412: The name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis, and applied them to their variations of real tennis. In the scholarly work Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, Wingfield had written to Harry Gem, commenting that he had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis for a year and a half. Gem himself had largely credited Perera with the invention of

2684-623: The name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis: The four majors or Grand Slam tournaments, the four biggest competitions on the tennis circuit, are Wimbledon , the US Open , the French Open , and the Australian Open . Since the mid-1920s they became and have remained the more prestigious events in tennis. Winning these four tournaments in the same year is called the Calendar Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge ). The Championships, Wimbledon , were founded by

2745-535: The official British Championships, although it was open to international competitors. In 1884 the Ladies Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles Championships were inaugurated, followed by the Ladies and Mixed Doubles in 1913. Name 1877: The Championships Surface 1877: Grass Venue change 1877: Worple Road, Wimbledon 1922: Church Road, Wimbledon Tennis was first played in

2806-413: The official rules of lawn tennis were promulgated by that Club in 1875, which preserved none of the aspects of the variations that Wingfield had dreamed up and named Sphaeristikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , that is, "sphere-istic", an ancient Greek adjective meaning "of or pertaining to use of a ball, globe or sphere"), which was soon corrupted to "sticky". Wingfield claimed that he had invented his version of

2867-500: The organisation – Roger Taylor, Ilie Năstase, and Ray Keldie – breaking the picket. They were later fined for this. The men's draws for that year were subsequently made up of second-string players, lucky losers, and older players such as Neale Fraser , who reached the final of the men's doubles with fellow Australian John Cooper . The draw also showcased future talents such as Björn Borg , Vijay Amritraj , Sandy Mayer , and John Lloyd amid record crowds. The governance of

2928-548: The rules had stabilized. Real tennis spread in popularity throughout royalty in Europe, reaching its peak in the 16th century. In 1437 at the Blackfriars, Perth , the playing of tennis indirectly led to the death of King James I of Scotland , when the drain outlet, through which he hoped to escape assassins, had been blocked to prevent the loss of tennis balls. James was trapped and killed. Francis I of France (1515–1547)

2989-482: The series, so that they could share in the bonus at the end and qualify for the special championship tournament climaxing the year. When only a few contract players showed up for the 1970 French Open , the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) approved Kramer's Grand Prix proposal. In April 1970, its president Ben Barnett announced the creation of the Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year. The first World Championship Tennis tournament

3050-708: The singles match. There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in NY. On 21 May 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now

3111-471: The table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its upper/middle-class English-speaking image (although it

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3172-493: The tenetz to winne or lese a chase, Mai no lif wite er that the bal be ronne". (Whether a chase is won or lost at tennis, Nobody can know until the ball is run). Tennis is mentioned in literature as far back as the Middle Ages. In The Second Shepherds' Play (c. 1500) shepherds gave three gifts, including a tennis ball, to the newborn Christ. Sir Gawain , a knight of King Arthur 's round table, plays tennis against

3233-590: The tennis equipment she is said to have brought back from Bermuda was not available in Bermuda until 1875, and her next trip to Bermuda, when it was available there, was in 1877. In fact, lawn tennis was first introduced in the United States on a grass court on Col. William Appleton's Estate in Nahant, Massachusetts by Dr. James Dwight ("the Father of American Lawn Tennis"), Henry Slocum, Richard Dudley Sears and Sears' half-brother Fred Sears, in 1874. Wingfield borrowed both

3294-439: Was a very large electorate, which meant Riordan had to travel constantly to meet his constituents, particularly workers in the sugar, mining and meat processing industries, in order to be re-elected. After his retirement his seat was won by the Country Party and has been held by Labor for only one parliamentary term since. Riordan was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1967. He died of pneumonia at

3355-523: Was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1936 to 1966, representing the Division of Kennedy in Queensland . He was Minister for the Navy in the Chifley government from 1946 to 1949. Riordan was born in Chillagoe, Queensland , son of Jim Riordan (a member of the Queensland Legislative Council from 1917 to 1923) and nephew of Darby Riordan (member for Kennedy from 1929 to 1936) and Ernest Riordan (a member of

3416-429: Was an enthusiastic player and promoter of real tennis, building courts and encouraging play among the courtiers and commoners. His successor, Henry II (1547–59), was also an excellent player and continued the royal French tradition. In 1555 an Italian priest, Antonio Scaino da Salothe, wrote the first known book about tennis, Trattato del Giuoco della Palla . Two French kings died from tennis related episodes— Louis X of

3477-408: Was first played in 1905 as The Australasian (Australia and New Zealand) Championships. Because of its geographic remoteness, historically, the event did not gain attendance from the top tennis players. It became one of the major tennis tournaments starting in 1924 (designated by the ILTF). In 1927, because of New Zealand tennis authorities releasing their commitments to the tournament, it became known as

3538-411: Was held 20 January 1968 in Sydney, Australia. The first NTL tournament was held 18–21 March 1968 in São Paulo, Brazil. In July 1970, the WCT absorbed the NTL. In 1971, WCT ran a twenty-tournament circuit with the year-ending WCT Finals held in November. At the end of 1970, a panel of journalists had ranked the best players in the world. The best thirty-two men based on this ranking were invited to play

3599-477: Was of sixteen acres in extent, was kept in as high an order, and smooth as a bowling green ." The modern sport is tied to two separate inventions. Between 1859 and 1865, in Birmingham, England, Major Harry Gem , a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera , a Spanish merchant, combined elements of the game of racquets and a ball of wind and played it on a croquet lawn in Edgbaston. In 1872, both men moved to Leamington Spa and in 1874, with two doctors from

3660-902: Was predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by Great Britain and the United States. It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis. This tournament was not recognised as a Major or Grand Slam tournament until it was opened to all nationalities in 1925. Name change 1891: Championnat de France 1925: Championnats Internationaux de France 1928: Tournoi de Roland Garros Surface change 1891: Clay and Sand 1909: Clay Venue change 1891–1908: shared by Tennis Club de Paris/Ile de Puteaux, Paris/Racing Club de France 1909: Societe Athletique de la Villa Primrose, Bordeaux 1910: Racing Club de France, Paris 1925: Stade Français, Paris 1926: Racing Club de France, Paris 1927: Stade Français, Paris 1928: Stade Roland Garros , Paris The Australian Open

3721-400: Was the U. S. Indoor Circuit run by Bill Riordan , the future manager of Jimmy Connors . In July 1971, the ILTF voted to ban all WCT contract professionals from competing in ILTF tournaments and from using ILTF facilities from the beginning of 1972 onwards. The 1972 editions of the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships excluded all contract professional players. Then in April 1972,

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