121-471: Roger Federer ( / ˈ f ɛ d ər ər / FED -ər-ər , Swiss Standard German: [ˈrɔdʒər ˈfeːdərər] ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. He won 103 singles titles on
242-590: A World Group first round against Italy , defeating Davide Sanguinetti . In August, Federer won his first-ever professional title on the Challenger tour in Segovia , pairing with Sander Groen to beat Ota Fukárek and Alejandro Hernández in the final, which was played on Federer's 18th birthday. Despite losing in the first rounds of both the French Open and Wimbledon and having just turned 18, he entered
363-536: A felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation , and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz). Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in
484-409: A racket and balls. The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut . Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of
605-524: A thrilling five-set encounter that many analysts hailed as the greatest Wimbledon final since 1980 . This victory equaled him with Björn Borg for the record of five consecutive Wimbledon championships. At the Canada Masters , Federer lost in the final to Novak Djokovic in a final-set tiebreaker upset. Federer rebounded in Cincinnati to capture his fifth title of the year. Federer entered
726-542: A best-of-five, wins the match. Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches . In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase " Game, set, match " followed by the winning person's or team's name. A game point occurs in tennis whenever
847-599: A car crash in South Africa. Although he suffered first-round losses in the three tournaments he entered immediately after Carter's death, Federer gathered himself and began playing with more determination than ever after that. After reaching the fourth round of the US Open , he won the Vienna Open , jumping from No. 13 at the end of September to No. 7 in the rankings by early November, which allowed him to qualify for
968-557: A doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking
1089-724: A game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota , which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham , England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa . This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for the first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for
1210-571: 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 turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to
1331-512: A high ranking of No. 1 in singles and No. 7 in doubles (both achieved on 31 December 1998) and a win–loss record of 78–20 in singles and 36–21 in doubles. Junior Grand Slam results – Singles: Australian Open: SF (1998) French Open: 1R ( 1998 ) Wimbledon: W ( 1998 ) US Open: F ( 1998 ) Junior Grand Slam results – Doubles: Australian Open: SF (1998) French Open: 1R ( 1998 ) Wimbledon: W ( 1998 ) US Open: 1R (1998) In July 1998, an almost 17-year-old Federer made his ATP debut at
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#17327835285911452-559: A huge upset at Wimbledon , Federer lost in the quarterfinals again to Tomáš Berdych and fell to No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in six years and eight months. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras's old coach, Paul Annacone , on a trial basis to put his tennis game and career back on track. At the US Open , Federer reached the semifinals, where he lost a five-set match to Novak Djokovic after holding two match points. Federer reached four Masters finals prevailing against Mardy Fish at Cincinnati . Federer finished
1573-669: A junior, he transformed his on-court demeanor to become well-liked for his graciousness, winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times. He also won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a joint-record five times. Outside of competition, Federer played an instrumental role in the creation of the Laver Cup team competition. He is also an active philanthropist. He established
1694-399: A particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy , although there was also suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France , who had a court set up at
1815-469: A player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye . Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for the sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open , played on hardcourts ;
1936-413: A sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins
2057-492: A sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in
2178-579: A significant debate on how to standardise the rules. In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge , a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play. She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island , New York. The first American National championship
2299-459: A turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require
2420-486: A wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Canton of St. Gallen Too Many Requests If you report this error to
2541-500: A year and a half". In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , meaning "ball-playing"), and which was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall , in Llanelidan , Wales. According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist , "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of
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#17327835285912662-405: Is a let or net service , which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball
2783-572: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame , a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only
2904-482: Is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called
3025-434: Is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults , and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally , in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except
3146-519: Is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set , where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". A match consists of
3267-417: Is often the same width as the others. The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server , and the opposing player is the receiver . The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind
3388-416: 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
3509-422: Is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces. Grass , clay , and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of
3630-478: The 2017 Australian Open over Nadal and an eighth singles title at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships . At the 2018 Australian Open , Federer became the first man to win 20 major singles titles and shortly after the oldest ATP world No. 1 at the time, at age 36. In September 2022, he retired from professional tennis following the Laver Cup . A versatile all-court player, Federer's grace on the court made him popular among tennis fans. Originally lacking self-control as
3751-616: The ATP Tour , the second most since the start of the Open Era in 1968, including 20 major men's singles titles (among which a record eight men's singles Wimbledon titles, and an Open Era joint-record five men's singles US Open titles) and six year-end championships . A Wimbledon junior champion in 1998 and former ball boy, Federer won his first major singles title at Wimbledon in 2003 at age 21. Between 2003 and 2009, Federer played in 21 out of 28 major singles finals. He won three of
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3872-642: The Australian Open over Marat Safin , making him the world No. 1 for the first time. He then won the Indian Wells on hardcourts and the Hamburg Masters on clay, beating Tim Henman and Guillermo Coria in the finals respectively, snapping the latter's 31-match winning streak on clay. Federer won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick . At the Summer Olympics in Athens , Federer
3993-658: The Australian Open , where he defeated former World No. 2 Michael Chang . His first singles final came at the Marseille Open in February 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset . Federer then entered the Top 50 in March and ended 2000 ranked 29th in the world. Federer made his Olympic debut at Sydney , where he surprised many by reaching the semifinals, where he lost to Tommy Haas and then to Arnaud Di Pasquale in
4114-719: The Federer family , his Swiss father, Robert Federer, is from Berneck in the canton of St. Gallen and his Afrikaner mother, Lynette Federer (née Durand), is from Kempton Park, Gauteng , in South Africa . He has one sibling, his older sister, Diana, the mother of twins. Since Federer's mother is South African, he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He is related to Swiss prelate Urban Federer and Swiss politician Barbara Schmid-Federer . As youngsters, Federer and his elder sister Diana used to accompany their parents, both of whom worked for Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals, to
4235-656: The French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball ). In 1913,
4356-476: The French Open , played on red clay courts ; Wimbledon , played on grass courts ; and the US Open , also played on hardcourts. Additionally, tennis was one of the original Olympic sports , and has been consistently competed in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988 . Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of
4477-572: The Louvre Palace . It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez , which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off
4598-509: The Open Era . This tournament, however, marked the end of his dominance at the majors. At the French Open , Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay. However, he failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open , losing to Söderling in the quarterfinals and relinquishing his No. 1 ranking, having been just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras 's record of 286 weeks as world No. 1. In
4719-475: The Paris Masters and resulted in a poor showing at the year-end championship , where he was eliminated in the round-robin stage. This marked the only time in his career that he was eliminated before the semifinals. Federer ended the year ranked No. 2. Federer began the 2009 season with a loss to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open in a hotly contested five-set match . Federer struggled following
4840-574: The Swiss Open in Gstaad and he wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time after beating Hewitt in the final. His 11 singles titles were the most of any player in two decades, and his record of 74–6 was the best since Ivan Lendl in 1986. In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin after holding match points, and
4961-625: The Swiss Open Gstaad , in his home country of Switzerland, losing to No. 88 Lucas Arnold Ker in the first round. Later that year, he won his first ATP match against Guillaume Raoux in Toulouse . He then received a wildcard to the 1998 Swiss Indoors in his hometown in Basel, where he lost in the first round to former world No. 1 Andre Agassi . He finished 1998 ranked 301st in the world. In April 1999, Federer made his Davis Cup debut in
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5082-482: The Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014 , following their Olympic doubles gold victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics . Federer also won a silver medal in singles at the 2012 London Olympics , finishing runner-up to Andy Murray . After a half-year hiatus in late 2016 to recover from knee surgery, Federer returned to tennis, winning three more majors over the next two years, including
5203-507: The US Open as the three-time defending champion and faced Djokovic in the final. This time, Federer prevailed in a close straight-set match. This victory moved him ahead of Laver and Borg for third on the all-time list of major championship victories. He closed out the year with victories in Basel and the year-end championships in Shanghai. He finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for
5324-584: The US Open , denied Federer the chance to become No. 1 in 2003. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, beating the pair of Leander Paes and David Rikl in the final. He then reached the singles final of the Rome Masters on clay, which he lost to Félix Mantilla . Federer reached nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them on four different surfaces, including
5445-630: The World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament. At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia – today's Grand Slam events. The impact on
5566-571: The one-handed backhand from an early age not only because Kacovsky was a fan of it, but also because all of his childhood idols, Stefan Edberg , Boris Becker , and later Pete Sampras , used the one-hander too. From ages 8 to 10, Federer received group and individual training from Kacovsky. At age 10, Federer began being taught at the club by Australian former tennis player Peter Carter . Federer has credited Carter for his "entire technique and coolness". Federer grew up playing many sports, such as badminton , basketball , football , and tennis, but he
5687-406: The 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to
5808-447: The 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna , defeating Jiří Novák and Carlos Moyá in the respective finals. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi, finishing the year as world No. 2, narrowly behind Andy Roddick by only 160 points. In 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles, becoming the first person to do so in a single season since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first major hard-court title came at
5929-590: The ATP rankings at No. 803, just five spots ahead of future rival Lleyton Hewitt. His main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, when he won both the Boys' singles final over Irakli Labadze , and the Boys' doubles final, teamed with Olivier Rochus , defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram . Federer then reached the US Open Junior final, which he lost to David Nalbandian . This
6050-480: The French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal . However, Federer reestablished his dominance on grass, winning Wimbledon for a third time by defeating Andy Roddick . At the US Open , Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last major final. Federer also took four Masters wins: Indian Wells, Miami and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay. The win in Miami was particularly noteworthy as it
6171-643: The IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988. 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 ITF. In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with
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#17327835285916292-666: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And
6413-463: The Olympics after the 1924 Games , but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier , ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch . The success of the event was overwhelming, and
6534-553: The Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in southern Africa, and has raised funds in part through the Match for Africa exhibition series. By the end of his career, Federer was routinely one of the top-ten highest-paid athletes in any sport, and ranked first among all athletes with $ 100 million in endorsement income in 2020. Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel , Switzerland. A member of
6655-624: The United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East . The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region. Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on
6776-452: 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 middle-class English-speaking image (although it
6897-705: The age of 14. He completed his compulsory education at La Planta secondary school in Chavannes-près-Renens and obtained his certificate in July 1997, in the upper division, commercial studies section. In 1995, at age 13, Federer won the U14 Swiss national junior championship and was subsequently invited to train at the prestigious National Tennis Centre in the French-speaking Écublens , where he enrolled shortly after his 14th birthday. There, he had
7018-458: The all-time record. Federer then entered Indian Wells as the three-time defending champion, but his streak ended in controversy when he was defeated by Guillermo Cañas , who had failed a drug test for illegal doping. This surprising first-round loss marked the first time that he was defeated since August 2006, a period spanning over seven months. During the clay season, Federer snapped Nadal's 81-match winning streak on clay, an Open-era record, in
7139-454: The arm than most strings. Most synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts. Polyester strings allow for more spin on
7260-533: 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
7381-432: The ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones. Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm. Hybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for
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#17327835285917502-410: The baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve , although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this
7623-406: The baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm ( 1 ⁄ 3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside
7744-575: The bronze medal match. In January 2001, Federer won the Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, along with world No. 1 Martina Hingis . The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer later said that his experience with Hingis "definitely helped me to become the player I am today." In 2001, Federer won his first singles title at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter in
7865-442: The chair umpire in tournament play. A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server , has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win
7986-536: The clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874." The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874. This was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in
8107-634: The company's private tennis courts at the weekends, where he first played tennis at the age of three. Soon after enrolling in school at the age of six, Federer became the best in his age group. Feeling that Federer had outgrown the Ciba club and needed to be amongst better juniors, his mother Lynette enrolled him at age eight in the elite junior programme of the Old Boys Tennis Club in Basel , where he received his initial tennis instruction from veteran Czech coach Adolf Kacovsky. Federer began using
8228-424: The court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline
8349-399: The credit for the development of modern tennis." According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced a boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with
8470-607: The defeat in Melbourne and entered the clay season without a title. Federer's season turned around in the final Masters event of the clay season when he defeated Nadal on clay for only the second time to capture the Madrid Masters . After Nadal's unexpected defeat to Robin Söderling , Federer became the overwhelming favorite to win the elusive French Open . In his next match, he came from two sets and break point down in
8591-519: The entire season. That year, Federer won 11 singles titles, which tied his mark during the 2004 season. Federer's 81 match victories were the most since Pete Sampras in 1993, and his record of 81–4 (95.2%) remains the third-best winning percentage in the Open Era behind John McEnroe 's 1984 and Jimmy Connors 's 1974. The 2006 season was statistically the best season of Federer's career. In November 2011, Stephen Tignor, chief editorial writer for Tennis.com , ranked Federer's 2006 season as statistically
8712-458: The fifth time in his career. Federer started the year with a win at the Australian Open , where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, extending the Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles and matching Andre Agassi 's record of four Australian Open titles. Since 2005 Wimbledon, Federer had made 18 out of 19 finals in Grand Slam tournaments, a period of sustained excellence unparalleled in
8833-420: The final in what was their eighth and final meeting at a Grand Slam. The final was historic for being the longest Grand Slam final in terms of games played with Federer prevailing 16–14 in a record-setting fifth set, thus winning his 15th Grand Slam singles title and breaking the all-time record of Pete Sampras. Federer continued his summer run by winning his third Cincinnati Masters , defeating Novak Djokovic in
8954-413: The final of the Hamburg Masters after turning the match around from a set down, including a final set bagel . This win convinced some that Federer could win the French Open to become the first man in almost 40 years to hold all four majors simultaneously, but instead he lost in a four-set final to Nadal again. At Wimbledon , Federer defeated Nadal for a second consecutive year in the final, this time in
9075-663: The final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open . This was Federer and Nadal's first meeting in a Grand Slam final. He was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open , Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis , and at the US Open , Federer defeated 2003 champion Roddick. In addition, Federer reached six Masters finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer, however, consistently pushed Nadal to
9196-527: The final. Federer then reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open , losing to former world No. 2 and eventual finalist Àlex Corretja . His international breakthrough came at the Wimbledon Championships , when the 19-year-old Federer faced the four-time defending champion and all-time Grand Slam leader Pete Sampras in the fourth round. Federer defeated the No. 1 seed in a five-set match to snap Sampras' 31-match win streak at Wimbledon before losing in
9317-408: The final. For the third consecutive year, Federer defeated Djokovic in the semifinals of the US Open . On the penultimate point, he hit what many consider to be the greatest shot of his career, a tweener winner, to set up match points. Federer was defeated by del Potro in the final despite falling just two points from the title in the fourth set. Federer finished the season as the year-end No. 1 for
9438-412: The final. However, Federer could reach only the quarterfinals in the singles draw, bowing out to then No. 8 James Blake , thus ceding his No. 1 ranking to Nadal after being at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Federer captured his only Grand Slam of 2008 at the US Open , defeating Andy Murray in the final. At the end of the year, Federer suffered a back injury, which caused him to withdraw from
9559-467: The first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others. Between 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem , a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed
9680-554: The first half of the year. At the Australian Open Federer lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals. He lost twice in Masters finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. Federer captured three titles playing in 250-level events at Estoril, Halle, and Basel. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, the French Open and Wimbledon , which
9801-497: The following guidelines; The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm). Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in
9922-480: The four majors and the ATP Finals in 2004, 2006, and 2007 as well as five consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three consecutive runner-up finishes to Rafael Nadal , his main rival until 2010. At age 27, he surpassed Pete Sampras 's record of 14 major men's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2009 . Federer and Stan Wawrinka led
10043-533: The four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event. The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen . That same year, tennis withdrew from
10164-444: The fourth year in a row, compiling an impressive 68–9 record. After his phenomenal triple Grand Slam season yet again, Federer became the only player in history to win three majors in a year for three years (2004, 2006, 2007). It was the third consecutive season that Federer held the No. 1 ranking for all 52 weeks of the year. Federer's success in 2008 was severely hampered by a lingering bout of mononucleosis , which he suffered during
10285-404: The game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair. If a tiebreak
10406-411: The game has break point , double break point or triple break point , respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve , as
10527-501: The hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis , and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes , Val-de-Marne, and following
10648-565: The hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon , kevlar , or polyester . The first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on
10769-609: The indoor and outdoor U18 Swiss national championship, defeating the Yves Allegro who was three years older than him, in both finals. In May, Federer won his first-ever ITF junior title on the clay courts of a second-category tournament in Prato , doing so without the loss of a set. In September, Federer earned the first 12 ATP points of his career in a four-week Swiss satellite tournament in Bossonnens , thus making his debut in
10890-512: The likes of Björn Borg , Pat Cash and Stefan Edberg as the only singles players to win both the junior and senior Wimbledon titles. In August he had a chance to take over the No. 1 ranking for the first time from Andre Agassi if he made it to the Montreal final. However, he fell in the semifinals to Roddick, in a final-set tiebreaker, leaving him 120 points behind Agassi. This, coupled with early losses to David Nalbandian at Cincinnati and
11011-617: The limit on clay throughout the season taking him to fourth-set tiebreakers in Monte-Carlo and Paris, and a thrilling match in Rome that went to a deciding fifth-set tiebreaker. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career, again finishing the year as world No. 1. Federer only lost to two players during 2006, to Nadal four times in finals, and to 19-year-old Andy Murray in
11132-553: The mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses. Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with
11253-399: The net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at
11374-408: The official ITF list of approved tennis balls. Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with
11495-411: 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
11616-419: The opportunity to combine three hours of tennis training per day along with education, but Federer had little interest in studying and struggled to balance his education with his tennis commitments. Speaking little French and struggling with living away from home, Federer found his first months at Écublens depressing. He was the youngest player in the group and also felt singled out as the "Swiss German" by many of
11737-648: The performances of his teammates. Federer was also a ball boy at his hometown Basel event, the Swiss Indoors in 1992 and 1993, and even received a medal after the 1993 final, together with the other ballboys, from tournament champion Michael Stich . He was brought to train at the Swiss National Tennis Center, then located in Ecublens in the canton of Vaud , between 1995 and 1997. It was in this new setting that he learned French at
11858-488: The player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by
11979-410: The player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when
12100-454: The quarter-finals to Tim Henman . In 2002, Federer reached his first Masters final at the Miami event , where he lost to Andre Agassi , but then won his first Masters title in Hamburg , defeating Marat Safin in the final; the victory put him in the top 10 for the first time. On 1 August, Federer suffered the devastating loss of his long-time Australian coach and mentor, Peter Carter , in
12221-449: The receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back . Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles . This involves three players, with one person playing against
12342-414: The receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score. A set consists of
12463-434: The second round of the 2006 Cincinnati Masters , in what was Federer's only defeat before the final of a tournament that year. Federer finished the season on a 29-match winning streak, as well as winning 48 of his last 49 matches after the French Open. Near the end of the season, he won his hometown tournament, the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland for the first time, having finished runner up in 2000 and 2001, and missing
12584-450: The second-best season of all time during the Open Era, behind Rod Laver 's Grand Slam year of 1969. Federer won 12 singles titles (the most of any player since Thomas Muster in 1995 and John McEnroe in 1984) and had a match record of 92–5 (the most wins since Ivan Lendl in 1982). Federer reached the finals in an astounding 16 of the 17 tournaments he entered during the season. In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached
12705-404: The service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it
12826-417: The singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield . In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle. Tennis
12947-468: The start of a new point. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making
13068-608: The students and staff at the academy, experienced mild bullying, and was often on the verge of packing his bags and returning home. Federer credits this difficult period of his life as the reason for his independent spirit. Federer played his first ITF junior match in July 1996, at the age of 14, at a grade-2 tournament in Switzerland. He then played in the 1996 NEC World Youth Cup Final in Zürich against tennis players like Lleyton Hewitt . In January 1997, at age 15, Federer won both
13189-516: The third set to defeat Tommy Haas in five sets. He also fought back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against a young Juan Martín del Potro to win a five-setter in the semifinals. In the final , he defeated Söderling in straight sets to finally capture the Coupe des Mousquetaires and career Grand Slam. This victory also tied him with Pete Sampras for the most Grand Slam singles titles at 14. In Wimbledon , Federer faced long-time rival Andy Roddick in
13310-429: The tournament in 2004 and 2005 due to injuries. In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them again. At the Australian Open , he became the first man since Björn Borg in 1980 to win a major without dropping a set, beating Fernando González in the final. Federer captured his fourth Dubai crown to extend his winning streak to 41 matches, the longest of his career and only five shy of
13431-536: The wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis . An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written c. 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. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. The invention of
13552-823: The world was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open , was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino , Newport, Rhode Island . The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia . Tennis also became popular in France, where
13673-466: The world’s Top 100 for the first time on 20 September 1999. Later that month, Federer won his first and only singles ATP Challenger title in Brest , defeating Max Mirnyi in the final. In his first full year as a professional, Federer jumped up to world No. 64, and in doing so at 18 years and four months of age, he became the youngest player in the year-ending world top 100. His first Grand Slam win came at
13794-646: The year in strong form, winning indoor titles at the Stockholm Open , Swiss Indoors and the ATP Finals in London, beating Djokovic and Nadal in the finals of the latter two. It remains the only tournament in his career in which Federer defeated all fellow members of the Big Four . In 2010, Federer finished in the top two for the eighth consecutive season. Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that
13915-422: The year-end Masters Cup for the first time, where he won all of his matches in the round-robin stage before losing to then-world no. 1 and eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals. At age 21, he ended 2002 ranked as the world No. 6. In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon , beating Andy Roddick in the semifinals and Mark Philippoussis in the final. In doing so, he joined
14036-694: Was most taken by the latter two. He also tried skiing and swimming and spent hours playing soft tennis on the street. He credits his hand-eye coordination to the wide range of sports he played as a child. In 1993, Federer won the U12 Swiss national junior championships in Lucerne . Becoming the best junior in the country helped him decide to become a professional tennis player, so he stopped playing football at age twelve to concentrate solely on tennis, where he felt he had more control over his victories or defeats, as opposed to team sports where he relied more on
14157-565: Was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $ 100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth . 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 New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in
14278-548: Was regarded as the best match of tennis history by many, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg 's record. He came back from two sets down to force a fifth set, where he fell just two points from the title. At the Olympic Games , Federer and Stan Wawrinka won the gold medal in doubles by beating the Bryan brothers American team in the semifinals and the Swedish duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in
14399-399: Was the clear favorite after claiming the world No. 1 ranking for the first time earlier in the year. However, he lost in the second round to 18-year-old Tomáš Berdych . He then won the Canada Masters , defeating Roddick in the final. At the US Open , Federer defeated the 2001 champion, Lleyton Hewitt , for his first title there. Federer also won his first tournament on home soil by capturing
14520-421: Was the first final contested between Federer and Nadal. Federer recovered from two sets down to take the final in five sets. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in five sets while playing through a foot injury that sidelined him for almost the rest of the season after September. He maintained his position as No. 1 for
14641-402: Was the only occasion Federer lost a final on the junior circuit. He then brought his junior career to an end at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in Miami , where he defeated Nalbandian in the semifinals and Guillermo Coria in the final. By the end of 1998 he had attained the No. 1 junior world ranking and was named ITF Junior World Champion. He ended his junior career at the end of 1998 with
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