Editing Tennis (section)

=== Origins of the modern game ===
[[File:Tennis birthplace Edgbaston.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Augurio Perera]]'s house in [[Edgbaston]], [[Birmingham]], England, where he and [[Harry Gem]] first played the modern game of lawn tennis]]
Between 1859 and 1865, [[Harry Gem]], a solicitor, and his friend [[Augurio Perera]] developed a game that combined elements of [[racquets (sport)|racquets]] and the Basque ball game [[Basque pelota|pelota]], which they played on Perera's [[croquet]] lawn in [[Birmingham]], England.<ref name="countrylife">Tyzack, Anna, [http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/culture/article/79487/The_True_Home_of_Tennis.html The True Home of Tennis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030083434/http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/culture/article/79487/The_True_Home_of_Tennis.html |date=30 October 2013 }} ''Country Life'', 22 June 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Harry Gem Project|url=http://www.theharrygemproject.co.uk/|publisher=theharrygemproject.co.uk|access-date=2 May 2012}}</ref> In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, [[Leamington Spa]].<ref name=LTC>{{cite web|url=http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/club-history|title=Leamington Tennis Club|access-date=18 March 2008|archive-date=27 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827171327/http://www.leamington-tennis-squash.co.uk/club-history|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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&nbsp;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 a year and a half".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leamingtonrealtennis.co.uk/history-of-the-game/leamington-and-tennis.html|title=Leamington Tennis Court Club|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-date=30 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730170633/http://www.leamingtonrealtennis.co.uk/history-of-the-game/leamington-and-tennis.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In December&nbsp;1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called ''sphairistikè'' ({{langx|el|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.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/sphairistik%C3%A9-anyone|title=Sphairistiké, Anyone?|magazine=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]|author=E. M. Halliday|access-date=2 May 2012}}</ref> According to {{nowrap|R. D. C.}} Evans, turfgrass [[agronomist]], "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis."<ref name="Perris">J. Perris
(2000) [https://books.google.com/books?id=HA0kwGCARc0C&dq=lawn+tennis+created+in+19th+century+england+Wingfield&pg=PA8 Grass tennis courts: how to construct and maintain them] p.8. STRI, 2000</ref><ref>[http://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/walter-wingfield Major Walter Clopton Wingfield] International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 September 2011</ref> 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 the clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874."<ref name=Wingfield>[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/tennis/06/14/tennis.wimbledon.125th.anniversary.museum/index.html "125 years of Wimbledon: From birth of lawn tennis to modern marvels"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218114004/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/tennis/06/14/tennis.wimbledon.125th.anniversary.museum/index.html |date=18 February 2020 }}. CNN. Retrieved 21 September 2011</ref> The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874.<ref>[''Tennis: A Cultural History'' by Heiner Gillmeister]</ref> 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 a significant debate on how to standardise the rules.<ref name=Wingfield/>

[[File:Lawn-tennis-Prang-1887.jpeg|left|thumb|Lawn tennis in the US, 1887]]

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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grimsley|first=Will|title=Tennis: Its History, People and Events|year=1971|publisher=Prentice-Hall, Inc.|location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey|isbn=0-13-903377-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/tennisitshistory00grim/page/9 9]|url=https://archive.org/details/tennisitshistory00grim/page/9}}</ref> 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 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]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lawn-Tennis on Staten Island|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1880/09/04/98626184.pdf|work=The New York Times|access-date=2 May 2012|date=4 September 1880|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129184635/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1880/09/04/98626184.pdf|archive-date=29 January 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 the world<ref>[Heiner Gillmeister ''Tennis: A Cultural History'']</ref> was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the [[United States Tennis Association]]) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions.<ref name=USTA>{{cite web|url=http://www.usta.com/communitytennis/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=95424&icategoryid=437|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030214640/http://www.usta.com/communitytennis/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=95424&icategoryid=437|archive-date=30 October 2007|title=History of United States Tennis Association|access-date=29 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]], was first held in 1881 at the [[Newport Casino]], [[Newport, Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ri.gov/facts/trivia.php|title=Fact & History |work= Rhodes Island Government|access-date=29 May 2007}}</ref> The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in [[Philadelphia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2011.usopen.org/en_US/about/history/history.html|title=History of the U.S. National Championships/US Open|publisher=USOpen.org|access-date=2 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603131646/http://2011.usopen.org/en_US/about/history/history.html|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tennis also became popular in France, where the [[French Open|French Championships]] date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs.<ref name=RG>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennistours.com/event_pages/french/history.asp|title=History of the French Open|access-date=29 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526061334/http://www.tennistours.com/event_pages/french/history.asp|archive-date=26 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=History>{{cite web|url=http://www.itftennis.com/abouttheitf/worldwide/history.asp|title=History of Tennis|publisher=[[International Tennis Federation]]|access-date=28 July 2008|archive-date=22 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322195507/http://www.itftennis.com/abouttheitf/worldwide/history.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TS1">{{cite web|title=Australian Open Stats {{!}} History|date=9 January 2021|url=https://sportsvault.net/australian-open-2021-important-dates-and-facts/}}</ref> Together, these four events are called the Majors or ''Slams'' (a term borrowed from [[Glossary of contract bridge terms#grandslam|bridge]] rather than [[Grand slam (baseball)|baseball]]).<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=4 February 2021|title=Grand Slam Major Championships {{!}} Tennis|url=https://sportsvault.net/tennis/|access-date=|website=}}</ref>

In 1913, 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 the [[World Covered Court Championships]] for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Bensen |first1=Clark |title=The World Championships of 1913 to 1923: the Forgotten Majors |url=http://www.tenniscollectors.org/journal/number30/tca30_text_p467.pdf |website=tenniscollectors.org |publisher=Journal of The Tennis Collectors of America |access-date=5 September 2018 |location=Newport, Rhode Island, United States |page=470 |date=2013–2014 |quote=Number 30 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620074140/http://www.tenniscollectors.org/journal/number30/tca30_text_p467.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> At a meeting held on 16&nbsp;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 <ref>"Tennis Federation Bans World Titles", ''The New York Times'', 17 March 1923, p. 10</ref> – today's Grand Slam events.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web |title=ITF: History |url=https://www.itftennis.com/about/organisation/history.aspx |website=ITF Tennis |publisher=International Tennis Federation |access-date=5 September 2018 |location=London, United Kingdom |date=2018 |archive-date=13 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713150358/http://www.itftennis.com/about/organisation/history.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The impact on 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.<ref name="auto"/>

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 (tennis)|tiebreak]]'' system designed by [[Jimmy Van Alen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=126|title=James Henry Van Alen in the Tennis Hall of Fame|access-date=29 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153610/http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=126|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the [[1924 Summer Olympics|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 the IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at [[1988 Summer Olympics|Seoul]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|title=Olympic Tennis Event|url=http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/history/history/overview.aspx|publisher=ITF|access-date=2 May 2012|archive-date=4 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204005644/http://www.itftennis.com/olympics/history/history/overview.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Tennis and Olympics Love Affair|url=http://www.sportspundit.com/tennis/articles/1192-the-tennis-and-olympics-love-affair|publisher=SportsPundit.com|access-date=2 May 2012}}</ref>

[[File:BASA-3K-7-422-11-1896 Summer Olympics.jpg|left|thumb|Tennis [[Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's doubles|doubles]] final at [[Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Olympic Games]]]]

The [[Davis Cup]], an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900.<ref>{{cite web|title=Davis Cup History|url=http://www.daviscup.com/en/history/davis-cup-history.aspx|publisher=ITF|access-date=2 May 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fed Cup History|url=http://www.fedcup.com/en/history/fed-cup-history.aspx|publisher=ITF|access-date=2 May 2012|archive-date=2 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102132247/http://www.fedcup.com/en/history/fed-cup-history.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1926, promoter [[C. C. Pyle]] established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences.<ref name=TS1/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennisserver.com/lines/lines_01_03_01.html|title=History of the Pro Tennis Wars Chapter 2, part 1 1927–1928|access-date=29 May 2007}}</ref> The most notable of these early professionals were the American [[Vinnie Richards]] and the Frenchwoman [[Suzanne Lenglen]].<ref name=TS1/><ref>[http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,519,00.html Open Minded] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031090952/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,519,00.html |date=31 October 2007 }}&nbsp;– Bruce Goldman</ref> Players ''turned pro'' would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.<ref name=TS1/>

In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under 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.<ref>{{cite web|date=8 May 2020|title=1968, Open era: The moment tennis opted to become a modern sport|url=https://www.tennismajors.com/our-features/long-form-our-features/1968-open-era-the-moment-tennis-opted-to-become-a-modern-sport-228622.html|access-date=25 November 2021|website=Tennis Majors}}</ref> 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<ref name=class>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/dec/10/tennis.news|title=Middle-class heroes can lift our game |work=The Guardian |first=Jon |last=Henderson |date=10 December 2008|access-date=2 August 2008 | location=London}}</ref> (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).<ref name=class/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/830579/FRONT-PAGE-Max-Clifford-help-shed-tennis-middle-class-image/|title=Max Clifford to help shed tennis' middle-class image|publisher=PR Week|author=Kate Magee|date=10 July 2008|access-date=2 August 2008}}</ref>

In 1954, Van Alen founded the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]], a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennisfame.com/tennisfame.aspx?pgID=866|title=International Tennis Hall of Fame Information|access-date=29 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518085009/http://www.tennisfame.com/tennisfame.aspx?pgID=866|archive-date=18 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Tennis Hall of Fame|url=https://www.tennisfame.com/about/our-mission|access-date=25 November 2021|website=www.tennisfame.com}}</ref>