· Tennis is a racket
sport that can be played individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players
each (doubles).
· The modern
game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the
late 19th century as "lawn tennis".
· Tournaments
are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament
configurations include men's singles, women's singles, and doubles, where two
players play on each side of the net.
· The Grand
Slam tournaments, also called majors, are the four most
important annual tennis events.
· The four Grand Slam tournaments are considered to
be the most prestigious tennis events in the world. They are held annually and
comprise, in chronological order, the Australian
Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US
Open. They are regulated by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
· Winning
the Grand Slam means player has won all four tournaments in the same year.
· The
Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known as "Wimbledon",
is the oldest tennis tournament in
the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious.
· The French
Open, often referred to as Roland Garros.
Grand Slam Tournaments
|
|||||
Date
|
Tournament
|
Location
|
Surface
|
Prize Money
|
1st Held
|
January–February
|
Australian Open
|
Melbourne
|
Hard (Plexicushion)
|
A$40,000,000
(2015)
|
1905
|
May–June
|
French
Open
|
Paris
|
Clay
|
€25,018,900
(2014)
|
1891
|
June–July
|
Wimbledon
(Oldest)
|
London
|
Grass
|
£25,000,000
(2014)
|
1877
|
August–September
|
US Open
|
New York City
|
Hard (DecoTurf)
|
US$ $38,251,760
(2014)
|
1881
|
· At Roland
Garros or French Open, the score is announced in French, at the other three
majors, in English.
· Roland Garros or
French Open is played in Paris, which is farthest from a sea or ocean
· Wimbledon in
London, which is near the English Channel and the North Sea.
· Only at the Australian Open would
players never be bothered by the sun in the southwest sky, because in the
Southern Hemisphere outside the tropics, the sun is always somewhat to the
north. At all four majors, the afternoon sun is always somewhat to the west,
but only in the Northern Hemisphere is it also to the south.
· Wimbledon
is played farthest from the equator, at a latitude of 51.5 degrees north.
Roland Garros (French Open) is next
farthest, at 48.9 degrees north, followed by the US Open at 40.7 degrees north
and then the Australian Open at 37.8 degrees south.
· The
Australian Open, in Melbourne, is played closest to the equator.
· Out of the
four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, Wimbledon is the only one played on grass courts,
the others being played on grass, hard as well as
clay courts.
· All four Grand Slams are held in
nations whose flags are red, white, and blue.
See also: