History of tennis

The origins of tennis are a matter of dispute. Some say that early versions of the game were invented in ancient Egypt, a theory based on the origins of the name.

It is sometimes claimed that the name ‘tennis’ derives from the Egyptian town of Tinnis alongside the Nile, and that the word ‘racquet’ evolved from the Arabic word for the palm of the hand, ‘rahat’. 

However, there is more evidence to suggest that the game originated in France in the 11th or 12th century and was played by French monks who played handball against the monastery walls or over a rope strung across a courtyard. The game was called ‘jeu de paume’, meaning ‘game of the hand’. Many believe that the name ‘tennis’ is derived from the French ‘tenez’, which means ‘take this’ or ‘be ready’, and was said by the server before the point began. 

As the game became more popular, players began to use gloves in an attempt to avoid the build up of calluses. Over time wooden bats were added and balls were modified to be made of a wad of hair, wool or cork, wrapped in string and cloth or leather. In later years they were hand-stitched in felt which resembled the modern baseball.  

The game also became popular in royal circles. In France King Louis X passed away after a particularly strenuous game in 1316, and Charles VII died after striking his head on a horizontal piece of wood over the door which led to his tennis court. This did not diminish its popularity amongst subsequent monarchs, who are credited with keeping the game alive. 

Rackets were introduced in the 16th century, and England’s King Henry VIII built a court at Hampton Court Palace in 1530 that was replaced by Charles I in 1625. This ‘real tennis’ court still exists today and is probably the best known such court in the world. 

The 16th century version of tennis is still played today in four countries. In France it has retained its original name of ‘Jeu de Paume’, it is ‘Royal Tennis’ in Australia, ‘Court Tennis’ in USA and ‘Real Tennis’ in Great Britain. The court is a cross between a tennis and a squash court. There is a net and players can bounce the ball off the walls. 

During the 18th century ‘lawn tennis’ emerged in Britain due to the aristocracy preferring to entertain their guests at home in their own backyards rather than travel large distances to play in indoor courts. As a result, lawn tennis soon became the chosen sport of the privileged classes and immense importance was placed on proper etiquette and controlled behaviour. 

It is believed that lawn tennis started towards the end of the 18th century and in a very short time overtook croquet as the most popular British summer sport. The game was further expanded by an English army major, Walter Clopton Wingfield, who designed, patented and manufactured equipment in 1873. 

Wingfield created a box costing five guineas that included two net posts, a net, rackets and India rubber balls. He named it ‘Sphairistike’ derived from the Greek word for ball games, and it had a subsidiary name of ‘lawn tennis’.

These boxes were easily exportable and it was two brothers, Clarence and Joseph Clark, that took it to America in 1874. In the United States it caught the attention of Mary Outerbridge, whose brother Emilius organised what is believed to be the first major tennis event in USA. 

The regulators of lawn tennis were the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the governing body of English cricket. In 1876 the MCC rewrote a number of Wingfield’s rules, most notably replacing the first to 15 points rule with a scoring system used in real tennis with deuce and advantage, and giving the server two serves instead of one. The MCC handed over control to the All England Club in Wimbledon after the first championships there in 1877. 

The All England Club set the ball rolling for international competition by establishing its tournament in 1877, and it was only four years later that the United States National Lawn Tennis Association was founded and promptly launched its National Championships, although restricted to American residents. 

The French followed in 1891, creating its national championships held in Paris. By this time the sport had taken hold in Belgium, and Germany started its first national tournament in 1896. 

The Davis Cup was first held in 1900, starting as a challenge between America and Great Britain. Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) fielded a team in 1905 and won its first title in 1907. The Australasian National Championships, later to become the Australian Open, was launched in 1905. 

The need to establish an international tennis federation became obvious in 1911. By that time lawn tennis was beginning to develop rapidly worldwide and it seemed natural that National Tennis Associations already established should come together to form a liaison whereby the universal game would be uniformly structured. 

Credit for this concept is given to Mr Duane Williams (who sadly died on board Titanic before seeing his idea come to fruition), Mr Charles Barde (Honorary Secretary of the Swiss Tennis Association) and Mr Henri Wallet (French Tennis Federation). 

Twelve National Associations attended a General Conference in Paris on 1 March 1913 at which the International Lawn Tennis Federation was founded.