TENNIS HISTORY - PAGE 1 OF 3
The history of tennis goes all the way back to ancient Egypt and Persia where pictures indicate a type
of game in which in ball was stroked over a net was played. The history of modern tennis officially
began in 19th century Britain with a man named Major Walter Wingfield.
What a Name for a Game
“Hey, how about a game of sphairistike?”
Fortunately the game survived but the name did not. Major Wingfield chose sphairistike, a Greek word
meaning “ball game,” for the game he sought to patent in 1874. Much of Wingfield’s “invention” was
based on a game played in 13th Century France called jeu de paume—literally “game of the palm.”
This game was played indoors by hitting a ball over a net with a bare hand. The game was a popular
recreation among monks in their monasteries.
Jeu de Paume evolved into a game called real tennis or royal tennis that became popular among
French royalty. In the early 1500s, the French monarch, Francis I even had a royal tennis court built
on his personal battleship.
Tennis Anyone?
By the time Major Wingfield introduced his friends to sphairistike at a Christmas party, there is
evidence that similar games were already being played in England. Major T.H. Gem of Britain and J.B.
Perera of Spain had marked out a tennis court on a lawn as early as 1858. But they were not the one’s
who wrote down what they had done and sought a patent, so today it is Wingfield who is considered
the father of the game. (Note to self: be sure to write down all those games you’re dreaming up.)
The name “tennis” apparently also goes back to jeu de paume. The French would yell, “Tenetz!”
before they hit the ball. The word means, “Take heed.”
You’d Recognize it If You Saw It
Major Wingfield’s game looked much like the tennis we know today. Two or four players with rackets
(click here to learn more about the history of the tennis racket) played on a court that was shaped like
an hourglass—narrower in the middle at the net and wider along the baselines. Historians report the
height of the net as being from five to seven feet in Wingfield’s version of the game. Today, the top of
the net is three feet high in the center of the court. Courts now are rectangular and measure 78 feet
long and 27 feet wide for singles play and 36 feet wide for doubles.
Click to read about the history of tennis rackets
Lawn tennis, as it soon came to be called (the name sphairistike was quickly ditched even after it was
shortened to, “sticky”) spread quickly through the upper and middle class of Britain. It was a popular
party game. British army officers began to take the game to other parts of the world. Mary
Outerbridge learned tennis from a British officer in Bermuda. In 1874, she brought the game,
including the equipment, back to the New York where her brother set up a court at the Staten Island
Cricket and Baseball Club. Tennis had come to America.
Not Just for Fun Anymore
Lawn Tennis was invented a social activity but it quickly evolved into a highly competitive game. The
first United States tennis tournament dates back to August 1876 in Nahant, Massachusetts. Dr. James
White, who owned the court, was the winner. The first tennis championship in England took place in
1877 sponsored by the All England Croquet Club at a little place called Wimbledon. In that first
championship, only men’s singles were played. Spencer Gore won the tournament and took home the
Silver Challenge Cup and a Gold Championship Prize worth 12 guineas (about $22). By comparison,
Roger Federer, the 2004 Wimbledon champion won more than $1.08 million. The first recorded
women’s tournament was played in Dublin in 1879 and won by May Langrishe. In 1884, women began
to compete at Wimbledon.
Vying for the Prize
Tennis competitions quickly attracted more and more participants and spectators. By the early 1900s,
the game had become truly international and the best players were traveling to tournaments in other
countries. The International Lawn Tennis Federation (now the ITF after the word lawn was dropped)
was formed in 1912 with 13 member countries.
The first Davis Cup competition between a team of Americans and a Team of British tennis stars was
played in 1900. The team competition was the brainchild of a young American player, Dwight Davis.
The Americans won the first two Davis Cups. (The second competition was not played until 1902).
Britain won the next four. Today, more than 100 countries vie for the Davis Cup. In 1923, Hazel
Hotchkiss Wightman began a similar competition for women awarding the (can you guess?) Wightman
Cup to the champions.
In addition to the team competition, tennis has four major tournaments each year, called Grand Slam
events. These tournaments are Wimbledon, the Australian Open, The French Open and the U.S. Open.
On rare occasions, a player will win all four Grand Slam events in a single year. Only five people have
achieved this spectacular feat. One of them, Rod Laver of Australia, did it twice.
Men’s Grand Slam Winners
1938 - Don Budge, United States
1962 - Rod Laver, Australia
1969 - Rod Laver, Australia
Women’s Grand Slam Winners
1953 - Maureen Connolly, United States
1970 - Margaret Smith Court, Australia
1988 - Steffi Graf, West Germany
Graf’s Grand Slam is known as a “Golden Slam” because she also won the Olympic gold in the same
year.
Tennis and Olympics: An On-Again, Off-Again Relationship
When the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896, Tennis was part of the
athletic festival. John Boland of Ireland won the first gold medal awarded in Olympic tennis. He won a
second gold that same year for doubles. Women first played Olympic tennis in 1900. “Chattie” Cooper
of Britain won the gold.
Top tennis players couldn’t always make it to those early Olympic games because of their tournament
schedule. In 1912, the Olympics and Wimbledon were at the same time and all of the best players
chose to compete at Wimbledon.
Tennis and the Olympics had a messy break up after the 1924 games. The Olympic Committee and
various tennis federations could not agree on how to settle the question of whether professional
players would be allowed to compete. Tennis and the Olympics tried to reconcile in 1968 when tennis
was a demonstration sport in Mexico City, but the crowds were small and the enthusiasm lacking. In
1984, they agreed to try it again. When tennis was played at the Los Angeles Olympics, again as a
demonstration sport, it was the first time professional athletes were officially allowed to compete in
any Olympic sport. Fans bought out every seat at the tennis venue. In 1988, the reconciliation was
complete and tennis was once again an Olympic medal sport. Graf of Germany and Miloslav Mecir of
Czechoslovakia won the gold medals in singles competition.
You’ve Come A Long Ways, Baby
From the time Wingfield patented the game, both men and women have enjoyed the sport. It took a
little longer for women to achieve the respect and professional standing they enjoy today—not
because they lacked talent, but because the public and tennis sponsors were a little slower to embrace
the women’s game.
One of the first obstacles women had to overcome was dress. In the 1800s, women played tennis in
corsets, petticoats and long skirts. A daring French woman changed all of that in 1919. Suzanne
Lenglen, the top woman’s player of the day, appeared at Wimbledon wearing a shocking white dress
with short sleeves and a hem that fell just below her knees. Women everywhere cheered the advent of
more comfortable tennis attire.
The second obstacle was money. When Margaret Court won her Grand Slam title in 1970, she earned
just $15,000 for winning all four major tournaments. Men were competing for much larger cash prizes.
In that same year, the men’s winner at a tournament in Los Angeles earned $12,500. The woman’s
champion earned $1,500 and had to pay her own expenses. So the women started their own
tournaments with the sponsorship of Virginia Slims cigarettes. Just one year later, women were
playing for purses as large as $40,000. In 1973, for the first time ever, the women’s and men’s
champions at the U.S. open earned equal prize money.
What a Name for a Game
Tennis truly has come a long ways from the time when it was (briefly) known as sphairistike and
played on the lawns of Great Britain at parties. Today, tennis is played around the world on surfaces
ranging from grass, to clay, to composite rubber to cement. Millions of fans watch their favorite
players compete in televised tournaments. Tennis stars are some of the most well known sports
personalities in the world. Not bad for a game that started with such an unusual name.