Playing Court and Equipment:- Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually grass, clay, or a hard court of concrete or asphalt. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 ft (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required  for players to reach over run balls.  The court is divided into two equal sides by a net standing 3 ft (914mm) high at the center and 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts. The court is marked with white lines to indicate its dimensions and service areas. 

A tennis ball is covered with a fabric made of wool and artificial fibers. It weighs between 57.7 and 58.5 gram. Yellow and white balls are used as most common colours in tournaments and  competitions, although balls of other colors are manufactured. There is no uniform design of tennis rackets, and their sizes and shapes vary. The general classifications, determined by the size of the racket head, are standard, midsize, oversize, and super oversize.

In tournament play, the maximum length of a racket is 32 in (81.3 cm) and the maximum width is 12.5 in (31.8 cm). The head of the racket may not exceed a length of 15.5 in (39.4 cm) and a width of 11.5 in (29.2 cm), and it is usually strung with resilient gut or nylon or other synthetic materials. There are no restrictions on weight. Rackets were originally made of wood, but now virtually all rackets are made of such materials as aluminum or graphite, which are stronger and lighter than wood. The racket handle is generally covered with a rubber or leather grip. Players usually wear lightweight clothing, traditionally white, and shoes with nonskid rubber soles.

History of Tennis:- The origin of the tennis is varied and ancient. It was at first a solemn fertility rite in Egypt and in the Middle East. Another view is that, the term ‘tennis’ is derived from an Egyptian town on the Nile known as Tennis and ‘racket’ is derived from an Arab word rahat. Records confirm that tennis was played in France in the 12th century at first with the palm of the hand. It was played by monks and later by kings. Because of the enthusiasm, the sport came to be called royal tennis. After 1800, court tennis began to experience a decline and lawn tennis came into being.                  

Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and Spanish 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 in Leamington Spa. But  many experts believe tennis, then called lawn tennis, was invented in 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, a British army officer. Although Wingfield claimed that he modeled the game, which he called Sphairistiké (Greek for “playing at ball”) after an ancient Greek game, many authorities believe that he adapted the principles of the popular English games of court tennis, squash racquets, and badminton for outdoor play.  Early players preferred to call Wingfield’s game tennis-on-the-lawn, or lawn tennis. The game was introduced to Bermuda in 1873, and from Bermuda was brought to the United States by Mary Ewing Outerbridge of Staten Island, New York. The first game of lawn tennis in the United States was probably played in 1874 on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club.

Professional Competition:- The first world amateur championships were held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England (men- 1877 ; women- 1884). By the end of the 19th century, lawn tennis had been introduced into British colonies and other nations throughout the world. In the United States, local rules and standards for the game varied widely until 1881. The United States Lawn Tennis Association was organized to standardize rules and equipment. Under its auspices, play for the annual U.S. singles championships for men began in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1881. The national women’s singles matches began in 1887, at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Tennis  also became popular in France and Australia  where the French Open started in 1891 and the Australian Open in 1905.  Together these four events are called the Grand Slam. The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams started in 1900.

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. During the next 40 years, players often built reputations as skilled players in amateur competition before turning professional and earning money on tours. In 1968 several major tournaments were declared open-that is, eligible to both amateur and professional players. As a consequence, professional players came to dominate tournament tennis.

There are three major organizations that govern professional tennis. The ITF has jurisdiction over the four so-called grand slam tournaments-the Australian Open in Melbourne; the French Open in Paris; Wimbledon, in London; and the U.S. Open in New York City. The ITF also governs the Davis and Fed cups, annual international competitions held between national teams. The ATP Tour (formerly the Association of Tennis Professionals), located in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida, has jurisdiction over the men’s professional events except the grand slam tournaments. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) TOUR, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, governs women’s professional tennis. Annual tennis tournaments operated by the professional tours are held throughout the world between the months of January and November. These tournaments offer unranked and lower-ranked players the opportunity to compete for the ranking points that enable them to qualify for challenger series tournaments. Tennis is also an Olympic sport. It was first played in the Olympic Games from 1896 until 1924. After a long hiatus, Olympic play was renewed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Famous players:- Famous and legendary tennis players are Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang of America; Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg of Sweden; Czech-born Ivan Lendl; Boris Becker of Germany; Roger Federer of Switzerland; Roy Emerson of Australia; Rafael Nadal of Spain. Eminent  female players are Czech-born Amreican player  Martina Navratilova and other Americans Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Serena Williams and Venus Williams; Steffi Graf of Germany; Maria Sharapova of Russia; Justine Henin of Belgium; Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain;  Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina etc.

Tennis started in India in the late 19th century. The first All India Championships in Tennis were held in 1910, in which both men and women took part. India reached the top challenging position in the Davis Cup Tournament, a couple of times. Sleem, Deane, Ranga Rao, S. M. Hadi, E. V. Bobb, P. L. Mehta, Brooke Edwards and Balagopalan were among the pioneers of Indian tennis. Among women, Leila Rao, Jenny Sanderson, Kusum Mehta and Khanum Haji were the celebrated stars. Ramanathan Krishnan with Naresh Kumar was a great force in the doubles, winning the National and the Asian Championships a number of times. The Amritraj brothers - Vijay and Anand proved to be among the best pairs in doubles. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes became the first doubles team to reach four Grand Slam finals. They won French Open and Wimbledon. Sania Mirza is now among the top 30 players of the world.