TENNIS
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players
each. Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can
be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs.
The
modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" which has close connections to various field
games as well as to the ancient game of real tennis.
The
rules of tennis have not changed much since the 1890s. A recent addition to
professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology
coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the
line (or chair) umpire's call of a point. Players have unlimited opportunities
to challenge provided the challenges made are correct. However, once three
incorrect challenges are made in a set, they cannot challenge again until the
next set. If the set goes to a tie break, players are given one additional
opportunity to challenge the call. This electronic review, currently called Hawk-Eye, is available at a limited number of high-level ATP and WTA tournaments.
Tennis
is enjoyed by millions of recreational players and is also a hugely popular
worldwide spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open played also on hard courts.
You are
able to watch a video about tennis in London Olympic Games 2012 here:
