The game of tennis is said to have developed from handball. Hand ball originated from Ireland. Tennis was formally called lawn tennis when the playing area was done on lawns only. The modern game of tennis was introduced in 1873 by Major Walter CloptonWingfield, a British army officer.
Mary Outerbridge introduced the game into United States in 1874 after watching the game. The United States lawn tennis association was formed in 1881. Tennis is both an individual and dual game and a life time sport for all sexes. The game was introduced by missionaries in Nigeria which is played as both competition and recreation. The Nigerian Tennis Federation was founded in 1905.
The Tennis Court
Facilities of Tennis
- The Playing Court
- The Net Post and Net
Equipments of Tennis
- The balls
- The costume
- The canvas
- The racket
- The towel
- Skills and Techniques
- The basic skills include
- The grip
- The service
- The stance and court positioning
- The footwork
- The strokes- They include
- The drive; forehand drive and backhand drive
- The volley
- The lobs
- The half volley
- The drop shot
- The spin
- The net shot
- The smash
The Officials of the Game
- The Referee- He is in control of the tournament.
- The Umpire- He is the official in charge of the match, He is responsible for the calling of scores.
- The Judge- He assists the umpire.
- The Linesmen- They assist the umpire by indicating when the ball is out of play.
Scoring in the Game
No Score………….LOVE
First Point…………15
Second Point……..30
Third Point…………40
Fourth Point……..GAME
Controlling Body
- International Tennis Federation (I.T.F) with its headquarters in London
- Confederation of African Tennis.(C.A.T)
Nigerian Tennis Federation (N.T.F) founded in 1905.