Tennis originated in Britain in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" to differentiate it from "real tennis" which was played indoors. Lawn tennis spread among the upper classes in England and then worldwide. Tennis can be played by anyone with a racquet and is popular as both a participant and spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. Tennis matches are typically best of three or five sets, with sets made up of games and points to win games and ultimately the set.

1. Esther Wachtell Provides A Unique Look At The Story Of Tennis
Tennis as you may know it today was developed in Britain in the late nineteenth century.
Previously, the sport was called lawn tennis in an attempt to separate it from other similar field
and lawn games as well as to what was called real tennis. “Real” tennis and “lawn” tennis were
generally recognized by where they were played. Real tennis, in olden days, was played on an
indoor court and called the sport of royals. Lawn tennis is definitely the newer version, played
outside on grass such as at Wimbledon. Once lawn tennis was created, its popularity spread
throughout the upper-class English speaking population first, and then the remaining portion of
the world. Tennis is undoubtedly an all-access sport, as it can be played by anyone that can
hold a racquet. Tennis is an Olympic sport as well as a Special Olympics sport.
Tennis is liked by numerous players on the amateur, hobbyist and professional levels. Tennis is
definitely a common worldwide spectator sport,
particularly for the four Grand Slam
tournaments. The Grand Slam tournaments
are classified as the Australian Open, the
French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Tennis is played over a flat, rectangular
surface composed in most cases of grass or
clay. A tennis match is established through the
best of three or five sets. Normally, the 1st
player to win two sets wins the match although
in men’s tennis at all four Grand Slam
tournaments, the Davis Cup and the finals of
the Olympics, the first player to win three sets
wins the match. Tennis scoring tend to be
confusing for some, even some who’ve played
as a hobby for quite some time. A set is made
of games and to win games you need to score points.
A tennis game is won by the first player to win at least four points total and at least two points
above his or her opponent. Tennis has an different way of reporting the running score of each
game. Points or scores from zero to three are called “love”, “fifteen”, “thirty”, and “forty”
respectively. If the players have each scored at least three points and their scores are equal, it
is called “deuce.” Conversely, if both players have scored at least three points but one player
has one more point than their opponent, the score is called “advantage.” The scoring gets more
complex following that, according to the amount of sets and matches in the players are and at
what level they are playing.
In tennis, a set is a string of games played with the serving player changing back and forth. In
many cases, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two more than their
opponent. If one player has won six games and the other has won five games an additional
game is played. If the leading player wins, they win the set at 7-5. If the trailing player wins, a
tie-break is played. A tie-break has an entirely separate set of rules but generally, one more
game is played and the winning player then takes the set 7-6. Having said that, in the final sets
of matches at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, the Olympic Games, Davis Cup
and Fed Cup tie-breakers are not played. In lieu, the players go one to play sets indefinitely until
one player has a two set advantage. “Game, set, match” followed with the winning players name
is announced at the end of a match in tournament play.