Interesting facts about tennis

June 3, 2009 | In: Sport Facts

The history of tennis dates back several thousand years. An Englishman, Major Walter C. Wingfield, invented lawn tennis (1873) and first played it at a garden party in Wales

Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera’s croquet lawn in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

During the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, men players wore long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and women wore ankle length dresses. Today clothing is much more relaxing and comfortable to wear.

The tennis racket as we know it today, but with a lopsided head, thick gut, and longer handle was being used in 1750. The shape of the racket enabled the player to scoop the ball out of the corners (floor and walls were considered in-bounds) and also to put ‘cut’ or ‘spin’ on the ball.

French tennis player Rene Lacoste built the first steel frame racquet. This revolutionized the tennis racket as it allowed racket manufacturers to increase both the size of the head and the string tension.

The first Wimbledon took place in 1877 solely as an amateur competition. Men’s singles was the only event that took place. There were 22 competitors and the championship was won by Spencer Gore. A few hundred spectators were in attendance.

At the 1999 Australian Open,Martina Hingis, became the only player in history to win the same Grand Slam tournament in singles and doubles three consecutive years with three different doubles partners.

In the 1980 Wimbledon final John McEnroe won a 20-minute, fourth-set tiebreak, saving 7 match points before losing 8-6 in the fifth set to Bjorn Borg.

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men’s careers. They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals.

Statistically Borg is indisputably the greatest player who has ver played and Federer is the second greatest of all time.