Tennis is a sport played between either two players ("Singles") or two teams of two players ("doubles"). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a ball, a hollow rubber ball covered in felt, over a net into the opponent's court. In some places tennis is still called lawn tennis to distinguish it from real tennis (also known as royal tennis or court tennis), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different court. Originating in England in the late 19th Century, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. Tennis is now an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, by all ages, and in many countries around the world. Except for the adoption of the tie-breaker in the 1970s, its rules have remained remarkably unchanged since the 1890s. Along with its millions of players, millions of people follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Manner of play

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The court

Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually grass, clay, or a hardcourt of concrete and/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 feet (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center.

Types of Courts

There are three main types of courts. Depending on the materials used for the court surfaces, each surface provides a difference in the speed and bounce of the ball, which in turn can affect the level of play of the individual players. The three most common types of courts that are used for play are:

• Clay court
• Grass court
• Hardcourt

Some players are clearly more successful on certain surfaces than on others and become known as, for instance, a "grass-court" or "Clay-court specialist".

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watching tennis. Andy Roddick :) USA vs. AUSTRALIA. I'm such a noob.
Jaelliex3 (Gee Reynoso) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:10:56 -0000
watching tennis. Andy Roddick :) USA vs. AUSTRALIA. I'm such a noob.
shared a post titled "Watch ATP Tennis Tour * Rafael Nadal vs Potito Starace live streaming ." on Gather http://bit.ly/4QMpn9
fungata85 (fungata) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:10:05 -0000
shared a post titled "Watch ATP Tennis Tour * Rafael Nadal vs Potito Starace live streaming ." on Gather http://bit.ly/4QMpn9
This is one of my courts frozen... If the temp drops a few more degrees I'll be able to play tennis on ice ska http://tweetphoto.com/8128891
patsouto (Patrick Souto) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:09:41 -0000
This is one of my courts frozen... If the temp drops a few more degrees I'll be able to play tennis on ice ska http://tweetphoto.com/8128891
LOL i see my dad has transferred his addiction to plants vs zombies to the Everybody's Tennis in the PS2 :)) go dad
iheartsPEACHES (Denise Clement) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:09:07 -0000
LOL i see my dad has transferred his addiction to plants vs zombies to the Everybody's Tennis in the PS2 :)) go dad
ANDREA: Check out this video of US Tennis Star - Andy Roddick in Sydney, Australia. As he is interviewed - he is... http://bit.ly/8Ukhwd
KMLEnation (KMLE Nation) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:08:39 -0000
ANDREA: Check out this video of US Tennis Star - Andy Roddick in Sydney, Australia. As he is interviewed - he is... http://bit.ly/8Ukhwd
Tennis: Clijsters - Safarova donderdag om 10u LIVE! http://bit.ly/4ZZzGB #sport
sportBE (sport.be) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:07:40 -0000
Tennis: Clijsters - Safarova donderdag om 10u LIVE! http://bit.ly/4ZZzGB #sport

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