HISTORY OF BIG TENNIS
The first mention of a game with a ball and rackets dates from the second half of the 19th century. Unfortunately, there is no exact information about who invented this sport. It is believed that the creator is Major Walton Wingfield. The first official rules appeared in 1873.
The following year, 1874, Wingfield patented his invention in the hope of making good profit from it. However, the idea of the major failed, and he did not see any income. And, nevertheless, the history of tennis began its rapid development. At first, the game was especially popular only in the USA and the UK, but then gradually gained fans around the world.
Tournament history of tennis
The history of tennis began with the Wimbledon tournament
The first official tournament was organized in July 1877. It happened in England, in the city of Wimbledon. The competition was hosted by the Wimbledon Tennis and Croquet Club.
The history of tennis began with Wimbledon.
Today, Wimbledon is known to every sports enthusiast, this is the oldest competition in the Grand Slam series. In addition, and the only TBSH, which is carried out on grass. And finally, it should be noted that at the last Olympic Games in London, tennis matches were held on Wimbledon courts. Therefore, this suburb of London has every right to be considered an iconic place for the history of tennis. Here it began and still continues to be written.
US open
The US Open takes place every year at the end of summer in New York. Matches are held in all categories, ranging from single male to ending with meetings of veterans. And how did the history of this famous competition begin? The very first competition was organized in 1881 in Newport, and had the status of the US national tennis championship for men. And since 1887, it opened its doors for tennis players. Newport hosted tennis battles until 1978, after which the tournament moved to New York, to Flushing Meadows Park.
Davis Cup
Another famous team tennis tournament, which went down in the history of tennis, is the Davis Cup. It was first held in Massachusetts in 1900, and was a tremendous success and became an annual event. The organizers were several students at Harvard University, one of whom was called Dwight Davis. After the death of Davis, in 1945, the competition was given his name, and now it is known worldwide as the Davis Cup.
Australian open
Each new year for athletes begins with the Australian Open. AO is held in January. The first Australian Open was held in Melbourne in 1905, then it was called the Australasian Championship, after 22 years it was renamed the Australian Championship, and received its current name and AO status in 1969. It was then that for the first time everyone was allowed to participate, including professional players.
In 2005, Russian Marat Safin played the matchball in the semifinal match against Roger Federer and entered the cohort of great tennis players who won this title.
Roland Garros
And finally – the French Open Tennis Championship, or as it is also called Roland Garros.
Like all other TBS, it is held annually, the time from the end of May to the beginning of June. Location – Paris, the capital of France.
A little about the history of Rolland Garros: the first national championship of France took place in 1891, and took only a day. The winner was a player from England, whose name was H. Briggs, and women’s competitions on these courts were first held in 1897, Francoise Mason became the winner. International status was assigned to Roland Garros in 1925, and professional players received the right to participate in 1968.
Did you know that two Russians have forever written their name in the history of tennis, winning Roland Garros? This is Evgeny Kafelnikov (1996) and Anastasia Myskina (2004)
To win any of these titles is very prestigious, and the highest achievement for any tennis player is to assemble a career helmet. Every professional athlete dreams of this. However, to win at least one TBS is incredibly difficult and few manage.