Tennis
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Tennis
Played in more than 201 nations around the world, Tennis is a sport that attracts great players and millions of fans. The growing youth interest and participation in the recent years elucidate the importance of tennis as a popular school and professional sport today. Recent data indicates that the game of tennis is one of the top nine games with the highest participation rates among boys and girls in American high schools (Sabo & Rafalson, 2013). Tennis also provides an elaborate platform for constructive engagement between girls and boys and often facilitates competition across different individuals and teams.
History of Tennis
According to most historians, the ancient origin of tennis as a game lays in the 5th century when Tuscany (currently Italy) villagers are said to have struck a ball up and down with the palm of the hand. Other accounts indicate that the participation of monks in some form of handball within the wall of schools and monasteries in the 11th century formed the basis for the development of modern tennis (Kelley, 2006). It is believed that, the monks played a critical role in innovating new rules and promoting this new sport through their heightened enthusiasm and play. In fact, the high popularity of the game during those early years forced the pope to ban it, a step that did not deter its evolutionary acceptance among the nobility in royal courts in England and France (Bryant, 2012). The game received a great evolutionary twist in the 14th century following the introduction of gloves, a ball make of cork core and later on a racket. During the 16th and 17th centuries, this game was played in the courtyards and was greatly enjoyed by nobles, including Kings who oftentimes played it competitively among themselves (Jennings, 1995). In 1876 the game was first transferred to the U.S. where it was referred to as Court Tennis and to Australia in 1882 and dubbed royal tennis. Since then, the game of tennis has continued to evolve and develop rapidly to become not just a professional sport but also one played by persons of all ages worldwide (Kelley, 2006).
Similar to most games, tennis is a game defined by rules and style of play. Most scholars have described tennis as a ‘game of the mind’ based on how it requires the players to out-tough one another despite having almost matching styles (Hickey, 2006). In tennis, rules are designed to ensure fair play and to promote the aesthetic value of a game? often played both for fun and at serious competitive levels. Another point to note about tennis is the ranking, which is calculated both at the national and at a global level, primarily to match players based on how they perform Fox, 2010).
Tennis Associations
Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)
Established in 1972, the ATP is the overall governing body of the men’s premier professional network and it is responsible for organizing more than 65 professional tennis tournaments in more than 30 countries worldwide. While the body’s principle role is to ensure the protection of men’s professional tennis, it is also mandated to handle player-tournament relations and to organize media rights and sponsorships during these tournaments. With its headquarters located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, ATP also operates other satellite offices in Australia, Monaco, and England (Wong, 2013).

Women’s Tennis Association
As an overall governing body for the highly rated women’s professional tournaments, the WTA serves the same purposes as the ATP. It is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida and currently runs 57 tournaments globally.
World Team Tennis
This is a combination of different tennis leagues, which brings together professional players to compete in tournaments on a team basis. As of 2011, the league comprised of 10 teams from different U.S. cities. The composition of each team included a coach, two male players, and two female players who took part in a 14-game regular season, which normally takes place in July. Some of the famous professional players who have participated in the world team tennis include Pete Sampras, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Chris Evert, to mention only a few. The Fed Cup and the Davis cup are some of the world’s most famous tournaments to include tennis teams (Hickey, 2006).
Tennis Participation among Adolescents
A recent report by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) notes that the game of tennis is increasingly becoming popular among both high school teenagers in the recent years. According to the association, participation in tennis is linked to various educational and developmental gains for adolescents. The report indicated that a number of factors, including gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic levels, and geographic location influenced the participation level in tennis among teenagers. Briefly, the report showed that more girls took part in the game than boys did during the last 12 months in their school or community (53% and 47% respectively). On a national level, eight percent of all adolescent males took part in the game compared to 9 percent of adolescent females during the same period (Sabo & Rafalson, 2013). This result reveals that tennis as a sport is attracting almost equal numbers of high school students in the United States. Secondly, the report noted that race or ethnicity also influences the participation of adolescents in Tennis; with figures showing about 77% of participants were whites, while only 9 percent were blacks and just were 14 percent Hispanics.
The racial composition of the U.S. population, mainly made of Whites (72%), Blacks (13%), and Hispanics (14%) play a critical role in the underrepresentation of minority participants in tennis in most American schools (Sabo & Rafalson, 2013). Thirdly, socioeconomic levels also play a critical role in young people’s access to sporting opportunities such as tennis. Nevertheless, although young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds have reduced access to athletic programs, tennis is slowly evolving from being an ‘elitist’ non-contact sport to one that includes participants from almost all family socioeconomic levels.
Famous Tennis Tournaments, Courts, and Players
Often referred to as the Grand Slam tournaments, the Wimbledon championships, the Australian Open, the French Open and the U.S. Open are the four most famous tennis tournaments today. Some of the world’s famous tennis courts include the magnificent the Queen’s Club, the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the Devonshire Park, which have maintained a reputation of hosting some of the international tennis championships (Hickey, 2006). Some of the famous tennis players of all time include David Adams, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Raphael Nadal, Venus Williams, Andy Murray, to name a few. The legacy of these individuals as professional tennis players puts Tennis as both a fascinating game and a career sport.

References
Bryant, J. E. (2012). Game, set, match: A tennis guide. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning.
Fox, A. (2010). Tennis: Winning the mental match. Kearney, NE: Morris Publishing.
Hickey, J. (2006). Understanding tennis. Leeds: Coachwise.
Jennings, J. (1995). Tennis and the meaning of life: A literary anthology of the game. New York
City: Breakaway Books.
Kelley, P. (2006).Introducing Children to the Game of Tennis: A Guide to Parents of Beginners.
New York: Parent’s Guide to Coaching Tennis
Sabo, D: & Rafalson, L. (2013). More than a sport: Tennis, education and health. White Plains,
NY: USTA Serves.
Wong, G. M. (2013). The comprehensive guide to careers in sports. Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.