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So where did it all begin?

The good news is, there is a fairly accurate and definitive history for tennis and it is widely regarded that the game originated in France in the 12^th Century from a game called ‘jeu de paume’ or the ‘game of the palm’ where players hit a small ball over a net by using the palm of their hands.

Gloves began to be used later in the 12^th Century all the way up to the 16^th Century when the original racket was created in Italy in 1593. Rackets of various shapes and sizes appeared all the way up to the middle of the 18^th Century.

A certain Major Walter Wingfield introduced a game called ‘sphairistike’ played on hour - glass shaped courts on the lawns of wealthy landowners. Unsurprisingly the name of ‘sphairistike’ didn’t appear to catch on and the game became known as ‘tennis’. There are a number of theories where this name came from including from the French language  ‘tenir’ meaning ‘to hold’ or ‘tenez’ meaning ‘to take’) but no one is quite sure.

1875 - 1899 

In 1875 a certain gentleman called Henry Cavendish Jones not only persuaded the All England Croquet Club in Wimbledon to replace a croquet court with a lawn tennis court but also make some major changes to the game. These changes included adding deuce and advantage to the scoring, 2 chances to serve and the hour – glass court changed to a rectangular court with the measurements exactly the same as they are today.

The first Wimbledon Championship was held in 1877 and saw the introduction of the scoring system used today. Scoring for the game consisted initially of 15, 30, 40 and the origins of this are not clear. The term ‘deuce’ derives from the French word ‘deux’ where an advantage of two points has to be gained. The term ‘love’ has 2 possible origins, firstly, from the French word l'oeuf’ or egg symbolising nothing or secondly, from the English phrase ‘neither for love nor money’.

The first championship was open to men only of which 22 entered. The entrance fee for the final was one shilling and the first winner was a gentleman called Spencer Gore.

1881 saw the game develop in the United States with the formation of the United States Lawn Tennis Association and the first USA Championships are held the same year.

Women were allowed to participate at Wimbledon for the first time in 1884 and 13 enter the competition, which also saw the introduction of men’s doubles for the first time.

Lottie Dod of England won the first of her 5 Wimbledon singles titles in 1887. In 1888 our own LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) is founded on the 26th of January 1888 at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, London ‘to maintain the new rules and standards of tennis’.

1891 sees the first French Championship played and they open the championship to women in 1897.

1900 – 1929

The first ever Davis Cup competition is held in 1900, when a challenge was made to the USA for a trophy donated by an American player David F Davis.

In 1905 the first Australasian Championships are played and May Sutton became the first international  tennis player to win at Wimbledon when she won the Ladies singles. In 1907, Australian Norman Brookes becomes the first international men’s champion.

The International Lawn Tennis Federation was created in 1912 from which developed the 4 major tennis championships: -

•          Wimbledon

•          US Open

•          French Open

•          Australian Open

Seeding on merit was introduced for the first time at Wimbledon in 1927 with selected players being placed in fixed positions.

1930 – 1970

Fred Perry wins his third and final men’s Wimbledon singles championship in 1936 and has the distinction of being the last British player to do so!

American Don Budge becomes the first player to complete the Grand Slam of all 4 championships in the same year.

The championships are put on hold for WWII. Wimbledon’s Centre Court is hit by a bomb, luckily no one was injured but 1200 seats were lost!

1946 sees Wimbledon and the French Championships recommence.

Jack Kramer creates the Pro Tour in 1950 and immediately becomes popular with both players and the public.

The first woman to complete the Grand Slam, Maureen Connelly ‘Little Mo’ , does so in 1953.

Rod Laver from Australia wins the first of his 2 Grand Slam titles in 1962 the second comes in 1969 becoming the only player to do so .

1970 – 2004

The Tie-break invented by Jimmy van Allen was introduced for the first time at the US Open in 1970.

The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) is formed in 1972.

Chairs are allowed on court for the first time at Wimbledon in 1975 and in 1976 the legendary Swedish player Bjorn Borg wins his first singles title.

Virginia Wade becomes the last British player to win Wimbledon when she wins the ladies single title in Silver Jubilee year 1977.

In 1979 Billie Jean King wins the Ladies Doubles Title making it a record 20 titles in all (6 ladies singles, 10 ladies doubles and 4 mixed doubles)

John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg play the longest tie-break at Wimbledon in 1980 with Borg winning eventually at 18-16 – he goes on to win his 5^th consecutive men’s title.

Boris Becker becomes the youngest and first unseeded Wimbledon champion in 1985 at the age of 17 years and 225 days.

1994 sees the great Martina Navratilova retire after winning a record 9 Wimbledon ladies singles titles and an overall total of 1,438 matches won.

Switzerland’s Martina Hingis becomes the youngest ever Wimbledon champion when she wins the ladies doubles at the tender age of 15 years and 282 days.

Goran Ivanisevic became the first Wimbledon ‘wildcard’ to win the championship in 2001

2002 sees the Williams Sisters Serena and Venus ranked #1 and #2 in the WTA world rankings.

And in 2003 it’s a sad farewell to Pete Sampras as he retires after winning a record 14 Grand Slam titles including 7 Wimbledon titles.