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Tennis is a sport played between either two players (singles) or two teams of two players each (doubles). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a ball, a hollow rubber sphere 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, court tennis or jeu de paume), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different kind of a court. Originating in England in the late 19th century AD, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. Tennis is now played in the Summer Olympic Games and at all levels of society, by individuals of all ages many countries around the world. Its rules have remained remarkably unchanged since the early 1900s. Along with its millions of players, tennis claims millions of people who follow the sport as spectators, being particularly interested in the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Tennis is played on a rectangular flat surface, usually made of grass, clay, or concrete. The court is 78 feet (23.77 metres) long and 27 feet (8.23 meters) wide for singles matches; for doubles matches, the width is extended by 9 feet (2.74 meters). 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 the court into two equal halves. The net is 3 feet, 6 inches (1.07 meters) high at the posts, and 3 feet (91.4 centimetres) high in the center.
Each of the three primary court types (clay court, grass court, and hardcourt) imparts a different speed and spin to the ball, which affects the level of play for individual players. Some players specialize in certain surfaces on which they are more successful (for example, grasscourt specialists or clay court specialists) or in certain ball-striking techniques (shots or strokes) to which they are best inclined physically.
Entrance to Centre Court, Wimbledon. A new, temporary roof was built for the 86 year-old stadium for Wimbledon 2008, but a three-year project to install a retractable roof will end in time for the 2009 Championships. 1,190 new seats will also be added to expand the Court's capacity from 13,810 observers to 15,000.
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is the top-ranked American player and sixth-ranked player in the world as of June 9, 2008. He finished sixth in the 2006, 2007 ATP Race. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 U.S. Open. He has reached three other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon twice and the U.S. Open), losing to Roger Federer each time. Roddick is known for his powerful serves, and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, clocked at 155 mph (249.4 km/h). He has broken his own speed record three times. [2]
Roddick was on the victorious United States Davis Cup team when it won the 2007 Davis Cup. Roddick defeated Dmitry Tursunov of the Russian Davis Cup team, the defending champions, in the finals.
Andy Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska[3] to Jerry and Blanche Roddick. Roddick's father was a businessman, and his mother was a schoolteacher. She now directs the Andy Roddick Foundation. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John, who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
- Jul 6: Rafael Nadal scores his first victory at Wimbledon, defeating Roger Federer. He becomes the first man since Björn Borg to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.
- Jun 23: Wimbledon begins its 122nd edition. Both Roger Federer and Venus Williams return to defend their respective singles titles, and previous doubles winners Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra and Cara Black/Liezel Huber defend their respective titles.
- Feb 18: Giorgio Galimberti became the fourth Italian man to be found guilty of betting on matches and was banned for 100 days.
- Jan 27: Novak Đoković (pictured) won his first major when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the Australian Open final.
- Jan 26: Maria Sharapova won her first Australian Open title when she beat Ana Ivanović 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
- Jan 14: The Australian Open begins with 30 of the top-ranked 32 male players, and all of the top-ranked 32 women in the world in attendance, and a new hardcourt surface, the Plexicushion, replacing the Rebound Ace which has been used in previous years.
- Dec 27: The ATP reveals the results of an investigation beginning in August 2007 implicating two top Italian men professional players, Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali, in a match betting scandal.
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