Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a good return.
Equipment
Rackets
The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings.
Balls
Tennis balls are of hollow rubber with a felt coating.
Miscellaneous
Vibration dampers may be interlaced in the proximal part of the string array for improved feel. Racket handles may be customized with absorbent or rubber-like materials to improve the players' grip. Players often use sweat bands on their wrists to keep their hands dry as well. Finally, although the game can be played in a variety of shoes, specialized tennis shoes have wide, flat soles for stability and a built-up front structure to avoid excess wear.
Manner of play
Court
Its important to know names of different lines.
Scoring
Match
The outcome of a tennis match is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in a best-of-five, wins the match.
Set
A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins the game, a tie-break is played.
Game
A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "fifteen", "thirty", and "forty" respectively.
Game point
A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game.
Break point
A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with the server being expected to win games in which they are serving.
Surface
- Clay
- Hard
- Grass
- Carpet
- Wood
Grand Slam tournaments
Tournament Brackets
The four major tennis tournaments (the French Open, Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the US Open), often referred to as the Grand Slams, each consist of 128 players in a single elimination bracket. All four of the majors use a random draw to place players in the brackets. Specifically, for the US Open, the top 32 players are seeded with the top two players being placed on opposite sides of the draw so that they could only potentially play if they both reached the finals. The 96 unseeded players are then randomly drawn into the bracket via a computer program. Finally, the remaining seeded players (those seeded 3-32) are drawn at a ceremony held prior to the start of the tournament.
In grand slams, 1st and 2nd seeds have fixed positions in the draw, ie. 1st seed at the very top and 2nd seed at the very bottom.
How is seeding of players done? -- This will be discussed next time.
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