Physical Education and Health 2: Individual/Dual Sports
La
wn Tennis
1
Course Module
Lawn Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played by one player in each
playing court for
singles and two players for doubles. It can also be
played with mixed doubles
with a boy and a girl
player for each team. The objective of the game is to
play the ball over the net in such a way that the
opponent will not be able to
return a good ball. The player uses a racket to strike
the ball over the net into
the opponent’s court.
Background
Tennis
was originated from a French called
Jeu de Paume
(Paume, meaning
“Palm”). It was a court game where the ball was
struck back and forth using
the hand. It was then evolved all throughout and
eventually, rackets were
used instead of the hands. In Europe, the
game was then spread and in 1873,
Major Walter Wingfield, a student of court tennis
introduced the game called
“Playing Ball” from which modern outdoor racket
game was played. From
then on, tennis was introduced and it was known as
Lawn Tennis.
In playing
this game, players must keep the ball in play by
returning it over
the net before it touches the floor twice.
Tennis matches were played on
courts with different surfaces, including grass, clay or
hard court. The
International Tennis Federation is the gov
erning body for tennis and all the
standard rules in playing the game are set for all
tennis competitions by this
body.
Popular International Tennis Tournaments
1.
Wimbledon (England)
–
the most prestigious tennis tournament.
2.
US Open (USA)
3.
French Open (France
)
4.
Australian Open (Australia)
It was in the 19
th
century where the game was simplified and the
method of
scoring was regularized. It was in the United States
where the game was
introduced.
How to Play the Game
The game/match begins with a toss coin and the
player who wins the toss
chooses to serve or to begin the match on a particular
side of the court and
the opponent gets the opposite choice. Players then
alternate serving every
other game and they change ends after every odd
-
numbered game.
The basic rule
s for men and women tennis are the same. This is a
racket
-
ball
game played in a rectangular court. The play starts
with a serve and each
point is started by a service. The receiver should
return the serve on its first
bounce to the server’s court, it was t
hen that the rally continues until one of
the player fails to return the ball either on the fly or
after first bounce within
the boundary lines.
When the point has been completed, the server
stands just behind his
baseline to the left of the center service
line to serve to the opponents left
service court, continuing to alternate left and right until
the game is
completed and after the completion of the game, the
server becomes the
receiver.
Doubles
In a game of doubles, each player serves a game in
his tur
n, one member of
one team then a member of the other team, and the
same order of serving is
kept throughout the set. Each player covers half of his
court from the net to
the baseline and from his sideline to the center of the
court.
Doubles Star
ting Position
Each player’s position should be related to his
partner. They should be
parallel to each other and attempt to keep it this way.
During the game,
beginners should play near the baseline and move
near the net after one has
made a shot, forcing
the opponent out of position. When rushing to the net,
they should move up together
, maintaining their parallel positions and be on
the offensive, using such strokes as they volley and
smash, and as beginners,
they have to master these important strokes.
S
coring
To win a game is when the first player to win four
points unless deuce (3
points each) is reached.
Points in tennis are called love, 15, 30, and 40. The
first player to reach 40
points (match point) gets 1
-
point game advantage except if the score is
tied
at 40
-
40 (deuce). At the event of deuce, one player or team
needs to score
two consecutive points to complete the game. An
advantage point is awarded
to the player who won by a point in a game.
