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Stage One - Origins of the Game | |||
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 Major Wingfield  The Renshaw Brothers  Lottie Dod  R.S. Oliver First President, USNLTA  Newport Casino, 1881 USNLTA's Birthplace  First U.S. Davis Cup Team, 1900 (Malcolm Whitman, Dwight F. Davis, Holcombe Ward) |
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13th CenturyOrigins of
French game of paume ("palm"). Similar
to squash, except ball is struck with hand. |
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16th - 18th CenturiesPaume evolves
into jeu de paume where racquet is used in place
of hand. The game begins to be referred to as tennis, perhaps from tenez ("to take") or tendere ("to hold"); the exact origins of the name remain unclear. Tennis evolves into "real tennis" which is played on an indoor court surrounded by walls and slanted roofs. |
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18th CenturyMajor Walter
Wingfield introduces Spharistike to Wales, which is
played on hourglass-shaped courts on manor-house lawns of
England's wealthy. |
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1789After being
shut out of their meeting place by King Louis XVI, French
commoners meet at a nearby tennis court. Their Tennis
Court Oath proclaims that they will not disband until
France has a written Constitution giving equality to all
men. The French Revolution begins. |
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1875Henry Cavendish
Jones convinces the All England Croquet Club to replace
on of its croquet courts with a lawn tennis court. The
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) quickly follows suit. The MCC makes major changes to the game: "Duece", "advantage" and 2 chances per serve are introduced; the hourglass-shaped court is changed to rectangular, and court measurements are set to standards that remain to this day. |
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1877The All England
Croquet Club holds its first lawn tennis championship -
Wimbledon. |
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1880'sThe Renshaw
brothers introduce the overhead smash to the game. They
dominate Wimbledon during this decade, with one or the
other winning all but the 1880 and 1887 championships. |
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1881The United
States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) is
formed. The first U.S. Championship is played. |
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1884The first
women's Wimbledon Championship is played. Lottie Dod will
win five times between 1887 and 1893. |
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1887The first
women's U.S Championship is held. |
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1888The Lawn Tennis
Association (LTA) is formed to maintain rules and
standards of the new game. |
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1891The first French
Championship is held. |
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1897First Women's
French Championship is held. |
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1900The first Davis
Cup Tournament is held. |
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1905First
Australasian Championship is held. Between 1905 and 1925,
this championship would be twice held in New Zealand. |
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1912International
Lawn Tennis Federation is formed. The ILTF oversees the 4
major Championships: Wimbledon, American, French and
Australasian. |
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| Continue to Stage Two |
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| Stage One | Stage Two | Stage
Three Tennis Through Time Return to Glossary |
