Tennis

Kramer, for instance, still believes that Vines was the best ever.¹ Among the women, Lenglen and Wills Moody vie for the distinction of greatest of all time, along with several modern players: Court, Navratilova, Evert, and Graf.
. Even among experts, however, no consensus exists as to who has been the greatest of all. (disputed — see talk page). Roger Federer is considered by many commentators to have the most "complete" game in modern tennis, with the potential to challenge the achievements of these past greats. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Although some argue that he depended on a significant amount of uncuntrolable events to happen, that is not the case because as we later learn it was all a recording and he knew before the cops arrived what was going on. Since then, first Laver, then more recently Borg and Sampras, have been widely regarded as the greatest ever.
Even more so than then the previous film, Jigsaw's diabolic "games" require a large amount of planning, causing some film critics to liken his murderous schemes to Rube Goldberg machines.

For much of the 1950s and 1960s, many thought Gonzales had claimed that title. Jigsaw is shown, still sitting in Matthew's van, badly beaten but smiling. Until the mid-1950s, Bill Tilden was generally considered the greatest player ever, his only rivals being Vines, Budge, and Kramer. Matthews, chained to a pipe, is left in the room alone only with the light from his flashlight and his gun now just out of reach. Among the women are Margaret Smith Court, Maria Bueno, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, Hana Mandlíková, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Justine Henin-Hardenne. "Game over," she says, iterating Jigsaw's catchphrase. Among the greatest male players of the Open era are Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, John Newcombe, Stan Smith, Guillermo Vilas, Arthur Ashe, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg,Goran Ivanišević, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Patrick Rafter, Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and Roger Federer. Matthews then watches helplessly as Amanda closes the door on him.

Doris Hart was the first player to win all 12 possible singles, doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. In a series of flashbacks we understand why Jigsaw was happy to sit back while Matthews tore his work up and see that Amanda was the one who brought Daniel back to be placed in the safe. Maureen Connolly was the first female player to win a Grand Slam in 1953. Playing the tape, Matthews learns that Amanda has become Jigsaw's protégé and has now taken his place. Among women the top two pre-Open era players are considered to be Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills Moody. When Matthews wakes up, he finds an audio cassette player lying next to him. Other fine players of the pre-Open era include Maurice McLoughlin, "Little Bill" Johnston, the "Four Musketeers" (Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste), Vinnie Richards, Jack Crawford, Vic Seixas, and Tony Trabert. He had been there already when the SWAT team came into the building and found Jigsaw, two hours earlier; had Matthews followed the rules to Jigsaw's "game", he would have found his son "in a safe, secure place" just as Jigsaw had told him.

Any one of these eleven would probably be competitive in today's game. The timer in the room at Wilson Steel expires and a safe across the room opens to reveal Daniel, wearing an oxygen mask, weary but alive. Among them are "Big Bill" Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Pancho Gonzales, Ken Rosewall, and Lew Hoad. The attacker removes the mask, it is Amanda. Many great players played in the days before tennis's Open era, many of whom are unknown by modern sports fans. Matthews drops to the floor. Each year, a grass-court tournament is hosted on the grounds that are home to the Tennis Hall of Fame, as well as an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members. He approaches cautiously, but the person inside, wearing the same animal mask from the first film, leaps up and stabs him in the leg with a syringe.

The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Matthews gets into the darkened bathroom, and sees someone lying in the bathtub. In 1954 James Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. A shot of a syringe here explains how Daniel has survived the exposure to gas. Since the 1970s great champions have emerged from Germany (Boris Becker, Steffi Graf), the former Czechoslovakia (Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, and Hana Mandlikova), Sweden (Björn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander), Brazil (Gustavo Kuerten), Russia (Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin), Belgium (Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne), Switzerland (Martina Hingis and Roger Federer) and from many other countries. Meanwhile Detective Matthews enters through a back door, finds the open trapdoor and goes down to search for Daniel. With the beginning of the Open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis has spread all over the world and has lost its upper-class English-speaking image. We now know how Jigsaw was able to say 'I haven't looked at the monitors for a while but I assume [Daniel] is still sitting in a corner...'.

In 1968, commercial pressures led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. For Kerry and the movie audience it turns out that, as mentioned above, the images on the monitors, shown in the movie in parallel with the events filmed by the video cameras, were not a live feed, but were showing a recording of earlier events, and that the broadcast location where the SWAT team has arrived is not the location where the events have taken place. Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. While the SWAT team enters what they and Kerry assume to be the same house, Kerry is watching the monitors, confused that the cameras aren't showing them in the house. For 42 years professional and amateur tennis remained strictly separate. He moves in to kill Amanda, Daniel suddenly jumps forward, crushing Xavier's ankle and, using the hacksaw from the first movie, slits Xavier's throat, killing him. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. Xavier, now insane from the poison, takes his knife and slices a section of skin off the back of his neck.

("Cash and Carry") Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. Amanda tells Xavier that Daniel is dead and that if he kills her, he won't be able to find out the number on his own neck. In 1926 promoter C.C. Lawrence Gordon's severed foot are still there, in a state of advanced decay and covered with fungus and mold. Winning the Grand Slam, by capturing these four titles in one calendar year, is the highest ambition of most tennis players. The bodies of Adam and Zep, and Dr. Together these four events are called the Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge). He follows them, cornering them in the infamous bathroom from the first movie.

Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. They go through the hatch just as Xavier breaks through. Thus Wimbledon, the U.S. Amanda pushes aside the safe, revealing a trap door underneath. It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. Amanda and Daniel retreat to the first room as Xavier tries breaking through the door to get at them. Tennis was for many years predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by the United States, Britain and Australia. He finds the dead bodies of the victims littered throughout the rooms.

The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900. Matthews gets inside, still believing that the video images were live. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. Jigsaw gives Matthews the key to get inside. The U.S. Jigsaw shows Matthews the house in which the events has taken place. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. Almost immediately after this, the police finally locate the broadcast location of the video feed and take off for that location.

National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Without telling his team, Matthews leaves with Jigsaw in his van. U.S. Xavier reads her number and leaves her to die in the contraption. rules promulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tie-breaker system designed by James van Alen. She discovers too late that the blades are arranged similar to a Chinese finger trap, preventing her from removing her arms once inside; the edges dig deeper into her flesh the harder she pulls. The comprehensive I.L.T.F. On the underside of the box are two holes just wide enough to put one's arms through, once pushed past the blades covering them.

In 1881 the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. While pursuing Amanda and Daniel, Xavier comes across Addison who has fallen victim to another of Jigsaw's contraptions - a glass box suspended from the ceiling that contains an antidote. The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. She goes back to rescue Daniel. In 1881 the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs. Amanda finds Jonas's body and realizes Xavier means to kill them all. at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge on Staten Island, New York in 1874. The effects of the toxin are starting to become more severe, and Laura succumbs to the nerve gas.

It was first played in the U.S. Addison finds a picture concealing a photo of Daniel and Matthews together, marked "Father and son"; this may make the others hate Daniel for being the son of the cop who framed them all. Tennis spread rapidly among the leisured classes in Britain and the United States. He kills Jonas by hitting his head with a club with large nails sticking out, and then goes after the others. Seeing the commercial potential of the game, Wingfield patented it in 1874, but never succeeded in enforcing his patent. These numbers are supposed to be the combination to the safe in the first room which holds an antidote. According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of royal tennis and applied them to his new game:. The different colors represent colors of the rainbow and putting them in the order of the rainbow will unlock the safe.

He based the game on the older sport of indoor tennis or real tennis ("royal tennis"), which had been invented in 12th century France and was played by French aristocrats down to the time of the French Revolution. It's in the back of all your minds.". In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield devised a similar game for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate at Nantclwyd, Wales. In the house, for the movie audience seemingly meanwhile, Xavier has snapped and is trying the kill his fellow captives to retrieve the different colored numbers written on the back of their necks (the answer to Jigsaw's cryptic clue "You all possess the combination. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall (demolished 1948). Savagely beaten and battered by Matthews, Jigsaw utters his "Game over," catchphrase and finally agrees to take Matthews to the house, but only if he can take him alone. In 1874 they formed the Leamington Tennis Club, setting out the original rules of the game. After growing tired of listening to Jigsaw and helplessly watching one captive after another die while the timer runs down, Matthews finally snaps and unleashes his rage on the old man.

Wellesley Tomkins to found the first lawn tennis club in the world, and played the game on nearby lawns. Daniel helps Amanda out of the pit. A. The door's timer expires, sealing the door forever. Frederick Haynes and Dr. He races to the lock but fumbles with it. Pereira joined with Dr. Stabbed with dozens of needles, Amanda finally finds it and gives it to Xavier.

In 1872 both men moved to Leamington Spa, and with two doctors from the Warneford Hospital, played pelota on the lawn behind the Manor House Hotel (now residential apartments). Xavier grabs Amanda and throws her into the pit, yelling at her to dig through them to find the key. The game was played on a lawn in Edgbaston. The message says a key is in the pit that will open a door concealing another antidote. In 1859 Major Thomas Henry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Batista Pereira, a Spanish merchant, who both lived in Birmingham, England played a game they named "pelota", after a Spanish ball game. Daniel pulls back a sheet to reveal a pit full of syringes. Tennis has a long history (deriving from the 'jeu de paume'), but its establishment as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. On the tape, Jigsaw condemns him for his life as a drug pusher and states that if he wants to escape, he must wallow in the filth that he made others wallow in.

system called the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP): 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, etc.) which is adjusted periodically to maintain competitive matches. Forcing open a door into another room, the captives find another tape, this one marked for Xavier. According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, he or she is given a rating (examples from the U.S. Henceforth, Jigsaw resolved to test the human ability to overcome great suffering in order to save his or her life. Players may also be matched by their skill level. However, Jigsaw survived the suicide attempt, despite severe injuries. In the four grand slams, the draw (the maximum number of players allowed in a particular category of the tournament) is 128 people. Through a series of flashbacks, Jigsaw is revealed to be a terminal cancer patient, who attempted suicide by driving his car of a cliff.

There are also tournaments for handicapped players. Matthews is on the verge of cracking, but decided he has no other choice but to hear Jigsaw out. Tournaments may be arranged for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. All the while, the timer is ticking away in the room with the monitors. Common tournament configurations include men's singles, women's singles, doubles (where two players of the same sex play on each side), and mixed doubles (with a member of each sex per side). The game is simple, he just has to sit with Jigsaw--by himself--and listen to what he has to say. Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. The Jigsaw killer insists that Matthews has to play a game to save his son.

Finally, if an opponent is deep in his court, a player may suddenly employ an unexpected drop shot, softly tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it. Obi is burned to death before they can get him out, and both antidotes are lost. If the lob is not hit deeply enough into the other court, however, the opponent may then hit an overhead smash, a hard, serve-like shot, to try to end the point. Obi climbs inside to retrieve them, the door closes and the furnace ignites. From a poor defensive position on the baseline, the lob can be used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court to either enable the lobber to get into better defensive position or to win the point outright by hitting it over the opponent's head. Laura finds another door which leads to the basement, with another tape marked for Obi which reveals how he had assisted Jigsaw to get the others in the house and explaining that there are two antidote syringes inside a large furnace in the room. The half-volley is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of the net. The terrified captives begin to explore the house.

A volley is made in the air before the ball bounces, generally near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. Amanda reveals to the others that she has had to play one of Jigsaw's games before, and pleads with them that they have to follow his "rules".
. The gun discharges into Gus's eye, killing him. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides. The lock is rigged to fire a gun pointing directly at the eyehole. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin through the 1950s and '60s. The key has a note warning them not to use it to open the door in the room, but Xavier ignores the message, and turns the key in the lock while Gus looks through the eyehole.

The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, had a very powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted topspin onto the ball. Amanda, (a survivor from the original film) breaks through a loose section of a brick wall in the room they found themselves in, and finds a key and a tape recorder containing a taped message from Jigsaw explaining their predicament: they have been exposed to a deadly toxic nerve gas (specifically sarin, which Jigsaw himself references as having been used in the real-life gas attack on the Tokyo Subway) and will die within 2 hours unless they find the antidotes that are hidden around the house (they are given the clue that they all have the combination to the safe in the back of their mind, and that the combination can be found "over the rainbow"). Two hands give the player more power, while one hand can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. The story switches to the captives in the house. The two-handed grip gained popularity in the 1970s as Björn Borg, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and later Mats Wilander used it to great effect, and it is now used by a large number of the world's best players, including Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters. The police also believe this. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. However, by showing those images in parallel with the events filmed by the video cameras, the movie suggests that it is a live video feed.

For most of the 20th Century it was performed with one hand, using either an eastern or a continental grip. The images on the monitors are not a live feed, but are showing a recording of earlier events. It can be executed with either one or both hands. He later notices that all other seven are people he has framed for crimes they did not commit. The backhand, which is struck by swinging the racquet away from one's body in the direction of where the player wants the ball to go, is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand. On one of the monitors, Matthews sees a room with eight people forced to play Jigsaw's latest game; among them is Matthews's own son, Daniel. In the 1940s and 50s the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to devastating effect against larger, more powerful players, and many female and young players use the two-handed stroke today. As they start to take him away, he directs Matthews and the others to an adjoining room, which contains several monitors showing various rooms of a house, along with an electronic timer counting down from 2 hours.

No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. Very ill due to his advanced stage cancer, he offers no further resistance as the SWAT team handcuffs him. Few top players used the western grip after the 1920s, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the western forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players. After some of the accompanying SWAT team fall prey to one of Jigsaw's booby traps, they find Jigsaw. For a number of years the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip. After his initial reluctance, his former partner, Kerry, finally convinces him to join the team entering the building to arrest Jigsaw. The most important ones are the Continental, the Eastern, and the Western. Detective Matthews is called to the scene, as the deceased was his informant, and discovers a message scrawled on the ceiling which reads, "Look Closer, Detective Matthews." Matthews spots an engraving on the metal contraption, and believes he knows where Jigsaw is - the Wilson Steel building.

There are various grips for executing the forehand and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. The terrified man fails to extract the key in time and is killed. Then swing up and across to get the right amount of spin. As he gets up from the chair, he triggers a timer built into the device. The forehand is accomplished by starting the racquet above the height of the ball, and then dropping the racquet head behind your body. A scalpel has been left for the man to carve the key out from his eye socket, if he chooses to do so. A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an ace. The TV cuts to the man lying on an operating table with a shadowy figure standing over him, as Jigsaw tells him (and an x-ray photo confirms) that the key to unlock the device has been implanted behind his eye.

Some servers are content to use the serve simply to initiate the point; advanced players often try to hit a winning shot with their serve. When the timer goes off, the device will snap closed, impaling the man's head with several sharp nails lining the inside of the device (like an iron maiden). A reverse spin serve is hit in a manner that spins the ball opposite the natural spin of the server, the spin direction depending upon right- or left-handedness, while a severely sliced serve is sometimes called a sidespin. Jigsaw's recorded message tells the man that as punishment for being a police informant, spying upon and betraying others, and for not appreciating life, he has to play Jigsaw's "game". The server may employ different types of serve: a flat, a top-spin, an American twist (or kick), a reverse spin, or a slice serve. A nearby TV turns on, showing the familiar "clown" figure Jigsaw employed in the first film. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. A device is secured around his neck.

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The film starts off with a man waking up alone, seated in a chair in a grungy, sealed room. A competent tennis player has eight basic shots in his or her repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.
. The first player or team to four points wins the game. . No-ad: You play through the match without any ads. Darren Lynn Bousman took over the directing duties of the film, and also co-wrote the story's script with Leigh Whannell, the original film's co-writer.

This is played like a regular tie-break but you go to ten instead of seven. It was released in most parts of the world on October 28, 2005, but not released in Australia until November 17, 2005. It decides who wins instead of a third set. Saw II is the sequel to the 2004 horror/splatter/thriller film Saw. Super tie-break: This is played sometimes after players split sets (Each wins one set). Made for only $4 million, Saw 2 grossed over $116 million worldwide, which includes $87 million in the United States. All other rules apply. One of the posters for the upcoming Scary Movie 4 (2006) parodied the "close-up on severed fingers" poster for this film.

A pro set is first to 8 games instead of 6. Following the film's opening weekend gross of $31.5m, Lions Gate Films commissioned Saw III (which is scheduled to be released on October 27, 2006). Pro set: Instead of playing best out of three sets, players may play one pro set. The entire movie was shot in 25 days. During highschool tennis team matches players may have to follow a few different rules:. The whole film was shot in one building. The scoring is the same as a regular game. The original poster was used for most other countries, however.

For the single person, single court rules apply (such that the ball must be within the singles court lines) but on the side of the doubles team, doubles court rules apply (the alleys are considered in). A new poster was produced, still using the fingers but not explicitly showing that they're severed. This involves three players, with one person playing against a doubles team. In August 2005, the MPAA rejected the poster for Saw II which used two severed fingers to resemble "II" in the movie's title. Another tennis format is called "Australian doubles" (Sometimes referred to as "Canadian doubles" or "Korean doubles"). Tagline: Oh yes...there will be blood.. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Donnie Wahlberg as Erick Matthews.

It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair user and a legs user, or for a wheelchair user to play against a legs user. Emmanuelle Vaugier as Addison. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and legs matches. Shawnee Smith as Amanda. In wheelchair tennis, in which the players move in wheelchairs instead of using legs, an extra bounce is permitted. Glenn Plummer as Jonas. There is an exception for those who are only able to propel themselves using a foot. Tony Nappo as Gus.

The use of legs or feet is then prohibited, and the player is required to remain seated in the wheelchair. Beverley Mitchell as Laura. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. Dina Meyer as Kerry. Continuity of the balls' condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain) then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes. Erik Knudsen as Daniel Matthews. The first such change occurs after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. Franky G as Xavier.

Balls wear out quickly in serious play, and therefore are changed after every nine games. John Fallon as Video Techie. Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players' control, such as rain, damaged footwear, or the need to chase an errant ball. Tim Burd as Obi. This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (every two games), and a 120 second break is permitted between sets. Tobin Bell as John/Jigsaw. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 seconds after the end of the previous point.

Stamina is a relevant factor, so arbitrary delays are not permitted. A tennis match is intended to be continuous. This is the case for many high school and college level matches. In some leagues players will make their own calls based upon the honor code.

The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority on the rules. They have no adjudicative role. Ball boys or girls (who are usually children) may be employed to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. There may also be a net umpire who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service.

The chair umpire may be assisted by line umpires, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. The umpire has absolute authority to determine matters of fact. In serious play there is an officiating chair umpire (usually referred to as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. See Tennis score for a description of both tie break scoring and its history.

A tiebreak game, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7-6. A tiebreak game is sometimes played when the score for the set is presently 6-6. Should the player in the lead take any one of those points, he wins the game (set, etc.). If the player who is serving has a score of 40-love, he has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.).

For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40-15, he has a double game point (double set point, etc.). It may happen that the course of play has been such that the player who is in the lead in the game has more than one chance to score the winning point, even if his opponent should take the next point(s). It is of importance in professional tennis, since service breaks happen less frequently with professional players. A break point occurs if the returner, not the server, has a game point.

The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game (the smallest unit of play) needs only one more point to win the game. The running score of each game is described in a manner particular to tennis: scores of zero to three points are described as "love" (or "zero"), "fifteen", "thirty", and "forty" respectively. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving, and is won by the first player to have won at least four points and at least two points more than his opponent.

If a tiebreak is played, the set is determined by the winner of the next game, and is scored as 7-6. It has become common, however, to play a one game tiebreak when each player has won six games. Typically, a player wins a set when he wins at least six games and at least two games more than his opponent. A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria.

Some matches may consist of five sets (the winner being the first to win three sets), while most matches are three sets (the winner being the first to win two sets). The match ends as soon as this winning condition is met. Matches consist of an odd number of multiple sets, the match winner being the player who wins more than half of the sets. A set consists of a number of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.

A tennis match usually comprises one to five sets. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. It then travels back over the net and bounces in the court on the opposite side. A legal return consists of the player or team hitting the ball exactly once before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures.

A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. If the second service is also faulty, this is a double fault and the receiver wins the point. If the first service is otherwise faulty in any way, the serving player has a second attempt at service. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service court, this is a let service, which is void.

In a legal service, the ball travels over the net (without touching it) and into the diagonally opposite service court. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve. The receiver may stand anywhere on his side of the net, usually behind the diagonally opposite service box. For each point, the server stands behind his baseline, between the center mark and the sideline.

Service alternates between the two halves of the court. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player, or in doubles one of the opposing players, is the receiver. The players (or teams) stand on opposite sides of the net. Open and Australian Open use hardcourts (though they used grass courts and clay courts in the past), the French Open is played on clay, and Wimbledon is played on grass.

Of the Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Grass courts add an additional variable, with bounces depending on how healthy the grass is and how recently it has been mowed. Hardcourts and grass are "fast" surfaces, where fast, low bounces keep rallies short, and powerful, hard-serving and hard-hitting players have an advantage. On clay courts, line calls are easily reviewable because the ball leaves a visible mark.

Clay courts are considered "slow," meaning that the balls lose speed as they hit the court and bounce relatively high, making it more difficult for a player to hit an unreturnable shot, called a winner. Hardcourt encompasses many different surfaces, ranging from old-fashioned concrete courts to coated asphalt to wooden gymnasium surfaces to artificial grass similar to AstroTurf. Each surface provides a difference in the speed and bounce of the ball. There are three main types of courts, depending on the materials used for the court surface.

The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 feet (10.97 m) for doubles matches.

Tennis is played on a rectangular flat surface, usually of grass, clay, or concrete (hard court). . Along with its millions of players, millions of people follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments. Its rules have remained remarkably unchanged since the 1920s.

Tennis is now an Olympic sport that is played at all levels of society and by all ages in many countries around the world. Originating in England in the late 19th Century, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. In some places, tennis is still called lawn tennis, to distinguish it from real tennis (also known as royal tennis or court tennis), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different kind of a court. Player(s) use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered in felt over a net into the opponent's court.

Tennis is a racquet sport played between either two players ("singles") or two teams of two players ("doubles"). The convention of numbering scores "15," "30" and "40" comes from quinze, trente and quarante, which to French ears makes a euphonious sequence. Love may come from l'oeuf, the egg, a reference to the egg-shaped zero symbol; however, since "un oeuf" is more commonly used, the etymology remains in question. Deuce comes from à deux le jeu, meaning "to both is the game" (that is, the two players have equal scores).

Racquet comes from raquette, which derives from the Arabic rakhat, meaning the palm of the hand. Tennis comes from the French tenez, the imperative form of the verb tenir, to hold: This was a cry used by the player serving in royal tennis, meaning "I am about to serve!" (rather like the cry "Fore!" in golf). Hardcourt. Grass court.

Clay court.