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. In March 2006, there will be a new set, called Christmas Town, and a Tournament Kit released. Even among experts, however, no consensus exists as to who has been the greatest of all. Released were starter decks and a base set. 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. Sometime during 2005, a card game, titled The Nightmare Before Christmas TCG, was released. Since then, first Laver, then more recently Borg and Sampras, have been widely regarded as the greatest ever. Kingdom Hearts II follows the movie plot, where Jack tries to take over Santa Claus' place on Christmas.

For much of the 1950s and 1960s, many thought Gonzales had claimed that title. Jack can also join Sora's party whenever they are in Halloween Town. Until the mid-1950s, Bill Tilden was generally considered the greatest player ever, his only rivals being Vines, Budge, and Kramer. Jack then teams up with Sora and the others to stop Oogie Boogie's plans. 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. In this game, Jack tries to create an artificial heart so he can control the Heartless for use in his "Heartless Halloween," but the plan goes awry when Oogie Boogie (who was one of the Disney villains allied with Maleficent) steals the heart, ingests it, and tries to use it to control the Heartless for his own purposes. 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. Halloween Town also appears as one of the worlds in the Square Enix/Disney Kingdom Hearts video game series (in fact, it was the movie's first official video game appearance).

Doris Hart was the first player to win all 12 possible singles, doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. Finklestein, and others--to both stop Oogie and save Halloween. Maureen Connolly was the first female player to win a Grand Slam in 1953. With these creepy wheels set in motion, it will be up to Jack and his friends--including characters such as Zero, Sally, Dr. Among women the top two pre-Open era players are considered to be Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills Moody. Jack soon discovers that these nasty insects are under the control of Oogie Boogie, who's looking to take over Halloween himself. 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. The game's plot will kick off with the invasion of some unusual bugs in Halloween Town.

Any one of these eleven would probably be competitive in today's game. The side-scrolling adventure game centers around the first time Jack faced off against his nemesis, Oogie Boogie, to eventually become the Pumpkin King. 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 Pumpkin King is a side-scrolling action platformer in which you'll control Jack Skellington and use a number of different weapons to fight enemies and traverse obstacles. Many great players played in the days before tennis's Open era, many of whom are unknown by modern sports fans. The opposite of the Playstation and Xbox versions, the GBA game works as a prequel to the movie. 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.
A GBA game, "The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King" came out in fall 2005.

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. In the game you get other costumes such as "Pumpkin King," and "Santa Jack". In 1954 James Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The game features a weapon known as a 'Soul Robber'. 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. The game features controls similar to Devil May Cry. 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. Now Jack has to stop Oogie Boogie's evil plans as he attempts to take over the other holiday worlds, and the 'real' world.

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. In the story, Jack leaves Halloween Town to satisfy his curiosity, but during his absence, Oogie Boogie is reconstructed and by the time Jack returns he has taken over Halloween Town and tricked its people into thinking Jack has abandoned them. Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. Intended to be a sequel to the movie, the game features the return of all the well-known characters in a new and arguably darker story with upgraded versions of the movie's songs. For 42 years professional and amateur tennis remained strictly separate. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge is an action/adventure game developed by Capcom from Japan for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox systems. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. A video game based on the original movie was released in 2005.

("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. There has been a great deal of speculation recently that 2006 will be last year for the event, allegedly at Tim Burton's request. In 1926 promoter C.C. Starting in 2001, the ride has included a score that was written specifically for the ride by film composer Danny Elfman. Winning the Grand Slam, by capturing these four titles in one calendar year, is the highest ambition of most tennis players. The attraction generally has a one night opening event each year that includes special guests, a dinner, special merchandise, and a ride through the attraction, although the Happiest Celebration on Earth halted that in Disneyland in 2005. Together these four events are called the Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge). The attractions are closed in October each year for themes to be completely overhauled, and open until January of the next year.

Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. For the past five years, the Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland in California and Japan have received a Nightmare Before Christmas themed overlay, called Haunted Mansion Holiday, for their Haunted Mansion attractions. Thus Wimbledon, the U.S. A second poem, also read by Stewart, is included before the "End Credits" music; in this passage, Santa Claus describes a visit he made to Halloween Town many years after the events of the film. It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. On the soundtrack album, Patrick Stewart voices the opening narrative poem. Tennis was for many years predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by the United States, Britain and Australia. Starfield Creations.

The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900. In the past few years many retail stores like Hot Topic have obtained the rights to sell products and have flooded the market with what some believe to be cheap and uninspired merchandise. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. Much of the original merchandise has become highly collectible and rare. The U.S. Currently, 'Nightmare Before Christmas' has become one of the most sucessful franchises in terms of selling merchandise, and the film has developed a group of very dedicated collectors. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. In 2005, Tim Burton returned to the media of stop motion with his new film, Corpse Bride.

National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. The same studio that produced Nightmare later created another stop motion movie based on the Roald Dahl book, James and the Giant Peach (1996), though it did not receive the same amount of success. U.S. However, when it was released on video a new audience began to discover it and slowly it began to grow a cult following. 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. When the movie originally was released it failed to live up to expectations and was considered a flop. The comprehensive I.L.T.F. Finally, Sally reveals her true feelings to Jack and in the end of the movie the two begin a relationship.

In 1881 the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. Once Santa has delivered all the presents he brings the Christmas spirit to Halloween Town, including snow, and the citizens are amazed by the new sensations. The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877. After Jack destroys Oogie, revealing him to be nothing more that a burlap monster full of bugs, Santa Claus hurries to deliver the correct presents and save Christmas. In 1881 the desire to play tennis competitively led to the establishment of tennis clubs. In order to salvage Christmas Jack hurries back to Halloween Town and confronts Oogie Boogie. at the home of Mary Ewing Outerbridge on Staten Island, New York in 1874. When Jack finds himself and his sleigh crashed in a graveyard and his vision of Christmas wrecked, he realizes that he is the Pumpkin King and that he should stick to what he knows best, namely Halloween.

It was first played in the U.S. At the same time, Sally goes to try and rescue Santa Claus but is captured by Oogie Boogie and the two are in risk of their lives. Tennis spread rapidly among the leisured classes in Britain and the United States. In not too long, Jack is targeted by the military and shot down. Seeing the commercial potential of the game, Wingfield patented it in 1874, but never succeeded in enforcing his patent. Jack's scary and sometimes dangerous presents put the people in the real world in a panic and they begin to call the police with reports of attacking Christmas toys and an imposter Santa Claus. 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:. On Christmas Eve, Jack embarks on his makeshift sleigh flanked by skeleton reindeers and his ghost dog, Zero.

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. The children take him to a villainous monster named Oogie Boogie. 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 order to successfully take over Christmas, Jack enlists the help of a trio of misfits named Lock, Shock, and Barrel to kidnap Santa Claus. The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall (demolished 1948). Sally, a close friend and admirer of Jack, tries to warn him that she thinks it is a bad idea to take over something he knows nothing about, but Jack is too wrapped in his fantasies to listen. In 1874 they formed the Leamington Tennis Club, setting out the original rules of the game. All of the townspeople pitch in to create their own twisted version of the holiday.

Wellesley Tomkins to found the first lawn tennis club in the world, and played the game on nearby lawns. Soon Jack calls a meeting in Town Hall and reveals his plans to takeover Christmas. A. When Jack returns to Halloween Town he locks himself in his home and performs countless experiments to try and better understand Christmas Town. Frederick Haynes and Dr. Jack is mesmerized by the color and cheerfulness of the holiday, and realizes that this is exactly what he has been searching for. Pereira joined with Dr. When Jack opens the Christmas door he is sucked into the wonderful world of Christmas Town.

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). Each tree has a door on it representing a different holiday. The game was played on a lawn in Edgbaston. One day while wandering in the woods with his dog zero, Jack discovers a circle of trees unlike anything that he has seen before. 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. Although Jack is loved and respected by the townspeople, he feels that there is something unknown to him that is missing from his life. 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. The film centers around Jack Skellington, the much adored leader of Halloween Town.

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. . According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, he or she is given a rating (examples from the U.S. The film was released by Touchstone Pictures, a film studio owned by the Walt Disney Company, after the main Walt Disney Pictures division balked at some of the darker content. Players may also be matched by their skill level. He did not direct the film as is sometimes believed, but he was still heavily involved. In the four grand slams, the draw (the maximum number of players allowed in a particular category of the tournament) is 128 people. The film is loosely based on drawings and a poem by Tim Burton, and he served as co-producer.

There are also tournaments for handicapped players. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) is a stop-action animated musical film about the inhabitants of Halloween Town who take over Christmas one year, directed by stop-motion animator Henry Selick. Tournaments may be arranged for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. Ken Page: Oogie Boogie. 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). Paul Reubens: Lock. Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Glenn Shadix: Mayor.

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. Finklestein. 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. William Hickey: Dr. 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. Catherine O'Hara: Sally, Shock. 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. Danny Elfman: Jack Skellington (singing), Barrel, The Clown with the tearawayface.

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. Chris Sarandon: Jack Skellington (speaking).
. MPAA rating: PG. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides. Runtime: 76 minutes. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin through the 1950s and '60s. Genre: animation, fantasy, satire, musical.

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. Specifications: Technicolor, 35 mm 1.66:1 (colours, Dolby digital sound). 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. American picture. 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. Released on: October 13, 1993. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. Music by: Danny Elfman.

For most of the 20th Century it was performed with one hand, using either an eastern or a continental grip. Written by: Caroline Thompson and Michael McDowell. It can be executed with either one or both hands. Directed by: Henry Selick. 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. Title: The Nightmare Before Christmas. 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.

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. 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. 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. The most important ones are the Continental, the Eastern, and the Western.

There are various grips for executing the forehand and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. Then swing up and across to get the right amount of spin. The forehand is accomplished by starting the racquet above the height of the ball, and then dropping the racquet head behind your body. A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an ace.

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. 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. 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. 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 serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. 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.

This is played like a regular tie-break but you go to ten instead of seven. It decides who wins instead of a third set. Super tie-break: This is played sometimes after players split sets (Each wins one set). All other rules apply.

A pro set is first to 8 games instead of 6. Pro set: Instead of playing best out of three sets, players may play one pro set. During highschool tennis team matches players may have to follow a few different rules:. The scoring is the same as a regular game.

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). This involves three players, with one person playing against a doubles team. Another tennis format is called "Australian doubles" (Sometimes referred to as "Canadian doubles" or "Korean doubles"). In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only.

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. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and legs matches. In wheelchair tennis, in which the players move in wheelchairs instead of using legs, an extra bounce is permitted. There is an exception for those who are only able to propel themselves using a foot.

The use of legs or feet is then prohibited, and the player is required to remain seated in the wheelchair. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. 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. The first such change occurs after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up.

Balls wear out quickly in serious play, and therefore are changed after every nine games. 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. This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (every two games), and a 120 second break is permitted between sets. 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.