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Tennis
Tennis, game played with a
racket and a ball by two (as in singles) or four
(as in doubles) competitors ,
on a rectangular court with a net strung between
the mid-points of the longer sides of the court.
Tennis may be played indoors or outdoors. The
game ranks as one of the most popular spectator
and participation sports in the world, with fans
and competitors in more than 100 countries.
Originally called “lawn tennis” to distinguish
it from the sport of real tennis, from which it
was derived, the game is now commonly known as
tennis and is played on various surfaces other
than on grass.
Playing Court And Equipment
The court is marked with
white lines to indicate its dimensions and
service areas. The court is 23.8 m (78 ft) long,
divided into two equal sides by a net standing
0.9 m (3 ft) high at the centre of the court.
For singles, the court is 8.2 m (27 ft) wide.
For doubles, the addition of margins 1.4 m (4y
ft) wide along the two longer sides increases
the width to 11 m (36 ft). Courts may be of
grass, clay, asphalt, concrete, wood, artificial
grass, or other synthetic materials.
A tennis ball is hollow
and composed of inflated rubber covered with a
fabric made of wool and artificial fibres. It is
between 6 and 7 cm (2y and 2? in) in diameter
and weighs between 57 and 58 g (2 and 2w oz).
Yellow and white balls are used in tournament
competition and are the most common colours,
although balls of other colours are
manufactured.
The tennis court has two different sets of side
lines, one for singles and one for doubles play.
Serves are made from behind the baseline towards
the diagonally opposite service court.
There is no uniform design of tennis rackets,
and their sizes and shapes vary. The general
classifications, determined by the size of the
racket head, are standard, midsize, oversize,
and super oversize. In tournament play, the
maximum length of a racket is 73.6 cm (29 in).
The maximum width is 31.8 cm (12y in). The head
of the racket may not exceed a length of 39.4 cm
(15y in) and a width of 29.2 cm (11y in), and it
is usually strung with resilient gut or nylon or
other synthetic materials. There are no
restrictions on weight. Rackets were originally
made of wood, but now virtually all rackets are
made of such materials as titanium or graphite,
which are stronger and lighter than wood. The
racket handle is generally covered with a rubber
or leather grip. Players usually wear
lightweight clothing, traditionally white, and
shoes with rubber soles.
Tennis In India
The game of tennis enjoys
a considerable following in India thanks to the
achievements of some of the leading players.
While the Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi duo
dominated the double circuit by annexing a host
of Grand Slam titles, Sania Mirza has emerged as
a teen idol due to her impressive performance.
But for a country that has been doing
consistently well in tournaments like Davis Cup,
there has been a conspicuous lack of promising
youngsters. After doing well in domestic circuit
and junior tournaments, most of the budding
players fade into oblivion.
It is high time the All India tennis Federation
took notice of the ground situation and did the
needful to raise the standard of lawn tennis in
India. At a time when India is hosting ATP
tournaments, it is indeed embarrassing to see
someone like Leander Paes still spearheading the
Indian challenge in the absence of newcomers.
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