About
Modern tennis evolved from the 12th-century French game of jeu de paume, with the recognizable modern game codified in England in 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield. Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament (1877), remains the sport's most prestigious event. The four Grand Slams — Wimbledon, US Open, French Open, Australian Open — define tennis excellence.
Tennis has produced some of sport's greatest rivalries: Borg-McEnroe, Navratilova-Evert, Federer-Nadal-Djokovic. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have dominated men's tennis for two decades, each winning over 20 Grand Slams. Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slams — the most in the Open Era for any player.
# Top 10 Tennis facts
- 1Wimbledon, first played in 1877, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world
- 2Tennis balls were white until 1972, when yellow was introduced for TV visibility
- 3The serve in professional tennis can exceed 263 km/h — Sabine Lisicki's record
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Wimbledon, first played in 1877, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world
- ◆Tennis balls were white until 1972, when yellow was introduced for TV visibility
- ◆The serve in professional tennis can exceed 263 km/h — Sabine Lisicki's record
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