Tennis

Tennis is a sport played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt (most of the time Optic Yellow, but can be any color or even two-tone) over a net into the opponent's court.
The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" and had heavy connections to the ancient game of real tennis. After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs. In the United States, there is a collegiate circuit organized by the National Collegiate Athletics Association.
Except for the adoption of the tiebreaker in the 1970s, the rules of tennis have changed very little since the 1890s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of "instant replay" technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the official call of a point.
Along with its millions of players, millions of people worldwide follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments (sometimes referred to as the "majors"): the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.





Tennis Equipment:-







Choosing a tennis racquet:
Choosing the right racquet will often boost a player's game. Racquet manufacturers such as Head, Wilson, Prince, Yonex, and Babolat, just to name a few, constantly introduce new lines of racquets each year. Depending on the budget, there are plenty of racquets to choose from; however, choosing the right one for a player's game is the key. There are several guidelines such as grip size, head size, length, flex, string patterns, weight, and balance to take into considerations before making the investment. The best thing to do is to demo different type of racquets to feel the difference before deciding on which one to buy. Most tennis equipment shops provides a demo program for their customers.

Grip size:
Choosing the right size of grip is essential. The grip size is measured as the length of the perimeter of the octagonal cross-section of the handle. Grip sizes 3⅞ and 4 are for juniors where 4¼, 4⅜, 4½, and 4⅝ are for adults. The average size for female is 4¼, while the average size for male is 4⅜. A method for determining the right grip size is to hold the racquet where the palm is on the same bevel as the string face. It should be possible to comfortably fit the index finger of your non-racquet hand into the space created between the ring finger and the palm that is holding the racquet. If there is not enough space for the index finger, then the grip is too small. If there is too much space then the grip is too big. If one is in between two grip sizes, the advice is to pick the smaller one. It is always possible to make the grip bigger by adding an overgrip which will increase the size by 1/16 or half a grip size.

Head size:
Head size is the measure of the hitting area. A midsize racquet has a hitting area of 85–95 square inches, mid-plus 95–105 square inches, and oversize greater than 105 square inches. Bigger head size racquet offer more power and spin, however; they lack maneuverability and stability. Smaller head size racquet offer more control and less power. In general, more accomplished players tend to use mid-size and mid-plus racquet because they can generate more power on their own and need a racquet that they can control their power with. Larger racquets usually appeal more to beginner and intermediate players who are looking for more power and larger sweet spot.



Racquet length:
The standard length of a tennis racquet is 27 inches. However, in recent years, manufacturers introduced extra long or stretch racquets which ranges from 27.5 to 29 inches long. These racquets, called extended length racquets, can give players more power and slightly extra reach. Usually, the extra long racquet is lighter in weight compared to its standard length counterpart to keep it maneuverable.

Flex:
The flex or stiffness of a tennis racquet is the racquet’s resistance to bending or deforming upon impact with the ball. A stiffer racquet bends less, thus depleting less energy from the ball and offers more power. A flexible racquet bends more, resulting in more energy loss and less power, but more control of the ball. Players with short swing would want to have stiffer racquets since it will give the most power. A much less stiff racquet give less power and would suit players with longer swing who can generate their own power. Stiff racquets also offer solid feel while less stiff racquets have a softer feel. One thing to keep in mind is the highly stiff racquets tend to give players tennis elbow.

String pattern:
String pattern is measured by how many strings go up and down (called mains) and how many strings go side to side (crosses) when the racquet is fully strung. An “open” string pattern is one where there is a lot of empty space in the string bed because there are fewer strings. A 16 x 18 is a common "open" string pattern where 18 x 20 is an example of a “closed” string pattern.
Open string patterns are popularly thought to allow for more spin potential, as the ball can embed itself into the strings more, due to their wider spacing. However, recent scientific studies have found that stringbed properties do not directly affect spin potential of a racquet. A more open string pattern does make for higher deflection angles, which results in higher arch in ball's trajectory — this difference in deflection angle may give an impression of more spin.[6]
One drawback of open string pattern is it reduces the string’s durability. Open string patterns place more impact stress on individual strings and also allow the strings to move more freely, increasing abrasion which causes string breakage.

Weight:
Technology has played a large role in racquet weights. Until the 1990s, tennis racquets weighed an average of 12–13 ounces. When Hammer technology was introduced by Wilson, it reduced the weight to 10–11 ounces. Nowadays, most manufacturers offer sub 10 ounces racquets. Heavier racquets are less maneuverable but more powerful and more stable than the lighter counter part. Lighter racquets generally are best suited for beginner and intermediate players because of their maneuverability. More accomplished players tend to prefer heavier racquets. When examining the weight of the racquet, it is also important to understand the weight balance.

Balance:
Racquets with the same weight could have different balance. A racquet with more weight distributed on the head rather than the handle is called a head heavy racquet, and the opposite is called a head light racquet. Head heavy racquets give players more power but lack maneuverability because of weight distribution. On the other hand, head light racquets provide more control and maneuverability. Most accomplished players tend to choose head light racquets.








Tennis ball:


A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis, approximately 6.7 cm (2.7 in.) in diameter and is normally yellow in color.