Beginning Tennis
Tennis is a game in which two players or a pair of players use rackets to hit a ball over a net on a rectangular court. The history and origin of tennis was said to be started many years ago approximately the 12th century by European Monks. Before tennis got its name the game was called Paume basically meaning the ball was hit by the palm of the hand instead of a racket. In the earlier years the game was played in a monastery courtyard. The game used walls and sloped roofs as part of the court. Eventually after playing tennis for a long time with their palms they transitioned over to gloves. The gloves were made out of leather which made playing tennis more comfortable. The glove was later replaced with an adaptive handle which made hitting
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The first tennis championship took place in England in 1877 at a little place called Wimbledon. The Wimbledon championships have been hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. As we all know the styles, techniques, and culture of tennis have changed tremendously since the 12th century. Now, the women do not have to wear long dresses and the men do not have to wear fancy clothes such as suits. Althea Gibson was the first African American female professional tennis player. She was the first African American tennis player to compete at the United States Championship and to compete at Wimbledon. Gibson developed a passion for playing tennis and soon found that tennis was her talent. In 1942 she won her first tournament which was sponsored by the American Tennis Association. In 1956 she was the first African American female to win the French championship. After breaking color barriers in order to play tennis Althea was voted female athlete of the year by the associated press. Arthur Ashe is the first African American professional male tennis player. Mr. Ashe was born in Richmond Virginia. Playing tennis was something that came natural to Mr. Ashe. His father taught him how to play
“We are more visible, but not more valuable”. This famous quote was said by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the most famous black basketball players, symbolized what many black athletes were pursuing when they first got into sports. In today’s world not only are black athletes a part of our sports venue, they are dominating the landscape of some sports such as the NBA which consists of a whopping 80% black athletes. Black athletes continue to revitalize sports in America as some athletes became the face of their sports such as Muhammad Ali in boxing, Jackie Robinson in baseball and Michael Jordan in basketball. Sports came as a form of entertainment for many Americans, but for black athletes it came as a pathway to express who they were and what they believed in. The more they became involved in sports, the more media they were able to attract which enabled them to talk about topics other than sports such as racism, their religions and equality through the civil rights movement. These views and statements made in their interviews and press conferences were the ones that became publicized and more popular amongst the typical white men in America and it played a huge role in changing the way blacks were viewed in American society.
At the time that Althea was emerging as a recognized tennis player, African American’s opportunities were somewhat limitied. One organization called the American Tennis Association provided tounament opportunities for African American tennis players. In 1942, Althea Gibson had her first landmark
Billie Jean King is a pro tennis player who wanted the pay in sports to be equal for women. She won many tournaments such as Wimbledon women’s singles, U.S. Open singles and the French Open. “...first woman athlete to win more than $100,000 in a single year” (“Billie Jean King”). Billie Jean King noticed that women were not winning the same amount of men in prize money. Billie Jean King criticized the prize money that the women would recite. “... women were receiving
Slavery. It is more than just a word. It was, for 400 plus years a way of life. Africans were taken (stolen) from their homelands and brought to America to be enslaved. They were beaten, raped, abused, denied humane rights such as learning to read and write. They were denied pay for their labors. This was done at the hands of “white man” also known as Master. Although laws have been passed that state slavery is now illegal and that Africans are free, we still experience examples of modern day slavery. Some of the modern day slavery tactics currently being faced include, The Portrayal of Black Men in Media, The amount of African Americans in the prison system, Police Brutality and the observation of the Black Woman today.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body of tennis. Established in 1881, the mission of the USTA is to “promote and develop the growth of tennis.” The mission statement serves as the guiding principle for all activities of the United States Tennis Association. The USTA is the largest tennis organization in the world. It operates with the assistance of 17 section associations, serving more than 665,000 members and 7,800 organizational members.
Racquetball is a competitive game in which a strung racquet is used to serve and return the ball.
A young African-American boy walks onto some rundown tennis courts at a local park with his father in Richmond, VA. Armed with an old wooden racket and a can of white tennis balls, his father begins to feed him some different shots and tells his son everything he knows about tennis. Being an African-American, this young boy did not have many friends that were as interested in tennis as he was. Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, Arthur Ashe’s desire to play was not encouraged by either race, but instead of giving up on the sport he loved, he continued playing to the dismay of many. Little did Ashe know, however, that his persistence would change the game forever. His efforts opened doors for many of the popular African-American tennis players, such as Serena and Venus Williams, MaliVai Washington, and Bryan Shelton. The class that he brought to the game of tennis and the bravery he showed by changing a sport dominated by whites made Arthur Ashe a legend in his own time.
Gabby Douglas was the first African-American female gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual All-Around champion. In the 2012 Olympic Games, she won gold in the team competition and the individual competition. She is a gymnastics phenom. From the beginning of her career to where she is today, she has been a true trooper through everything. Gabrielle Douglas is an inspiration to me and many others because she overcame being homeless,moved in with a new family, and won Olympic gold in gymnastics.
To sum things up, the teacher showed a lesson towards the book “The Inner Game of Tennis” has more than the lesson of playing tennis. This book show the process of having the basics thing done and just continue to evolve your skills with it. Techniques and skills that are the key point is very important in life involvement. My teacher told us that keeping this mentality will help you continue to have a successful life if you keep this
For most of human history, athletic competition has been regarded as an exclusively masculine affair. Women weren't aloud to watch most sporting events let alone participate in them. Not till late 19th century did women really begin participating in sporting events. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, for a variety of social and psychological reasons that are still poorly understood. Title IX declares: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Therefore sex should not deem females athletic ability as inferior in comparison to men. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of playing any sport just as men are.
Sports played and continue to play a pivotal role in American history and culture. Baseball provided an escape from the stress and frustration of WWII, a beacon of light during hard times and later helped influence integration. Athletes became symbols of what being a true American meant and many sports enhanced American culture. One of the most prolific changes sports brought to our society was the beginning of racial equality on the field. It encouraged and aided the fledgling equal rights movement that evolved in the 1960s. African American athletes were considered second-class citizen until sports provided the first taste of equality. Teams life the Indians, Dodgers and Giants led the way for all teams to accept black players on equal footing. More sports then followed, helping to pave the way for the equal rights movement. African American athletes provided a spark of social and cultural change as America was at the emergence of the civil rights movement.
More of the origin story is that was adapted from tennis it has also been played for over a century. The first tournament was played in 1922 and the united states paddle tennis association was formed in 1941. The paddle tennis court where constructed “of the same materials as tennis courts, or can also be placed on hard beach sand. The court measures 50 feet baseline-to-baseline and 20 feet across, with the service line 3 feet in from the baseline. This creates a service box of 10'x22'. The net is placed at 31
Tennis is the world’s fastest growing sport today for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is the variety of opponents one can face. In examining the game of tennis, most players can be categorized into one of four groups, the talented, the rabbits, the pushers, and the blasters. These different players make the game different each time one plays. This changes each match for the better, or for the worse.
The way Morgan incorporated tennis into his game is by using a similar net; however, he raised the height to six feet and six inches off the ground. He also created this game for his fellow businessman Blain. When Morgan invented his game he came up with a set of rules, however many of his rules have been changed or there are new ones. One of the rules to this game is that before the game starts, there is a coin toss. This coin toss determines which team gets to decide who gets the serve first.
Tennis is a universal sport. Much like any other sport, tennis has its own unique set of terminology and scoring system. During a match that is broadcasted on TV viewers are usually given an opportunity to see a varying amount statistics. These statistics would the number of aces, first and second serve percentages, number of winners and errors, and so on. The average viewer would only go as far as knowing who won, but these statistics provide a much deeper into many underlying aspects of the match such as how a player won and the chances of winning. Meanwhile, the construction of probability formulas is present due the scoring system being hierarchically structured. For instance, points are gained throughout the service games; these points are which are nested within sets, as well as within the match. Thus, tennis is a game of mathematics that is highly involved with the chances of players winning the match