Professional Tennis

Tennis is a very popular sport played by people of all ages. Tennis can be played in singles or doubles. A single match is played between two players and a double match is played with two players on each team. The game of tennis actually began in the late 19th century in the United Kingdom. This sport was first popular with the upper class English population. Later, tennis spread world wide.

Wimbledon in London was the location for the first tennis championships in 1877. An organization was formed on May 21, 1881 to standardize the rules and to organize tournaments. This organization today is known as the United States Tennis Association.

The first professional tennis tour was organized and promoted in 1926 by Charles C. Pyle. This was the first time a group of American and French tennis players played for paying audiences.

In 1968, most tennis tournaments became open. This allowed both amateur and professional players to compete. When the open era began, tennis's popularity spread worldwide.

The Grand Slam consists of four major tournaments: the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

The Australian Open is the first grand slam of the tennis season. This event takes place in January in Melbourne, Australia. The second grand slam tournament, The French Open, takes place in Paris, France in May. The Wimbledon is the tournament that takes place in July in Wimbledon, England. The final event of the Grand Slam Tournament is the U.S. Open. This event is held over a two week period in August and September in Flushing, New York. The U.S. Open today is now the richest tournament in the world.