Tennis, also called field tennis, is a racquet sport practiced on a rectangular track (composed of

different surfaces which can be cement, earth, or grass), delimited by lines and divided by a
network. It is disputed between two players (singles) or between two pairs (doubles). The
objective of the game is to throw a ball hitting it with the racket so that it bounces within the
allowed limits of the opponent's field, trying that it can not return it to get a second bounce on the
ground and therefore a point.

The first references of tennis take place in France, named "jeu de paume" ("palm game") since at
the beginning the ball was struck with the hand. Later they began to use rackets.

The original tennis was played on natural grass courts.

It originated in Europe at the end of the 18th century and was expanded initially by the English-
speaking countries, especially among its upper classes. Nowadays tennis has become universal,
and it is played in almost every country in the world. Since 1926, with the creation of the first tour,
it is a professional sport. It is also an Olympic sport since the Olympic Games of Athens 1896.