Physical Education and Health 2: Individual/Dual Sports

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Lawn Tennis

Lawn Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played by one player in each playing court for
singles and two players for doubles. It can also be played with mixed doubles
with a boy and a girl player for each team. The objective of the game is to
play the ball over the net in such a way that the opponent will not be able to
return a good ball. The player uses a racket to strike the ball over the net into
the opponent’s court.

Background
Tennis was originated from a French called Jeu de Paume (Paume, meaning
“Palm”). It was a court game where the ball was struck back and forth using
the hand. It was then evolved all throughout and eventually, rackets were
used instead of the hands. In Europe, the game was then spread and in 1873,
Major Walter Wingfield, a student of court tennis introduced the game called
“Playing Ball” from which modern outdoor racket game was played. From
then on, tennis was introduced and it was known as Lawn Tennis.
In playing this game, players must keep the ball in play by returning it over
the net before it touches the floor twice. Tennis matches were played on
courts with different surfaces, including grass, clay or hard court. The
International Tennis Federation is the governing body for tennis and all the
standard rules in playing the game are set for all tennis competitions by this
body.

Popular International Tennis Tournaments

1. Wimbledon (England) – the most prestigious tennis tournament.
2. US Open (USA)
3. French Open (France)
4. Australian Open (Australia)
It was in the 19th century where the game was simplified and the method of
scoring was regularized. It was in the United States where the game was
introduced.

How to Play the Game

The game/match begins with a toss coin and the player who wins the toss
chooses to serve or to begin the match on a particular side of the court and
the opponent gets the opposite choice. Players then alternate serving every
other game and they change ends after every odd-numbered game.
The basic rules for men and women tennis are the same. This is a racket-ball
game played in a rectangular court. The play starts with a serve and each
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point is started by a service. The receiver should return the serve on its first
bounce to the server’s court, it was then that the rally continues until one of
the player fails to return the ball either on the fly or after first bounce within
the boundary lines.
When the point has been completed, the server stands just behind his
baseline to the left of the center service line to serve to the opponents left
service court, continuing to alternate left and right until the game is
completed and after the completion of the game, the server becomes the
receiver.

Doubles
In a game of doubles, each player serves a game in his turn, one member of
one team then a member of the other team, and the same order of serving is
kept throughout the set. Each player covers half of his court from the net to
the baseline and from his sideline to the center of the court.

Doubles Starting Position

Each player’s position should be related to his partner. They should be
parallel to each other and attempt to keep it this way. During the game,
beginners should play near the baseline and move near the net after one has
made a shot, forcing the opponent out of position. When rushing to the net,
they should move up together, maintaining their parallel positions and be on
the offensive, using such strokes as they volley and smash, and as beginners,
they have to master these important strokes.

Scoring
To win a game is when the first player to win four points unless deuce (3
points each) is reached.
Points in tennis are called love, 15, 30, and 40. The first player to reach 40
points (match point) gets 1-point game advantage except if the score is tied
at 40-40 (deuce). At the event of deuce, one player or team needs to score
two consecutive points to complete the game. An advantage point is awarded
to the player who won by a point in a game.
 Physical Education and Health 2: Individual/Dual Sports
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Lawn Tennis

A match is for 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5 sets. A set is made up of 6 games except

at five games. When the game is tied at 5, a player must win two consecutive
games to complete the set.
In scoring, the player who wins the first point has the score of 15, second
point is worth 30 points, and the third point is 40. The player wins a game
after winning the fourth point unless the opponent has scored more than two
points. When a player has no points, his score is “LOVE.” The server’s score is
always first.
In scoring, the player who wins six games wins a set unless both players won
five games. It takes an advantage of two games to win so that the score would
be 7-5 or 8-6, and scoring by match, the player who wins 2 sets is declared
the winner of the game.

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