Tennis at the Summer Olympics

Tennis in Summer Games: Tennis is a racquet game, which involves two players or two teams of two players. The origin of the sport can be traced back to the ancient Greece. The event seems to have developed from the ancient sport, " sphairistike". However, the modern tennis emerged in the later half of the nineteenth century. A tennis match between two players is known as singles and a tennis match between teams of two players is known as doubles. In tennis, the players hit the ball with a racquet. A hollow rubber ball is used for the sport. Various techniques have been implemented by the players to excel in the sport. The International Tennis Federation or the ITF is the international governing body for the sport. The other organizations having governing power are the Association of Tennis Professional or the ATP and the Women's Tennis Association or the WTA.

Tennis in the Summer Games: Lawn tennis was included in the Olympic program at the 1896 Athens Summer Games. The event was dropped from the schedule in the 1924 Olympics. Later lawn tennis was twice held as a demonstration sport. Tennis reappeared permanently in the Olympic program at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. The format of the Olympic tennis competition is a single knockout round. The events contested by both men and women at the Olympic tennis competition are-

• Men's singles
• Men's doubles
• Women's singles
• Women's doubles

Rules of Tennis: The International Tennis Federation or the ITF is the setter of the tennis rules at the international level. Some of the rules followed at the international tennis tournaments are-

The court, on which tennis is played, is of rectangular shape. The court essentially has a flat surface. The length and width of the tennis court have to be as per the ITF rules.

The tennis court should be properly marked during the match for the players' convenience.

Four types of courts can be used during the international tennis competitions. The most commonly used courts are-clay court, grass court, hard-court and indoor court.

Tennis matches generally consist if five sets. The sets comprise of a number of games.

During the tennis match, a certain type of numbering system is used. Different terminology is used for announcing the points during the tennis match.

An umpire is appointed during the tennis match to supervise the play.

The strokes or shots, which can be used during the tennis matches, are specified by the ITF in its rule-book.

For commencement of any foul, a player can be fined according to the seriousness of the foul.

A point is deducted from the player's score for violating the hindrance rule set by the ITF.

The structure of the ball used in the tennis matches and the dimension of the racquets used during the matches are predetermined by the ITF.

Medal winners in Tennis: Thomas Haas, Arnaud di Pasquale, Nicolas Massu, Mardy Fish, Fernando Gonzalez, Nicolas Kiefer, Mario Ancic, Andre Agassi, Sergi Bruguera, Marc Rosset, Jordi Arrese, Miloslav Mecir, Vincent Richards, Todd Woodbridge, Rainer Schuttler, Mark Woodforde, Daniel Nestor and Ivan Ljubicic are some of the leading male tennis players.

Some of the famous female tennis players are Venus Williams, Elena Dementieva, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo, Alicia Molik, Monica Seles, Jana Novotna, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini, Suzanne Lenglen, Serena Williams, Virginia Ruano Pascual, Paola Suarez, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian.