Racket and ball game invented towards the end
of the 19th century. It was introduced by
Major Clopton Wingfield at a Christmas party
at Nantclwyn, Wales in 1873. His game was
then called `Sphairistike'. It derived from
real tennis. Although played on different
surfaces (grass, wood, shale, clay, concrete)
it is still called `lawn tennis'. The aim of
the two or four players is to strike the ball
into the prescribed area of the court, with
oval-headed rackets (strung with gut or
nylon), in such a way that it cannot be
returned. The game is won by those first
winning four points (called 15, 30, 40,
game), unless both sides reach 40 (deuce),
when two consecutive points are needed to
win. A set is won by winning six games with a
margin of two over opponents, though a
tie-break system operates, that is at six
games to each side (or in some cases eight)
except in the final set. Major events include
the Davis Cup first contested in 1900 for
international men's competition, and the
annual All England Tennis Club championships
(originating 1877), an open event for players
of both sexes at Wimbledon. The latter is one
of the four Grand Slam events; the others are
the US Open, first held 1881 as US
Championships becoming US Open in 1968,
French Championships, and Australian
Championships. tennis: recent winners United
States Open
men's singles
1980 John McEnroe (USA)
1981 John McEnroe (USA)
1982 Jimmy Connors (USA)
1983 Jimmy Connors (USA)
1984 John McEnroe (USA)
1985 Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia)
1986 Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia)
1987 Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia)
1988 Mats Wilander (Sweden)
1989 Boris Becker (West Germany)
1990 Pete Sampras (USA)
women's singles
1979 Tracy Austin (USA)
1980 Chris Evert-Lloyd (USA)
1981 Tracy Austin (USA)
1982 Chris Evert-Lloyd (USA)
1983 Martina Navratilova (USA)
1984 Martina Navratilova (USA)
1985 Hana Mandlikova (Czechoslovakia) 1986
Martina Navratilova (USA)
1987 Martina Navritilova (USA)
1988 Steffi Graf (West Germany)
1989 Steffi Graf (West Germany)
1990 Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) Davis Cup
1980 Czechoslovakia
1981 USA
1982 USA
1983 Australia
1984 Sweden
1985 Sweden
1986 Australia
1987 Sweden
1988 West Germany
1989 West Germany