History of Tennis Timeline
1872: The first lawn tennis club in the world is formed in Leamington, Warwickshire
1873: Major Wingerfield invented the game called "Spharistike" introduced in to the UK
1875: The first rules for tennis published. The Marylebone Cricket Club made significant changes to the game. They added Deuce, Advantage and two chances per serve
1877: The All England Croquet Club stages the first men's singles championship at Wimbledon, held at Worple Road. Only 22 players entered the tournament
1880: The Overhead Smash was introduced into the game by the Renshaw brothers
1881: The United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) is founded, and the first US Championships are played, though only for American citizens until 1885
1884: Wimbledon championships are open to women for the first time
1891: The French Open is played for the first time but is only open to French residents
1896: Tennis included for the first time in the staging of the modern Olympics
1990: Davis Cup introduced, but entries only from Britain and the United States
1913: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) is founded in Paris with 12 nations, with the aim of operation 4 major tennis Championships
1922: The Australasian Championships are open to women for the first time
1925: The French Championships open to non-French residents for the first time
1937: Wimbledon is the first tennis tournament to be televised
1940: From 1940 to 1945, World War II puts a hold on Wimbledon and the French Open.
1955: Changes in rules so that news balls were changed after the first seven games and then each subsequent nine instead of after each set
1968: The "Open Era" of tennis begins so both amateurs and professionals compete in the same tennis tournaments
1979: At Wimbledon the tie-break was changed to come into play at a score in games of 6-6
1990: ATP Tour launched. McEnroe first to be defaulted at a Grand Slam tournament
1998: A record 131 entries for the Davis Cup.
2000: The ATP Champions Race is launched and the Tennis Masters Series is established
1873: Major Wingerfield invented the game called "Spharistike" introduced in to the UK
1875: The first rules for tennis published. The Marylebone Cricket Club made significant changes to the game. They added Deuce, Advantage and two chances per serve
1877: The All England Croquet Club stages the first men's singles championship at Wimbledon, held at Worple Road. Only 22 players entered the tournament
1880: The Overhead Smash was introduced into the game by the Renshaw brothers
1881: The United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) is founded, and the first US Championships are played, though only for American citizens until 1885
1884: Wimbledon championships are open to women for the first time
1891: The French Open is played for the first time but is only open to French residents
1896: Tennis included for the first time in the staging of the modern Olympics
1990: Davis Cup introduced, but entries only from Britain and the United States
1913: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) is founded in Paris with 12 nations, with the aim of operation 4 major tennis Championships
1922: The Australasian Championships are open to women for the first time
1925: The French Championships open to non-French residents for the first time
1937: Wimbledon is the first tennis tournament to be televised
1940: From 1940 to 1945, World War II puts a hold on Wimbledon and the French Open.
1955: Changes in rules so that news balls were changed after the first seven games and then each subsequent nine instead of after each set
1968: The "Open Era" of tennis begins so both amateurs and professionals compete in the same tennis tournaments
1979: At Wimbledon the tie-break was changed to come into play at a score in games of 6-6
1990: ATP Tour launched. McEnroe first to be defaulted at a Grand Slam tournament
1998: A record 131 entries for the Davis Cup.
2000: The ATP Champions Race is launched and the Tennis Masters Series is established
