Did you know that the word tennis comes from the Middle English word ‘tenetz’, which was derived from the Old French ‘tenez’ meaning ‘receive, take’. Considering we all know the rules by which this amazing sport is played the name makes sense. Many people believe tennis is one of the hardest sports ever because there is a lot of competition all year and you play alone.
Also, the longest tennis match ever played was during the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships between American player John Isner and France’s Nicolas Mahut. That match lasted more than 11 hours and was played over three days. In the end, Isner defeated Mahut to advance to the tournament’s second round.
The fastest serve in men’s tennis came from the racket of Australian Sam Groth at 263.44 km/h. The fastest server in the women’s tennis was done by Venus Williams who recorded a serve of 205 km/h. Also, she and her sister Serena Williams became the first set of sisters to ever win Olympic gold medals in tennis.
Originally tennis balls were white, until the 1986. when the first yellow ball was introduced at Wimbledon. Until 1975, three out of the four Grand Slams – Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open were played on grass. Today it’s only Wimbledon, while Roland Gaross and Australian and US Open are played on hard ground.