TowerNetWeb

A tennis ball is very distinct and are used by millions of children and adults all over the world for playing tennis, obviously, but many, many other less formal games as well. They are not merely the right size for tennis, presumably anyway at 2.7 inches or 6.7 centimetres in diameter, but they also fit neatly into a hand or a dog’s mouth. Consequently people use them for playing catch, for various games of softball like rounders and for throwing for the dog to bring back.

When I was a youngster, all tennis balls were white, but now you would be very hard pressed indeed to find a white one if, if indeed it is at all possible. These days, all tennis balls are day-glow colours like yellow, green and orange. Presumably this modification was carried out for the purpose of visibility on the TV screen.

The word ‘tennis’ comes from the French – ‘Tenez’ (pronounced ‘teney’), which meant ‘Take up Position’ or simply ‘Begin’. The origins of tennis were almost certainly more than a thousand years ago, when it was played by monks. The racquet or racket was the flat of the hand and the ball was wooden.

No-one is really certain whether the next innovation was to wear leather mitts or to modify the ball to leather, but whichever it was, there was obviously a move to make the game less painful. When the ball changed from being wooden, it was manufactured of animal skin, most often leather, sewn up with sinews and stuffed with anything that came to hand, such as straw, wool and hair – animal and human.

The point is that these early wooden and leather balls did not bounce, so the game was very different back then. Eventually, the monks began using ‘racquets’, but they looked more like bats than modern day tennis racquets.

In Disraeli’s book, “Sybil” (1845), the plot reveals how Lord Eugene De Vere was to travel to Hampton Court to play tennis, so the game was a familiar sport then, but it took until the late Nineteen Century for the game that we know today to become formalized by a set of rules. In 1874, Major Walter Wingfield was granted the patent for the rules and equipment of ‘lawn tennis’ and not much has altered since.

The next year tennis courts were established in the USA and then the game of tennis spread like wildfire. Wingfield laid down the rules of the game and the sort of apparatus to be used. The game has not changed much since then basically, but it has changed a lot nevertheless. The outline of the court is different now and science has been applied to the apparatus to improve it.

The original ball in the late Nineteenth Century was manufactured of solid rubber and so would have been quite weighty, but at least it did bounce which instantly made the game more interesting and more lively. A bouncing ball made tennis into a more interesting game to play and a more interesting game to watch. The rubber ball allowed tennis to be a spectator sport that crowds would pay to watch.

Contemporary tennis balls have a rubberized skin, which is about eighty percent rubber, filled with air and covered by a layer of ‘hairy’ felt. The felt is vital because it gives the surface of the ball more grip and can standardize the bounce as well. It also gives the ball a more predictable flight path even in the presence of wind.

The last aspect of contemporary tennis balls is the air inside. This can either be pressurized or non-pressurized. Pressurized balls give a better bounce whilst new, but they lose pressure over time and so are less consistent, whereas non-pressurized balls actually improve slightly with use, which is considered a benefit.

If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in tennis balls and other tennis equipment, please go along to our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners

It is pretty unlikely that you will not have heard of the French Open tennis championship, because it is a competition which is an annual topic of conversation. In French the name of the competition is ‘Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros’ or ‘Tournoi de Roland Garros’. This tournament, which lasts for roughly two weeks is held in Paris at the Roland Garros Stadium, from which it got its name.

The French Open is one of the most publicised and broadcast sports events in the whole world of sport and lots of VIP’s attend it. The attendees of the game are fanatics who await with baited breath every stroke, especially when there is a close battle between the two sides, doing their best to win. TV viewers actually get a feeling of being there live too.

The French Open tennis championship is the second on the annual round of the Grand Slam tournaments and its history stretches back to the year of 1891 when it was elevated to an international competition. In those days, it was called the ‘International Championship of Tennis of France’ or ‘Championat de France International de Tennis’ in French.

First of all, only players that were registered or licensed in France were permitted to participate in this competition, but things took a different turn in 1925, when the French open tennis tournament finally became accessible to international players. In 1912, the ground the players used was made of red brick dust. Actually the crushed brick was formed into red clay that covered the ground, which until then would have been a green lawn.

The public’s enthusiasm for the French Open tennis tournament held at the Roland Garros stadium, goes back to a competition fought between the Philadelphia Four (Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon) who won the Davis Cup in 1927. It was the trigger of the desire in the French to defend their cup in future competitions. This new tournament was meant to bring back home the cup and was held at a stadium named after the World War I ace Roland Garros. The name has stuck since then.

The word ‘open’ was has been used since 1968, when the tournament was open to both amateurs and professionals alike who wanted to test their skills at tennis. Since then the French Open tennis tournament has also brought some novelties in terms of prizes.

Apart from the regular winners’ prizes, they also award a ‘Prix Orange’ for the most correct and press-friendly player, a ‘Prix Citron’ for the player with the strongest personality and a ‘Prix Burgeon’ for the one the best new-comer of the tennis year.

If you are a novice tennis player or want to know more about the general psychology of tennis, please go to our website called Tennis Tips for Beginners

categories: tennis,apparel,clothes,sport,fashion,recreation,enjoyment,health,fitness,hobbies,celebrities,wimbledon,outdoors,other

If you already take part in tennis, then I imagine that you already appreciate what tennis players wear, so this article is aimed at those individuals who wish for to procure tennis clothes for a dear one for a special occasion. After all, it is not as straightforward as it seems to buy sports garments for the participant of a sport you understand nothing about.

There is a certain image we are inclined to associate with a tennis player: white Polo shirt with shorts or skirt and similar shoes. They are fashionable and stylish, comfortable and classic at the same time. Items of tennis kit often signify a great deal to people who are not just sports fans. If the person you shop for is a tennis aficionado, tennis clothing becomes a fantastic gift that could also prove pretty affordable in spite of the rumors that it costs a fortune.

In case tennis clothes is something foreign to you, Google it over the Internet and you will be astonished to see how much information there is on hand. Very many forums will indirectly inform you about prices and deals going on at various retail shops and online merchants.

They will also present you with information as to which marques are thought the best, which are considered the least durable and reliable, which are affordable and which more than usually pricey .

What many tennis clothes users suggest is that you procure the sort of top or shirt that would make you feel most comfortable and that will permit the very wide angled movements that are peculiar to the performance of this sport. For instance, the shorter the sleeves of your tennis kit, the freer the swing during the game. Some purchase tennis attire also according to the season in which they intend to play. Still others go for the materials that can be worn in both warm and cold seasons.

They strongly believe that the tennis attire ought to keep them both warm and cool at the same time. As far as the t-shirts for men are concerned, you ought to know that most players speak of Polo shirts in very high terms, as the collar offers you some neck protection from the sun’s rays.

Guidelines about tennis apparel like that above are available on very many web sites. If you are not quite convinced what to go for when buying your friend a gift, then you can always inveigle him or her to have a discussion about his or her preferred sport. Using a little tact, you will definitely be able to direct the discussion to a connected topic that interests you, that is tennis clothing. Making it all look like idle conversation will not make him or her guess what you have in mind for the special occasion.

If you are a novice tennis player or want to know more about the general psychology of tennis, just visit our site called Tennis Tips for Beginners

categories: tennis,apparel,clothes,sport,fashion,recreation,enjoyment,health,fitness,hobbies,celebrities,wimbledon,outdoors,other