Tennis - what's worth knowing…

The first tennis balls date back to the 15th century. They were made of materials commonly available at that time, such as human hair, horse hair or wool wrapped in leather. Other versions of tennis balls consisted of sheep or goat stomachs wrapped in wool and caught with a string, usually made of animal intestines. In the 18th century, balls were made by rolling pieces of wool into a ball and then tightly wrapping it with string. The "interior" prepared in this way was additionally wrapped in white fabric. In 1870, rubber was first used to make a tennis ball. The balls of that time were filled with air and were not covered with fabric. Then a ball was wrapped in flannels, and in 1890 they began to be produced in this form.  Another improvement was the addition of an outer layer of felt.White balls were played until 1972, when the ITF introduced yellow balls. The decision to change the color was made based on scientific research which showed that yellow balls are more visible...

  In 1947, the first Lacoste laminated wood racket was introduced to the market. In March 1922, an American magazine published an article about a rocket which frame was made of a previously heat-treated steel pipe, with a wooden handle, It weighed and measured the same as a wooden rocket, but had 30% less air resistance. The manufacturer gave it a one-year warranty, and considering that players needed 10 to 15 wooden rackets a year, it was more economical to use. In the late 1960s, a steel racket was created by Wilson Sporting Goods. The frame of this racket was wrapped with wire to create a stringing hook on its inner side. In 1975, the American company Weed used aluminum, which was lighter than steel. This allowed the head of the racket to be enlarged by 50% compared to the head of a wooden racket, without increasing its weight. Thanks to rackets with an "oversize" head, tennis players could give the balls more spin. Unfortunately, advanced players began to be disturbed by ...

  Initially, the game, which can be considered primitive tennis, was played with open hands. Because the balls were hard at that time, playing with hands was uncomfortable and even painful, it was often leading to injuries. Then, to prevent injuries, they started using leather gloves. Next, to increase the surface area, a net was attached between the fingers. At the same time, they also experimented with wooden floats. Around the 14th century, players began using primitive rackets consisting of a wooden frame with strings made from animal intestines. By the 16th century, rackets were already in common use. The rackets of that time had a long handle and a small teardrop-shaped head. They were more like modern squash rackets. In 1874, Walter Wingfield patented the game "Sphairistike". The "Sphairistike" racket was made from a single piece of solid wood and is considered the prototype of the tennis rackets we play today.  

On September 7, the WTA announced that the season finals would be held in Cancun in Mexico. The official announcement came very late, at the end of the then US Open. Most of the tennis players had already planned their performances until the end of the season, and eight of them had to take into account a flight to Mexico. The choice is completely illogical, because the tournament in Mexico is preceded by tournaments in Asia, and right after it, most of the top tennis players will go to Europe for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.  The women's tennis authorities chose a city that does not even have the infrastructure to host a tournament like that one. At the time of the announcement, there was no center court or stands yet. The players were allowed to train only on Saturday, and the tournament starts a day later. There will be little time to adapt to match conditions. Dress rehearsals took place while finishing works were still being caried on the stands. Congrats WTA… https://www.n...

To this day, it has not been possible to determine where it comes from. Some historians believe that primitive tennis was already known in ancient. Supporters of this theory cite the example of the Arabic word "rahet", which means hand, from which the word "racket" probably came from. Another clue comes from the name of the Egyptian city: Tinnis, which sounds like the word "tennis." Significant evidence of the presence of tennis comes from the 11th and 12th centuries, when Italian and French monks entertained audiences during ceremonies by playing a game of hitting a ball over a rope. The game was called "jeu de paume", or simply "playing with the hand". Over the next few centuries, tennis grew in popularity. Aristocrats began to turn courtyards and palace chambers into courts. In the 16th century, the rocket was introduced. Modern version of tennis was created in England in 1874 thanks to Major W. C. Wingfield, who patented a new game ...

Highest paid tournament: In 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic, the US Open singles champions received a bonus of $3.9 million, and those defeated in the first and second round could count on $58,000 and $100,000 USD. Compared to the previous year, when the winner and the winner each gained 2.6 million. That's a whopping 1.3 million difference... wow Poles gained the most for one tournament: 9 out of the top 10 financial results of Polish tennis are achieved by women. The men are far behind them. The first place is taken by Agnieszka Radwańska (WTA Finals 2015 - victory) with the result of USD 2,054,000. Behind her is Iga Świątek, who is currently playing and won 1,768,468 USD (Roland Garros 2020 – victory) Who earned the most in their career: Male : USD 450 MILLION - Roger Federer often described as the best tennis player of all time. He has won 20 Grand Slams. Only from the tournament prizes, he collected a considerable amount of 130 million USD, but it is only ...