BONNIE SPORT

Ball games date from the ancient times and the oldest representations can be found in the Egyptian temples in 1500 BC. The ancient Egyptians used to play ball games during their religious rituals. This entire concept of ball games spread in Europe in the eighth century, the influence aching even the South of France. At a certain point, the Christian monks became interested in these religious rituals, being the first Europeans to play the sport we know today as tennis.

The oldest version of tennis was called “La Soule”, the players sending the ball to one another either with their hands or with a stick. Players discovered they had more control over the ball using their hands, so they created a leather glove. It was then just a matter of time until they added a wooden handle to the glove, this turning into the first tennis racket.

The balls were refined, being made of harder or softer wood and leather. The game soon became very popular, especially in France, where the royal family also played it. Therefore, the sport we know today as tennis was developed in France. The French tennis players called this sport “teens”, the sport then being known as royal tennis or real tennis.

This was an inside sport, which was played in spacious areas, with well-built roofs and the winners had to hit the ball against the walls of the gallery. This game is very different from the tennis we know today, the courts today being on grass. Then, the first tennis clubs and tennis courts appeared. This is when tennis started being played on grass. Tennis players could only play in open air after the invention of vulcanized rubber, which prevented the court from being destroyed by the rubber balls.

Winfield was the one who led tennis towards the success it has today. In 1874, he patented a game called Sphairiatike and started announcing the press about it, everybody finding out that tennis was first played in Wales in December 1873. In 1875, Mary Ewing saw the English officers playing tennis in the Bermudas and introduced it in the United States of America, where it was first played at Staten Island Croquet and Baseball Club, where her brother worked as a secretary.

Do you have a problem with your tennis serve? Of course you do, why else would you be reading this. The serve is probably the hardest stroke to master in tennis and unfortunately it is also the most important to master. The reason for this is because if you can have a consistent, powerful and accurate serve you will put your opponent into defense every time you serve and if good enough you will end up frustrating them and maybe even embarrass them by making them run around the court. So if you’re looking to develop the perfect tennis serve that will make you a threat from the service line read the following tips.

Use the Continental Grip

If this is new to you then you aren’t using the most efficient grip when you’re on the court! The continental grip (also known as the chopper grip as it resembles holding an axe) is the most efficient grip you can have, normally many beginners will use the Eastern Forehand and at some places the coach won’t tell you that you’re holding the racquet in the wrong position. As mentioned if this is new to you then you want to learn and use this grip as it is used mostly for serves and volleys (no ground strokes).

Perfect the Motion

The stance for the serve is easy but the hardest part is the motion as it involves hand to eye coordination. What you need to do to perfect this is to not concentrate on one thing at a time you – you need to fluently make the motion. The toss hand is easy to master (throw it slightly in front of you so that you lean in on your stroke giving you more power) but the racket hand is more difficult.

With this hand you want to bring the racket behind your back like a backscratcher and then loop it up to hit the ball (at the same time your body should unwind to give you more power)

PRACTICE!

So you want the perfect tennis serve? Well practice makes perfect right? Of course it does but if you just serve in your back garden or on the court thousands of times you’ll get bored and won’t learn as much as you would with drills. Tennis drills will not only teach you how to serve by putting you under match pressure but they will also let you have fun and enjoy the learning process!

The tennis serve is the most frustrating stroke in tennis to learn and it can be very embarrassing when you lose vital points due to a sloppy serve in ANY of your games. Why do you need to learn how to serve in tennis properly? Well as I mentioned you will end up losing points in your games and these points could be vital (some may even be match deciders!). What you are looking to do is create a serve that is so consistent, powerful and accurate that it will have your opponent under vast amounts of press and frustration from running around the court trying to return the ball. Serves like this will put opponents into defense and have them afraid of your serve! If you ever wonder “how do I fix my serve?” then just read the following 3 tips that will have you a threat from the service line!

When Serving Toss the Ball out More

What does this mean? When you serve you want to imagine a small box that is slightly in front of you. This is where you should aim the ball to drop if you miss your serve. The reason for this is that you will add more power by making your body lean into your stroke.

Use the Continental Grip

The Continental (otherwise known as the chopper grip for its axe like resemblance) is a grip that is used mainly for serves and volleys and is more efficient than the eastern forehand which many beginners use as it is more natural to use.

Have Fun When Practicing

Many people just practice the serve over and over again which can get boring (and cause repetitive strain injuries) and also frustrating if you make no progress. What I found works is using tennis drills that let you have fun and also teach you the method and how it would be under pressure to stop you asking “How to fix my serve”.

While it might have seemed like Roger Feeder was about to pull off his usual championship romp at the 2010 U.S. Open, it shows just how much the balance of power has shifted in men’s tennis. It’s truly Rafael Nasal’s world and everyone else just lives in it. Despite the increasingly predictable conquest by the top Spaniard – and another terrific showing by women’s champ Kim Clysters – the Open offered up a lot of surprises and a lot of entertainment. Here are some of the highlights.

Feeder ousted in epic fashion: When Inner and Mahout locked horns up for the battle for the ages at Wimbledon; few thought better tennis could be played. Enter Novak Djokovic, who had the tough assignment of trying to keep Feeder from reaching his seventh straight Open Finals. Guess who was responsible for Djokovic exit the last three Opens? It was Feeder, so Djokovic got the monkey off his back by beating the Swiss powerhouse in what might have been the match of the year. Fans are still replaying some of the intense rallies and dramatic finishes of this match.

The weather plays a major role in the games: Tennis players always have to deal with weather, but the 2010 U.S. Open was something special. Intense heat made several players take repeated breaks and forced one to collapse on the court mid-match. Victoria Azarenka was okay in the end, but it was a scary moment for all involved. Once the heat broke, it became a question of wind and then, by the Open’s end, heavy rain. It might be your typical late August and early September New York weather, but it didn’t make it any easier on the players or the fans.

Clysters takes out Venus, romps in Final: The Belgian destroyer clinched the Open in the minds of many observers when she ousted Venus Williams in the semifinals. Clysters has been there and done that before, making this year her third Open title. While some did not expect Clysters to get by the very tough Williams on her home turf, she made it happen. Once that was in the bag, the match against Zvonareva in the Finals was basically an anticlimax. In less than an hour’s time, Clysters was ready to hoist the trophy and call it a day. Her efficiency was remarkable.

The Australian Open is the first of Grand Slam tennis tournaments held to coincide with the summer down under in January. Held for the first time in 1905 the tournament was originally contested on grass but has been played on hard counts since 1988.

• Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities as follows: Melbourne (54 times), Sydney (17 times), Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (7 times), Perth (3 times), Christchurch and Hastings (once).
• Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the Australian Open can have extremely hot days. An extreme-heat policy is put into play when temperatures reach dangerous levels.
• From 1972 it has been held in same place, the Korong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, selected because Melbourne attracted the biggest patronage. The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Hisses Arena and feature retractable roofs, which are shut during rain or extreme heat.
• Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) was constructed for the 1988 tournament to meet the demands of a tournament that had outgrown Korong’s capacity.
• The first Open tournament, held in 1969, was won by Australian Rod Laver and the current men’s champion is Roger Feeder. For the women, the first Open tournament was won by Australian Margaret Court and the current women’s champion is Serena Williams.
• The women’s singles winner is presented with the Daphne Oakhurst Memorial Cup. The men’s singles winner is presented with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
• Since 1969 the record for the most wins in the men’s tournament is held jointly be Andre Agassi and Roger Feeder with four wins. The most wins for women are the five wins of Serena Williams.

As the first of the Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open is seen as the bell weather event in tennis. A good start to the tennis year down under bodes well for the remaining big trophies.