Tennis

In tennis two players (singles) or four (doubles) hit the ball over a net with rackets. The scoring is unique — 15, 30, 40, game — with games making up sets and sets making up a match. Courts are grass, clay or hard.

History

Modern lawn tennis was born in England in the 1870s. The first Wimbledon was played in 1877, followed by the US Open (1881), the French Open (1891) and the Australian Open (1905) — together the Grand Slam. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) was founded in 1913. Tennis was an Olympic sport from 1896 to 1924 and has been back on the programme since 1988.

Major competitions

The Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open), the Olympic Games, the ATP and WTA tours with their season finals, and the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup for national teams.

Tennis in the Turkic world

Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, won Wimbledon in 2022 and became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam title. Alexander Bublik also plays for Kazakhstan and has won ATP titles. Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin beat defending champion Novak Djokovic at the 2017 Australian Open.

Hungary's Tímea Babos has won four Grand Slam doubles titles. Türkiye's Çağla Büyükakçay became the first Turkish woman to win a WTA title, in Istanbul in 2016; Istanbul hosted the WTA season finals in 2011–2013, and Baku staged the Baku Cup WTA tournament from 2011 to 2015.