HISTORY OF TENNIS:
Most believe that tennis originated in the 12th century in France, but at that time, the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand. It is not until the 16th century that racquets came into play and the game began to be called "tennis." Tennis was not introduced to the United States until 1887 when Mary Ewing Outerbridge setup tennis courts in the state of New York. It then became an Olympic sport starting in the year 1896.
FUNDAMENTALS OF TENNIS:
A competent tennis player has nine basic shots in their repertoire: Serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, swing volley overhead smash, drop shot and lob. Most players also change grips during a match depending on what shot they hit.
SERVE: Shot to start point
FOREHAND: Starts on the dominant side of the body and moves to the opposite side
BACKHAND: Stroke beginning on opposite of the body and ends at dominant side
VOLLEY SHOTS: Shot made in the air before the ball bounces
HALF VOLLEY SHOT: Shot made by hitting the ball on the rise just after its bounce
SWING VOLLEY SHOT: shot made while raising the non-dominant hand and point to the ball while starting very shallow back swing, keeping the racket level with the face.
OVERHEAD SMASH: A hard serve like shot, to try to end the point
DROP SHOT: Soft tapping the ball just over the net so the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve due to being deep in his court
LOB: Offensive or defensive weapon by hitting the ball high and deep.
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