The game that we presently call "Tennis" is more properly called Lawn Tennis though it is now not often played on "lawns". Thus, tennis games played on other surfaces (asphalt, concrete, indoor, clay) are all still "Lawn tennis" because of the original naming of the game. It was adopted from the ancient game of court tennis. In England the old game is called as tennis or real tennis. The new game they term as lawn tennis. Americans call it court tennis, but it's more commonly known as "real tennis" in other countries. The "real" here means "royal," because historically this form of tennis was played by kings and nobles. Real tennis is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis, or tennis, is descended. Real tennis is still played at a small number of active courts in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and France. Tennis came from the French word 'tenez' and came to England and America by way of France. The word originally was spelled "tenetz", and meant to "take head", a directive equivalent to the modern "play". But the French had a name for their game - jeu de pamme.

Tennis is played on a rectangular flat surface, usually of grass, clay, or concrete (hard court). The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 feet (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center. There are three main types of courts, depending on the materials used for the court surface. Each surface provides a difference in the speed and bounce of the ball.

•  Clay court

•  Grass court

•  Hard court

The rules and scoring are similar to those of lawn tennis, which derives from real tennis. Although in both sports game scoring is by fifteens, in real tennis 6 games wins a set, even if the opponent has 5 games. A match is typically best of 5 sets. A set consists of a number of games, and games, in turn, consist of points. A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set when he wins at least six games and at least two games more than his opponent.

The game has other complexities, including that when the ball bounces twice at the serving end, the serving player does not generally lose the point outright. Instead a "chase" is called, and the server gets the chance, later in the game currently being played, to replay the point from the other end, but under the obligation of ensuring every shot he plays has a second bounce further back from the net than the shot he failed to reach. A chase can also be called at the receiving end, but only on the half of the receiving end nearest the net; this is called a "hazard" chase.

Tie Break
A tie break game is played when the score for the set is presently 6-6. A tie break game, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win a game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7-6.

Racket: The 27 inch (686 mm) long racquets or rackets are made of wood and use very tight strings to cope with the heavy ball. The racquet head is bent slightly to make it easier to strike balls close to the floor or in corners.

Ball: The 2½ inch (64 mm) diameter balls are handmade and consist of a core made of cork with fabric tape tightly wound around it and is covered with a hand-sewn layer of felt. Until recently the felt was always white, but yellow has been introduced for player safety. They are much less bouncy than a lawn tennis ball, and weigh about 2½ ounces (71 grams).

Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men's singles, women's singles, doubles (where two players of the same sex play on each side), and mixed doubles (with a member of each sex per side).

List of Tournaments:

•  Grand Slam in tennis

    •  Australian Open

    •  French Open

    •  Wimbledon championships

    •  U.S. Open

•  Tennis Masters Series

•  Cincinnati Masters

•  Satellite tournaments

•  Davis Cup

•  Fed Cup (formerly known as Federation Cup)

•  Hopman Cup

•  World Team Cup