Tennis is a sport played between either two players ("Singles") or two teams of two players ("doubles"). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a ball, a hollow rubber ball covered in felt, over a net into the opponent's court. In some places tennis is still called lawn tennis to distinguish it from real tennis (also known as royal tennis or court tennis), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different court. Originating in England in the late 19th Century, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. Tennis is now an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, by all ages, and in many countries around the world. Except for the adoption of the tie-breaker in the 1970s, its rules have remained remarkably unchanged since the 1890s. Along with its millions of players, millions of people follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Manner of play

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The court

Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually grass, clay, or a hardcourt of concrete and/or asphalt. 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.

Types of Courts

There are three main types of courts. Depending on the materials used for the court surfaces, each surface provides a difference in the speed and bounce of the ball, which in turn can affect the level of play of the individual players. The three most common types of courts that are used for play are:

• Clay court
• Grass court
• Hardcourt

Some players are clearly more successful on certain surfaces than on others and become known as, for instance, a "grass-court" or "Clay-court specialist".

More on [ Tennis ]

NYT > Home & Garden

Home Work: How Green Is My Garden, How Strong Is My Urge to Root
Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:17:03 -0000
The reasons anyone bothers with a home vegetable garden are as idiosyncratic and hard to map as a sweet-corn genome.
A Sustainability That Aims to Seduce
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:42:34 -0000
A number of designers have begun to champion an environmentally conscious approach to landscape and garden design.
In a Father’s Clutter, Historic Oddities
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Evan Lattimer is cataloging the thousands of objects that her father, an avid collector, amassed over the course of seven decades.
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Three visual thinkers collaborated for a bright, airy brownstone in Brooklyn.
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Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:52:13 -0000
Late August, when vegetable patches appear weedy and roses are beetle-infested, is the perfect time for moving perennials and herbs.
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Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:00:39 -0000
Notoriously short on space and equipped with only the bare essentials, dorm rooms almost always cry out for design assistance.

L.A. Times - Home & Garden

Neutra's Maxwell house moves to Angelino Heights from Brentwood
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Once it is reassembled, the new owner will restore and sell it. FOR ANYONE lucky enough to have witnessed the move, it was some kind of spectacle: the 1941 Maxwell house by Richard Neutra, one of Southern California's most celebrated residential architects, loaded onto a flatbed truck for a cruise down the Sunset Strip.
Porsche's Kitchen for Men
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Dudes, it's as sleek and cool as a certain sports car. There's even a TV. But what if you want toast? You're an evil genius, bent on world domination. You have a nuclear weapon simmering away in the basement of your underground lair, deep within some Polynesian volcanic island. You still have to eat.
Modern architecture mixes with traditional furnishings in Los Angeles house
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Grandma Gloria Swanson's influence is felt in every room of Brooke Anderson's home, which was designed by Gregory Ain. ALTHOUGH Brooke Anderson was brought up in a modern milieu, she credits her famous "Grams," actress Gloria Swanson, for imbuing her with a love for the traditional. As a young woman, Anderson frequently visited her grandmother's stylish apartment on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. "It was formal but very comfortable, and filled with beautiful antiques with tons of books everywhere," Anderson recalls, adding that her grandmother always wanted to be an opera singer. "She had a baby grand piano in the living room where she would play and sing."
Cactus and succulent container gardens
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Dioramas by Anna Goeser of Pot-ted are dish gardens for people with a love of kitsch. ANNA GOESER'S container gardens -- desert dioramas she calls Mojave bonsai -- started as simple arrangements of cactuses and succulents. Then she began to add roads, cars and people. "They became little worlds," she says.
Book review: "Houseonomics: Why Owning a Home Is Still a Great Investment," by Gary N. Smith and Margaret H. Smith
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Owning instead of renting, even in the current climate, pays a financial dividend, the authors explain. With home prices continuing to fall -- and expected by many experts to decline further before finding a bottom -- it's very easy to play that "woulda, shoulda, coulda" game and envision how life might have been different had you sold that home back in 2005 and run off with the profit to Tahiti.
About your summer vacation
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
It was O'Hare, cousins, bug spray, golf lessons, fishing and Grandma's grill. Chicago

Christian Science Monitor | The Home Forum

Sneaky tactics in the food wars
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Dad knew that if he could get my sister to try a new dish, I'd clamor for some, too.
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Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
A Christian Science perspective on daily life.
After 50 years of marriage, working together is a cinch
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
A long-married couple works seamlessly together on those pesky household chores.
Put your fruit to the fire
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Grilling caramelizes a fruit's natural sugars, lending it an outstanding flavor.
Follow your nose to the best fruit
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
If the aroma of a peach entices as much as its color, you've got a winner.
A home without limits
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
A Christian Science perspective on daily life.

Denver Post: Lifestyle

Celebs threaten to steal real show
editor@denverpost.com (By Ray Mark Rinaldi / The Denver Post) Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:33:05 -0600
Ben Affleck's million-dollar smile. Charlize Theron's glamorous glow. Oprah Winfrey's authoritative aura, irresistible and unquestioned by millions of fans.
Appearance coach Patti Shyne, Denver
editor@denverpost.com (The Denver Post) Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:55:43 -0600
Denver native Patti Shyne arrived at the Pepsi Center at 5 a.m. Sunday to do Caroline Kennedy's makeup for her appearance on "Meet the Press."
TV is far from only way to see the show
jostrow@denverpost.com (By Joanne Ostrow / Denver Post Television Critic) Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:27:36 -0600
In the days of smoke-filled rooms, when delegates read newspapers for hours while ignoring the podium, the presidential nominating conventions were full of surprises.

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