The rules of tennis have changed very little in the past 100 years.
This includes the bulk of the unusual scoring system, the dimensions
of the court and how points are won.
but there have been some significant rule changes, regarding
equipment, scoring, and eligibility. These changes make modern tennis
quite different from historic tennis.
Regarding equipment: Originally the rackets were wooden and generally
27 inches long. But ther was no length limit. In the 1980s,
manufacturers began developing sophisticated rackets that were made of
different materials and had longer frames and larger "sweet spots."
This completely changed the game. A 100-mile-per-hour serve went from
being spectacular to below average on the men's tour. Baseline players
were able to return anything with their extra-long, extra-springy
clubs. And serve and volley specialists became less and less common,
as returns shot back like rockets at their feet. Eventually the US
Tennis Association limited the length of rackets to 29 inches and
limited the racket head to 15.5 inches by 11.5 inches.
regarding scoring, the biggest rule change came in 1970, with the
advent of tie-breaks. Tie-breaks occur when the games are deadlocked
at 6-all. They are played by one to seven, and they must be won by 2
points. The server starts by serving one point; the opponent then
serves two points and the two alternate with two serves each after
that. Most club and pro tournaments are best of three sets with a
third-set tiebreaker. But among the five-set "major" tournaments, only
the U.S. Open allows a tie-break to determine the outcome of the fifth
and final set. Thus final scores in the final set at Wimbledon and the
French Open can be 11-9, or what have you.
Finally, regarding eligibility: up until 1968 only amateurs were
allowed to compete in the major Grand Slam tournaments. Tennis
remained, with a few exceptions, primarily an upper-class sport for
people who didn't need money. This has changed hugely in the past 37
years. Today the best players in the world are professionals from
countries ranging from Croatia to Russia to Argentina, and they
compete for prize money and multi-milolion dollar product
endorsements. This eligibility change has broadened the appeal of the
game and expanded the gene pool. The trousered gentlemen's matches on
manicured lawns are things of the past. Contemporary tennis fans can
enjoy 150-mile-an-hour serves, dashing all-court rallies and
million-dollar tournaments featuring names such as Ivan Ljubicic,
Irakli Labadze and the Great Russian women Maria Sharapova and
Anastasia Myskina. |
