TENNIS

1. TENNIS

2. THE HISTORY • Tennis of one kind or another was played in France as far back as the twelfth century. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the game, in a somewhat different form, began to take on popularity in Britain with the start of lawn tennis. Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, in search of a more energetic game than croquet for the leisure classes, created an activity that was court tennis (which had existed for centuries). He called it Sphairistike, Greek for ball games. Wingfield patented his game in 1874 and a kit was made available for sale. People took to the new game, but soon realized they didn't need Major Wingfield's kits. Wingfield let his patent run out in 1877 and in that year the All England Club held a tournament. Eventually the game was modified from the prescriptions laid out by Major Wingfield.. There have also been changes in the quality and type of equipment and clothing used. Early this century short pants were a radical idea. During the past few decades players have gradually replaced wooden and metal rackets with rackets made of graphite and other compounds. After 1984, when John McEnroe and Pat Cash wielded wooden rackets in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, wooden rackets quickly became an leftover, to the grieve of some purists.

3. EQUIPMENT • Racquets • Racket String • Tennis Balls • Racket grips and tape

4. Wimbledom Champions (Males) • 2000 P. Sampras USA • Sampras' older sister Stella is head coach at UCLA, and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, is tournament director at Scottsdale ATP event. • On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA Bridgette Wilson. On November 21, 2002, their son Christian Charles was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple welcomed their second son, Ryan Nikolaos. • Sampras has thalassemia minor, an inherited disease that causes anemia. Thalassemia minor limits physical and athletic endurance and causes those who have it to feel fatigued when forced to perform athletic feats. For Sampras, it meant he was weakened when forced to play many long rallies from the baseline. This explains why he came to net so often and attempted low percentage shots if rallies lasted too long. • Sampras' business-like attitude to tennis and cautious handling of the press led critics to bemoan his lack of charisma, but his natural talent and work ethic meant he was always able to let his results speak for themselves.

5. Andre Agassi :USA1992 • Agassi dated famed American singer Barbra Streisand in the early 1990s before marrying actress Brooke Shields in a lavish ceremony on April 19, 1997. That February, they had filed suit against The National Enquirer claiming it printed "false and fabricated" statements about the couple. The case was dismissed. He later filed for divorce from Shields, which was granted on April 9, 1999. • Before the divorce was finalized, Agassi was dating retired tennis star Steffi Graf. They were married at his home on October 22, 2001. Their son, Jaden Gil, was born on October 26. Their daughter, Jaz Elle, was born on October 3, 2003. • The couple own homes in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Manhattan, and Germany. They paid $23 million to purchase a six-bedroom, eight-bathroom house in Tiburon, California. • Agassi's older sister, Rita, was married to the late former tennis legend Pancho Gonzales. In 1995, when Gonzales died in Las Vegas, Agassi paid for his former brother-in-law's funeral.

6. Venus Williams: USA 2002 • Venus is a business woman and CEO of her interior design firm "V Starr Interiors" located in Jupiter, Florida. Williams' company garnered prominence by designing the set of the "Tavis Smiley Show" on PBS, designed the Olympic Athletes' Apartments as a part of the US bid package for New York, USA to host the 2012 Games, and designing residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida area.

7. Serena Williams: USA 2002 • Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan. When she and her four sisters were young, their parents, Richard and Oracene, took them to the poor and sometimes violent Los Angeles suburb of Compton. Her father dreamed of making at least one of his daughters a tennis superstar, hoping that involvement in sports would give them a way out of that neighborhood. When Serena was four and a half, she won her first tournament, and she entered 49 tournaments before the age of 10, winning 46 of them. At one point, she replaced her sister Venus as the number one ranked tennis player aged 12 or under in California. Her younger sister is another female tennis champion, Venus Williams. They currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States.

8. Andre Agassi Pete Sampras Venus Williams Serena Williams

9. Number Of Championships Venus Williams: 2000 - Wimbledon, 2000 - U.S. Open 2002 U.S.- Open (2) 2003- Australian Open 2003- Wimbledon (2)

10. Number of Championships • Serena Williams 1999 - U.S. Open 2001- Wimbledon (2) 2001- U.S. Open (2) 2002- French Open 2002- Wimbledon 2005- Australian Open (2) 2005- Wimbledon (3)

11. Number of Championships • Andre Agassi Australian Open (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003) French Open (1999) Wimbledon (1992) U.S. Open (1994, 1999)

12. Number of Championships • Pete Sampras Australian Open (1994, 1997) French Open (1996) Wimbledon (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) U.S. Open (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)

13. THE US LAWN TENNIS ASSOCIATION • Established in 1881 • A world wide organization with 17 geographical sections • Located in New York City

14. THE US OPEN • The tournament has been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens.

15. John McEnroe • Winner of the U.S Open in 1984

16. Jimmy Connors • Winner of the US OPEN in 1982

17. Lindsay Davenport • Winner of the US Open in 1998

18. Tracey Austin • Winner of the US Open in 1981