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Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand.
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It had close connections both to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis.
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The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles).
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Part of Summer Paralympic programme since 1992 Part of Summer Olympic programme since 1988 Part of Summer Olympic programme from 1896 to 1924ĭemonstration sport in the 19 Summer Olympics Roger Federer hitting a backhanded shot in 2012
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