Tennis

Historians believe tennis began in 12th century France.  It was a favorite of royalty.  The game was played indoors until the invention of the lawn mower made lawn courts appealing.  Modern tennis was developed by savvy businessman Major Walter Wingfield in the 1870s.  The major patented a set of rackets, balls, a net, and rules, and used his connections with the aristocrasy around the world to market his set.

Tennis was part of the inaugural Olympic games.  It is usually played on hard (asphalt/concrete) courts, but some venues offer clay or grass courts.  The varying surfaces provide different players with advantages and disadvantages.  The very first Olympic medal ever awarded to a woman was in tennis.  Today tennis events include men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

Only a few of us were available this week, and the weather was threatening to storm, but we met at some local hard courts to give this a try. 

Tennis was a lot of fun.  There was a lot of running after the ball, and we had to ignore rules about hitting the ball in the lines in order to keep the volleys going.  But we definitely got better the more we played.  We'll have to revisit tennis when the rest of our gang is available.