LAWN TENNIS. A modern game resem bling in some respects the ancient game of ten nis (q.v.), which in its earliest form seems to have been played in the open air. The new sport almost simultaneously in England and America. Najor Wingfield reduced it to a definite form in England in 1874, giving it the hopelessly classical name of 'sphairistike.' Un der the auspices of the ..11arylebone Club, rules were formulated the following year for what was then definitely known as lawn tennis. The 'hour-glass' court was retained. with the net five feet high at the posts and four feet in the cen tre, and the service lines 25 feet from the net, with covered halls inches in diameter and ounces in weight. Before 1876 the earliest form of court was replaced by a rectangular out, 26 yards long by It yards wide. the net be ing lowered to 3 feet 3 inches and then to 3 feet in the centre. and the service-line brought 4 feet nearer the net. In 1879, when volleying was in troduced hy the Renshaw brothers, the service line was brought one foot nearer the centre, and the height of the net raised again to 3 feet 6 inches, making the advantages of the different styles of play more equal. hi 1S87 the (Eng lish) National Lawn Tennis Association was formed. From that time on it has been the gov erning body for England and the neighboring countries, into which the game has spread. The courts of all countries have the same dimensions: the following is the (Alicia' description of the American court: The court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide. It is divided across middle by a net, the ends of which are attached to two posts. standing 3 feet outside of the court un either side. The height of the net. is 3 feet 6 inches at the posts. and 3 feet in the middle. Ilalf-way between the side-lines, and parallel with them, is drawn the half-court line. divid ing the space on each side of the net into two equal parts, the right and left courts. On each side of the net, at a distance of 21 feet from it. and parallel with it, are drawn the service lines. Two kinds of game are played: 'singles,' i.e. one person against another: or 'double,' two partners on each side. The choice of sides of the court and the right to serve first are de cided by toss. The players stand on opposite sides of the net, the player who first delivers the ball being called the server, and the other the striker out. At the end of the first game the striker out becomes the server, and so on alter nately. The server delivers the ball or service from the right to the left courts. It must drop between the service-line, half-court line, and side-line of the court, diagonally opposite to that from which it was served. The system of scor ing is framed on a basis of fifteen for each stroke vvou; but the third stroke is called forty instead of forty-five. If both players will three strokes, the score is called 'deuce' instead of forty all. The
winner of the next stroke scores; 'advantage,' and if he also gets the following stroke, lie Wills the game; if the stroke falls to the opposite side, the score goes back to 'deuce.' Similarly the player who first scores six games wins the set, unless both should have won live, when a player must vitt two consecutive games to score the set. If he fails to do this, the score is once more called 'games all,' and the same conditions prevail as before. The players change sides at the end of every set. All championship matches have since 1886 been determined by the winning of three sets out of live; but since 1897 the English system of handicapping occasionally has been (mployed, but w ithout the use of differential tables. Briefly, a player is benefited by giving Or owing strokes or giving bisques. A bisquo is one point which can be taken by the receiver of the odds at any time in the set, except after a service is delivered or by the server after a fault. The game was played in America within a year of its adoption in England—at Nahant, near Boston. The next, year a court was laid cut at Newport, R. 1., which has been the Ameri can headquarters of the game ever since, although it has grown to such an extent that, in addition to national championships, there are yearly held 26 championship contests by single States or groups of States. The first. open championship was held on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket Club in 1680. The next year the United States National Lawn Tennis Association was formed. and rules adopted which have, however, been modified and altered from time to time, and since then the national championships have always been played at Newport, U. I. English players have frequently taken part in them, with marked success at first, which gradually dimin ished as the American play developed along na tional lines. These may be summed up under these heads: (1) The screw service whereby the ball is made to curve in its downward flight (like the 'out-drop' of a modern baseball pitcher) imparting a double and most baffling motion; (2) the practice of volleying from a position so close to the net that these strokes can kill the ball; (3) the development of the 'stop volley,' whereby the ball is simply stopped with a loosely held raeket and falls over the net 'dead'; (4) the development of 'lobbing' to a wonderful extent, lobbing very high With a slight cut that gives the ball a back twist. The American Association has recently modified one of the two important differences between the rules of play in England and America by limiting the rests to which play ers were entitled between sets. to one rest after the third set. and no more. The other difference, the foot-fault rule. remains.