Tennis was first played in the United States in 1874. In 1881 the National Lawn Tennis Association was founded in order to organize all tennis activities in the country. The first major tennis tournament was called the US Open Championship and was also first played in 1881.

History

The first tennis clubs in the United States were formed in the mid-1870s.

Mary Ewing Outerbridge Mary Ewing Outerbridge (February 16, 1852 – May 3, 1886) was an American woman who imported the lawn game tennis to the United States from Bermuda. Biography Mary was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Bermudians Alexander Ewing Outerbridge ...

allegedly introduced the sport to the United States after seeing tennis being played in Bermuda and demonstrated it to people on Staten Island in 1874. Soon tennis clubs were established across the country amongst the upper classes, including in New Orleans and San Francisco. The New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club was founded in December, 1876.

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American ...

was the first African American woman to win the US Open.

Governing Board

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

was national board for tennis in the United States. The organisation original name was the National Lawn Tennis Association this was changed to its current name in 1975. They are responsible for the promotion and development of tennis athletes in the United States.

US Open

The US Open is considered one of the 4 major

Grand Slam tennis The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year, also referred to as the "Calendar-year Grand Slam" or "Calendar Slam". In doubles, a team may accomplish the Grand Slam pl ...

tournaments.

Popularity

Tennis is still a popular sport to watch on television in the United States.

Men's tennis

American male tennis players used to be amongst the best in the world and produced many

Grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

winners for much of the 20th century. The number of male tennis inside

ATP rankings The Pepperstone ATP rankings are the merit-based method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all singles and doubles tournaments. The first rankings ...

has declined since the 21st century.

Women's tennis

In 1887 the

Philadelphia Cricket Club The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania. History Founded on February 10, 1854, the Philadelphia Cricket ...

, hosted a National singles Championship. In 1888 a women's tennis tournament was soon set up. The United States has produced many grand slam winners.

References

{{Sports in the United States