Women's tennis is one of the most popular female sports. It is one of the few in which women command success and popularity that equal those of their male counterparts.
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future fo ...
is the main organization which runs female tennis.
History
Women's tennis was first included during the 1900 Paris
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, yet women's doubles were not implemented until 1920 during the Antwerp Games.
However, it wasn't until the founding of the
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future fo ...
in the 1970's that the sport was formally established.
One of the first superstars of women's tennis is
Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...
, who after six titles won at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
and the Internationaux de France left amateur tennis to achieve a first professional tour in North America in 1926–1927.
Features of women's tennis
In women's tennis matches the ball is usually played without effect (less than lift) and games tend to play more from the baseline; typing is generally less powerful than men. The game is made in a more tactical speed and anticipation. The service is also less powerful; it is relatively less important than for men. However, there has been a noted evolution in this field since the 1990s, women's tennis is improving and is growing more and more popular.
Controversy
Women's tennis has been marked by several cases, including cases of sexual abuse by trainers. The world of women's tennis has been described as "homophobic" and "sexist".
See also
*
Battle of the Sexes
*
Women's tennis in Australia
*
Women's tennis in South Africa
*
Women's tennis in the United States
Bibliography
*Le tennis féminin français, Vincent Cognet, Romain Lefebvre, Philippe Maria, Ed. du stade, 1999 ()
*Les dessous du tennis féminin, Nathalie Tauziat, ed. J'ai lu, 2001 ()
*N'oublie pas de gagner: Dans les coulisses du tennis féminin, Dominique Bonnot, ed. Stock, 20157 ()
*Women's Tennis Tactics, Rob Antoun, Human Kinetics, 2007 ()
References
{{Authority control
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
History of tennis