Tennis and Athletics: History, Rules, and Techniques

Posted on Nov 26, 2024 in Physical Education

Tennis

History of Tennis

Origins and Early Development

  • The precursor to tennis, jeu de paume, involved hitting a ball with the hand.
  • Jeu de paume was introduced in France between the 12th and 14th centuries.
  • Modern tennis was invented by Walter Clapton Wingfield.
  • The sport spread to other countries through British influence, particularly in colonies like Australia and South Africa.
  • The first tennis courts were built in the United States in 1874.
  • Walter Clapton Wingfield codified the first rules of modern tennis in 1874.
  • The Wimbledon tournament was established in 1877.
  • In the early days, tennis was primarily played by the upper classes.
  • William Renshaw is considered one of the first great tennis players in history.
  • Tennis became part of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens.
  • American player Don Budge achieved the first Grand Slam in 1938.
  • Tennis returned to the Olympics as a full medal sport in Seoul 1988.

Gameplay and Rules

Playing the Game

  • A tennis match can be played between two players (singles) or four players (doubles).
  • Professional circuit matches are typically played in best-of-three or best-of-five sets.
  • A tie-break is used when the score reaches 6-6 in a set.

Tennis Techniques

Essential Skills

  • Key skills in tennis include hitting, grip, creating spin, body positioning, movement, and overall technique.
  • The forehand is a fundamental stroke.
  • The backhand is the opposite of the forehand.
  • The overhead smash is a powerful shot hit downwards.
  • A lob is a high shot over the opponent’s head.
  • A slice is a shot hit with backspin.

Athletics

History of Athletics

Ancient Origins

  • The first traces of athletic activities date back to ancient times.
  • The first documented athletic competitions took place in Greece.
  • The ancient Olympic Games began in an organized manner in 776 BC.
  • Early Greek Olympics featured running races as the main event.
  • Emperor Theodosius abolished the Olympic Games in the 4th century AD.

Athletic Events

Types of Competitions

  • Athletic events can be categorized into track races, throws, jumps, and combined events (pentathlon, decathlon).
  • Track races include sprints (100m, 200m, 400m), middle-distance, and long-distance runs.
  • Throwing events include shot put, discus, hammer throw, and javelin.
  • Jumping events include long jump, triple jump, and high jump.

Specific Techniques and Rules

Long Jump

  • The long jump consists of four phases: approach run, takeoff, flight, and landing.
  • There are three main techniques in the long jump: natural/basic, extension, and scissor kick.

Triple Jump

  • The triple jump involves a hop, step, and jump sequence.

High Jump

  • In the high jump, eight finalists compete, each with three attempts.

Relay Races

  • There are two types of relay races: ascending and descending.
  • The exchange zone in relays is 20 meters long.

Throwing Events

  • The weight of the shot put is 7.26kg for men and 4kg for women.
  • The men’s hammer throw weighs 7.26kg, and the women’s hammer throw weighs 4kg.
  • The men’s javelin weighs 800g, and the women’s javelin weighs 600g.
  • A discus throw is invalid if the thrower oversteps the platform, the discus lands outside the designated area, or the thrower leaves the throwing circle before the discus lands.

Hurdles

  • Men’s hurdles are 110m, and women’s hurdles are 100m.
  • The height of the hurdles is 1.06m for men and 0.84m for women.

Training and Preparation

Warm-up

  • Warming up is essential before any major physical effort.
  • There are two main types of warm-up: general and specific.

Training Load

  • Training load refers to the set of stimuli applied during a training period.
  • Volume is the quantitative aspect of the load, while intensity is the qualitative aspect.
  • Matveiev, considered the father of training planning, emphasized the importance of structured training programs.
  • Periodization involves progressively increasing the training load while alternating between harder and easier weeks.

Definition of Athletics

Athletics encompasses various individual and group sports involving natural human movements.