chapter 1 The Game That Started a Movement Tennis is played on either a hard grass or clay court The game originated in France between the 11th and 13th centuries and was called jeu de paume meaning game of the palm The word tennis derives from tenez which translates loosely to here it comes Players would shout this phrase as they were about to serve By the 1860s tennis had become more popular than croquet In the mid-1870s tennis was given a set of rules that is still followed today Scores start at love or zero and increase to 15 30 40 and game There are six games per set and 3 to 5 sets per match 4 21st century skills library
An early game of tennis circa 1890 Interest surged around 1968 when tennis turned professional The addition of several Open tournaments increased enthusiasm and provided a faster level of play The use of brightly colored clothing added extra excitement Today about 18 million people play tennis annually Tournaments camps and clubs allow players of all skill levels to practice and hone their abilities Almost 1,200 universities sponsor nearly 11,000 students for their varsity teams each year Tennis started as a simple distraction and became a dominant global sport participated in and watched worldwide 5 Sports Unite Us Photo Caption
Americans hold a winning trophy from the 1964 match at Wimbledon One of the most famous matches ever played was between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs They were two of the best tennis players in the entire sport The match took place in 1973 and was called the Battle of the Sexes During the 1970s women were fighting for equal rights Many people were calling for improvements to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 This law said that men and women should make the same wages for the same work Despite the law women continued to receive less pay and they were still discriminated against Public pressure is often needed to see laws fully enforced During the 1970s the pressure 6 21st century skills library
was strong Activists continued to fight The Equal Pay Act of 1963 led to the Equal Rights Amendment ERA of 1972 The ERA stated that equal rights should be given to all people regardless of sex The United States Senate passed the law to make it part of the U S Constitution The decision then went to the states Despite high levels of activism and the ensuing popular support the states did not ratify the act into law The ERA would have been another major step forward in the fight for equality after women won the right to vote in 1920 Equal Prize Money Soccer basketball and golf continue to have enormous pay disparities while tennis prize money is equal This wasn’t the case until Billie Jean King threatened to boycott the U S Open in 1973 unless women and men earned equally Only a year before in 1972 King made 10,000 in prize money compared to the men’s winner Ilie Năstase who made 25,000 The French Open was the last tournament to not award equal prize money for both men and women in 2006 7 Sports Unite Us
