If you feel like everyone is talking about tennis, you’re definitely not alone.

The sport has surged in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions flocked to their local courts for some socially distanced activity.

And for many, it wasn’t just a phase: According to the latest research shared by the United States Tennis Association, 1 in 12 Americans played tennis as of 2024, the highest share on record.

Even if you haven’t picked up a racket, maybe you’ve seen — or heard the buzz about — the 2024 tennis film Challengers, or noticed an upswing in preppy “tenniscore” apparel on store shelves and social media.

Or perhaps you’re watching Wimbledon, the sport’s oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam. This year’s tournament — which ends Sunday — has been packed with drama, from a record number of top-seed early eliminations to historic tech upgrades.

While Wimbledon’s pristine grass courts, all-white competitor dress code, royal patronage and customary strawberries-and-cream snack may look much the same as they did when the tournament began back in 1877, a lot about tennis has changed along the way.

“It’s a super-old, historical sport,” says freelance writer and editor Julie Kliegman, who is working on a book about transgender tennis player Renée Richards. “Making sure that the modern-day game is as rich as its history and even more exciting and compelling, I think the better it is for spectators, the better it is for pros … everyone wins.”

This week’s installment of Word of the Week looks at the evolution of tennis — both the word and the sport.

Where did tennis come from? 

An engraving of a tennis match from 1659.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The most widely accepted theory is that the sport originated in France sometime around the 12th century and got its name from the word that players would yell before serving: “tenez,” meaning to take or receive.

“The argument goes that … tenez functioned as a sort of verbal ritual, a fair warning called out by servers to their opponents before starting a point,” explains Tennis.com. “By and by, English speakers picked up the game and, presumably, the utterance.”

The earliest version of tennis was called jeu de paume, or “game of the palm,” because no rackets were involved until the 16th century (and that was only after players tried out gloves, wooden bats, paddles with handles and so on).

The handball-esque sport was initially favored by medieval monks and knights but quickly became popular among French royalty — which is why it was typically played indoors, like in palaces.

“By the 1500s, there were apparently more than a thousand tennis courts in France already,” says Kliegman. “It was meant for royalty all along, but commoners did enjoy the game as well.”

That original version of tennis is still played — on indoor, asymmetrical courts (think squash) — in some parts of the world, including the U.S., where it is known as “court tennis” or “real tennis.” The modern game you’re probably picturing, with its grass, clay or hard courts, has a different set of rules and name altogether: “lawn tennis.”

Lawn tennis arose in 18th-century Britain, where aristocrats preferred to entertain in their own backyards rather than travel to indoor courts, according to the International Tennis Federation.

“As a result, lawn tennis soon became the chosen sport of the privileged classes and immense importance was placed on proper etiquette and controlled behaviour,” it explains.

Welsh inventor Walter Clopton Wingfield, then a retired British Army officer, is credited with pioneering the sport around 1873. He designed, patented and manufactured tennis equipment like nets, rackets and rubber balls. He named the sport “sphairistike,” from the Greek word for “sphere,” but it didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Lawn tennis, as it quickly became known, reached the U.S. in 1874 and continued to spread around the world. But the era of tennis as we know it today wouldn’t start for another century.

How has tennis changed over the years? 

Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in three straight sets in the “Battle of the Sexes” in September 1973.

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Ann Limongello/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Tennis historian Joel Drucker says the single biggest change since the dawn of lawn tennis was the professionalization of the sport, which happened in 1968.

“1968 is kind of the B.C./A.D. year in the history of tennis,” he explains.

Before that, only amateurs were allowed to play in prestigious tournaments like Wimbledon, and they couldn’t make any money doing so — at least not legally. Professional players did exist but could compete only in separate, invitation-only events and tours.

A confluence of factors — including the rise of color TV, the climate of social change in the 1960s and decisions by governing groups like the British Lawn Tennis Association — helped usher in the “Open Era” and, importantly, the influx of prize money and corporate sponsorships.

“It changed tennis from this feudalistic environment of amateurs and clubs,” Drucker says. “Now, tennis is in the marketplace. … All sorts of things changed, because then comes money.”

Money, he said, allowed players to both play and take better care of themselves year-round, hiring teams of experts in areas like sports science and nutrition. It led to the creation of better facilities — for training and spectating — as well as better rackets, courts and more.

This was also a time when the sport opened up to people of different backgrounds, like women and racial minorities.

In 1968, Arthur Ashe became the first Black American man to win a U.S. Open singles title. The 1970s saw the formation of the Virginia Slims tour (which later became the Women’s Tennis Association tour) and the fight for equal pay, encapsulated by Billie Jean King’s victory in the “Battle of the Sexes.”

All four Grand Slams have required equal prize money for men and women since 2007. And Black women like Venus and Serena Williams are credited with helping inspire a new generation of players. All kinds of people can take up and excel in tennis now, Kliegman says — a far cry from the sport’s origins.

“It’s seen as an inaccessible kind of country club-y sport, but I think over time it has become at least relatively more accessible,” they say. “You don’t actually need to be a member of a country club or royalty or anything to enjoy it anymore.”

Why does tennis matter today? 

Coco Gauff of the U.S. kisses her trophy after winning the women’s singles at the 2025 French Open in June.

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Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement in tennis and its culture.

These days, many big questions tend to revolve around topics like technology — this is the first time Wimbledon is using electronic line calling instead of human judges, not without controversy — and mental health, with Japan’s Naomi Osaka becoming one of the most prominent advocates not only in tennis but in all of sports.

Kliegman says it’s exciting and encouraging that such conversations are happening in tennis, because it will hopefully make young people — from kids to college athletes — feel even more accepted in the sport.

“I think the more people who are interested in it, the better,” they add. “And the [more] we can get those pipelines to the pros more active and more robust, the better the end product is going to be for everyone.”

Just this month, Wimbledon saw a historic number of upsets in both singles draws — the first time in the Open Era that eight top 10 players went down in the opening round of a Grand Slam.

Drucker points out that it’s an unusually interesting moment in pro tennis, between the retirements of legends like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and the emergence of new stars and potential rivalries, such as between Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

It’s an especially exciting time to be a U.S. fan: The first two Grand Slam women’s singles titles of 2025 both went to Americans, Madison Keys and Coco Gauff. And while there are a number of top-seeded American men, one hasn’t won a Grand Slam singles title since 2003.

Many of the biggest names on the tennis circuit will soon bring their talents stateside. The Mubadala Citi DC Open comes to the nation’s capital in late July, and the U.S. Open — the last Grand Slam of the year — arrives in New York in late August.