Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.
The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, and the ball may bounce up to two times, where the second bounce may also occur outside the court.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there are 211 national and six regional associations that make up the ITF's membership.
The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the Women's Tennis Association, introduced in November 1975. The computer that calculates the ranking is nicknamed "Medusa".
The ITF Men's World Tennis Tour is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. The tour represents the lowest rung of the men's professional tennis ladder. ITF tournaments are incorporated into the ATP rankings, enabling young professionals to progress on to the ATP Challenger Tour and ultimately the full ATP Tour. Nearly every professional player has spent some time on the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour.
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament.
Beach tennis is a game combining elements of tennis and volleyball and played on a beach.
The Open Castilla y León is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women's Circuit. It has been held annually at the Villa de El Espinar in El Espinar, Segovia Province, Spain since 1986. The women's event was added to the tournament in 2015.
The tennis tournaments at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were staged at the All England Club in Wimbledon, from 28 July to 5 August. This was the first Olympic grass court tournament since tennis was reintroduced as an Olympic sport and the first to be held at a Grand Slam venue in the Open era. Two other 2012 Summer Olympic bid finalists had also offered Grand Slam venues. Second-place finisher Paris offered the French Open venue, the Stade Roland Garros, which later was also included in their successful 2024 bid. Meanwhile, fourth-place finisher New York City offered the US Open venue, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens.
The Lexington Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour and the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, and has been held annually at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, since 1995 for men and since 1997 for women.
The Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts founded as the All Japan Indoors in 1964. It is currently part of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) ITF Women's World Tennis Tour. From 1997 to 2018, it was part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Kyoto, Japan, since 1997.
The ITF Junior Circuit is the premier level for worldwide competition among under-18 junior tennis players. Founded in 1977 with only nine tournaments, the 2011 ITF Junior Circuit offered over 350 tournaments in 118 countries. Mirroring the ATP and WTA circuits, the ITF Junior Circuit ranks players and crowns a year-end world champion.
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
The Open Era is the current era of professional tennis. It began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments allowed professional players to compete with amateurs, ending the division that had persisted since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first open tournament was the 1968 British Hard Court Championships held in April, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam tournament, the 1968 French Open, a month later. Unless otherwise sourced, all records are based on data from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official websites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. All rankings-related records are based on ATP rankings, which began in 1973. The names of active players appear in boldface.
The Lexus Ilkley Trophy, previously named as the Ilkley Trophy, Fuzion 100 Ilkley Trophy and the Aegon Ilkley Trophy, is a tennis tournament for male and female professional players played on grass courts. The event is classified as a 125 ATP Challenger and a ITF 100 ITF Women's Circuit event. It has been held in Ilkley, United Kingdom, since 2015. The 2020 edition of the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 edition was held in Nottingham instead because of the pandemic, but in 2022 both legs of the tournament are set to be held.
The Canberra Tennis International is a tournament for professional male and female tennis players played on outdoor hardcourts. The event is classified as a $164,000 ATP Challenger Tour and WTA 125. Prior to 2024, the women's edition was held as a $60,000 ITF Women's Circuit tournament. The tournament has been staged in Canberra, Australia, since 2015.
A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The International Tennis Federation describes the surface as a "textile or polymeric material supplied in rolls or sheets of finished product". It is one of the fastest court types, second only to grass courts. The use of carpet courts in ATP Tour competitions ended in 2009. In women's tennis, no WTA Tour tournaments have used carpet courts since the last edition of the Tournoi de Québec in 2018. ATP Challenger and ITF circuit level tournaments with carpet courts continue to exist up to the present (2024).
The ITF World Tennis Tour Gran Canaria and the ITF World Tennis Tour Maspalomas are two back-to-back tournaments for professional female tennis players played on outdoor clay courts. The events are both classified as $60,000 ITF Women's World Tennis Tour tournaments and have been held in Maspalomas, Spain, since 2021. In 2023, only one event was held and upgraded to $100,000.
2024 Open Araba en Femenino 
