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 that is strung with 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 who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tennis. The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida, with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing.
A Grand Slam, also referred to as a Calendar-year Grand Slam or a Calendar Slam, is the achievement of winning all four major tennis championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a team may accomplish the Grand Slam playing together or a player may achieve it 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".
Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He was also ranked the world number 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter.Laver's 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history. This included his all-time men's record of 10 or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964–1970). He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time: grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of professional tennis players, and Drysdale became the first president. Since 1990 the association has organized the ATP Tour, the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the organization's name. It is the governing body of men's professional tennis. In 1990 the organization was called the ATP Tour, which was renamed in 2001 as just ATP and the tour being called ATP Tour. In 2009 the name of the tour was changed again and was known as the ATP World Tour, but changed again to the ATP Tour by 2019. It is an evolution of the tour competitions previously known as Grand Prix tennis tournaments and World Championship Tennis (WCT).The ATP's global headquarters are in London. ATP Americas is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; ATP Europe is headquartered in Monaco; and ATP International, which covers Africa, Asia and Australasia, is based in Sydney, Australia.
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organisation is the WTA Tour.
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP Tour. The ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments are on the entry-level of international professional tennis competition. The ATP Challenger Tour is administered by the Association of Tennis Professionals. Players who succeed on the ATP Challenger Tour earn sufficient ranking points to become eligible for main draw or qualifying draw entry at ATP Tour tournaments. Players on the Challenger Tour are usually young players looking to advance their careers, those who fail to qualify for ATP events, or former ATP players looking to get back into the big tour.
The ITF 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.
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules. Most rules of (lawn) tennis derive from this precursor and it is reasonable to see both sports as variations of the same game. Most historians believe that tennis was originated in the monastic cloisters in northern France in the 12th century, but the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand; hence, the name jeu de paume. It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "tennis." It was popular in England and France, and Henry VIII of England was a big fan of the game, now referred to as real tennis.
The Orbetello Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. It was held annually in Orbetello, Italy, from 2009 to 2013.
João Olavo Soares de Souza is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. Before receiving a lifetime ban for match-fixing, Souza competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour, both in singles and doubles. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking, No. 69, on April 6, 2015, and his highest ATP doubles ranking, No. 70, on January 7, 2013. Souza was coached by former Brazilian player Ricardo Acioly. Souza is also known as "Feijão".
The 2014 International Tennis Tournament of Cortina was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 1st edition of the tournament which was part of the 2014 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, between 28 July and 3 August 2014.
The 2015 International Tennis Tournament of Cortina was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 2nd edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy between 3 and 9 August 2015.
The ATP Challenger 2001 Team Padova formerly Challenger Team Città di Padova was a tennis tournament held in Padova, Italy between 2014 and 2015. In 2018, the event was reinstated replacing the International Tennis Tournament of Cortina. The event is part of the ATP Challenger Tour and is played on outdoor clay courts.
The 2016 International Tennis Tournament of Cortina was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament which was part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy between 1 and 7 August 2016.
The 2017 International Tennis Tournament of Cortina was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 4th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2017 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy between 24 and 30 July 2017.
Nevio Devide is an Italian manager and a former professional tennis player from Italy.
The 2023 ATP Tour is the global elite men's professional tennis circuit organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2023 tennis season. The 2023 ATP Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP Finals, the ATP Tour Masters 1000, the United Cup, the ATP 500 series and the ATP 250 series. Also included in the 2023 calendar are the Davis Cup, Next Gen ATP Finals, and Laver Cup, none of which distribute ranking points.
2015 International Tennis Tournament of Cortina 
