In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield patented in London the equipment and rules for a game fairly similar to modern tennis. In the same year, the first courts appeared in the United States. By the following year, equipment sets had been sold for use in Russia, India, Canada, and China.
Croquet was highly popular at this time, and the smooth croquet courts proved readily adaptable for tennis. Wingfield's original court had the shape of an hourglass, narrowest at the net, and it was shorter than the modern court. www.cooyu.net His rules were subjected to considerable criticism, and he revised them in 1875, but he soon left the further development of the game to others.
In 1877, the All England Club held the first Wimbledon tournament, and its tournament committee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The net was still five feet high at the sides, a carryover from the game's indoor ancestor, and the service boxes were 26 feet deep, but by 1882, the specifications had evolved to their current form.
在1874年，Walter C. Wingfield市长发明了一种新的网球装置和游戏规则，类似现在的网球，并获得了专利权。同年，在美国出现了第一个真正意义上的网球场地。随后的第二年，这种装置被销售到俄罗斯，印度，加拿大和中国。在那时，槌球很受欢迎，并且槌球的场地直接可以用来玩网球。www.cooyu.net
Wingfield所设计的场地形状象沙漏，在球网处最狭窄。他设计的规则虽然遭到了很多非议，并与1875年别修改，但是他却带来了现代网球的开端。
在1877年，一个英国的俱乐部展开了第一次Wimbledon锦标赛，比赛所设计的长方形场地和比赛规则和今天的一样。网子仍然是五英尺高，发球箱仍然是26英尺深，但是在1882年，进行了一些细微的修改，才产生了现在网球。www.cooyu.net
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