【文章內容簡介】 century. The game became such a popular diversion, both the Pope and Louis IV tried unsuccessfully to ban it. It soon spread to England, where both Henry VII and Henry VIII were avid players who promoted the building of more courts. ? By the year 1500, a wooden frame racquet strung with sheep gut was in mon use, as was a corkcored ball weighing around three ounces. The early tennis courts were quite different from the modern lawn tennis court most of us are used to. The early game matured into what is now called real tennis, and England39。s Hampton Court, built in 1625, is still used today. Only a handful of such courts remain. It39。s a narrow, indoor court where the ball is played off walls that include a number of openings and oddly angled surfaces toward which the players aim for various strategic purposes. The is five feet high on the ends, but three feet in the middle, creating a pronounced droop. ? The game39。s popularity dwindled almost to zero during the 1700s, but in 1850, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process for rubber, and during the 1850s, players began to experiment with using the bouncier rubber balls outdoors on grass. ? An outdoor game was, of course, pletely different from an indoor game played off walls, so several new sets of rules were formulated. ? 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. Wingfield39。s original court had the shape of an hourglass, narrowest at the , and it was shorter than the modern court. 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 mittee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The was still five feet high at the sides, a carryover from the game39。s indoor ancestor, and the service boxes were 26 feet deep, but by 1882, the specifications had evolved to their current form 香港網球史 ? 網球在香港立足 ? 1900年以前，網球只是大洋行少數歐洲人的消閒玩意，而對競賽網球的渴求於 20世紀初才正式出現。 1909年，一群來自幾個會所的代表在香港木球會商討創(chuàng)辦網球聯賽，於是成立了香港草地網球協會。首個聯賽繼而在當年的 57月進行，而最早的聯賽成績可追溯至在香港木球會、紀利華網球會、太古俱樂部、香港中華基督教青年會 (歐洲及中國部 )、葡國人俱樂部、 Wigwam 網球俱樂部、公務員網球隊、 Navy Yard隊及九龍會等會所舉行的比賽。 ? 首屆香港草地網球錦標賽男單賽於 1911年在中環(huán)遮打道香港木球會舉行，並由 . Nisbet奪標。 1918年，吳仕光成爲首位在該比賽奪標的華籍球員，並曾先後六度稱王。至於首屆女單賽則於 1920年在九龍三軍會舉行，冠軍屬於Mrs. Armstrong。而女子雙打和混雙直到戰(zhàn)前也都在三軍會舉行，後來，比賽就移師婦女遊樂會。 直至 1938年，香港草地網球協會經已有 25屬會，在港島區(qū)有 72個球場、九龍則有超過 80個，而大部份都是草地場。由於當時還沒有公眾球場，故此，網球仍然是富裕階層的一項專利。香港草地網球協會聯賽早期幾乎都由中華遊樂會獨領風騒，但在二次大戰(zhàn)後，其他會所，如南華體育會，就開始趕上。 優(yōu)秀球員冒起 ? 幾位非常出色的球員相繼冒起並包辦了本地賽事的錦標，好像 Rumjahn表兄弟就從 1920年代中開始雄霸男子網壇多年。由 1925至 1940年， Rumjahn五度奪得全港單打冠軍，並夥拍 . Rumjahn取得 13個雙打冠軍，其中十一個更是由 1925到 1935年連續(xù)贏得的。 在 1936年，徐煒培取得個人首個錦標，自此一共獲得三十二個香港冠軍，大部份是夥拍其兄徐潤培取得的。他更代表中國參加 1937年的臺維斯盃。至於最出色的一位球員要數葉觀雄，他在 1948年奪得中國國家運動會冠軍，並且，從 1947年起的二十年，囊括了一共 53個草地和硬地冠軍(26項單打及 27項雙打 )。除上述三位以外，蔡國蘅、 . Wang 和 . Dao也在五十年代各大賽中獲得單、雙打的錦標。在 1954年，葉觀雄與蔡國蘅更代表香港參加溫布頓網球公開賽及其他英國的重要賽事。 ? ? 在五十年代，在香港草地網球協會的支持下，來自澳洲(包括 Lew Hoad及 Neale Fraser)、印度、巴基斯坦及瑞典(包括 Lennart Bergelin)的臺維斯盃代表、美國的頂尖球手Hamilton Richardson和 Dorothy Head都曾出席在香港木球會舉行的表演賽，展示高水平的球技。 1957年的十二月，Jack Kramer集團的球手包括 Pancho Segura、 Lew Hoad、Ken Rosewall和 Jack Kramer本人在遮打道一展身手，讓香港人初嘗即將來臨