followed. In 1796 Tennessee
became the nation’s 16th state.
The American CivilWar (1861–65)
divided Tennessee. The eastern part of
the state sided with the North, but the
western planters and slave owners supported
the South. Tennessee battlefields
at Shiloh and other places were sites of
intense fighting during the war.
In 1933 the United States government
created an agency called the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA). Under the
TVA, new dams and hydroelectric
power plants were built on Tennessee
rivers. The dams and power plants
helped control floods and generated
electricity for the region.
Tennessee was a center of the civil
rights movement in the 1950s and
1960s. Tragically, Memphis was the
scene of the 1968 killing of civil rights
leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In the
1990s the population of Tennessee
increased faster than that of the United
States as a whole. Tennessee’s economy
also grew during this period. The state
supported this growth by encouraging
the development of many different
types of industry.
..More to explore
Cherokee • Nashville
The Cumberland River reflects the skyline of
Nashville, the second largest city in Tennessee.
The BellSouth Building is topped by two
spires. It was the tallest building in the state
when it was built in 1994.
Facts About
TENNESSEE
Flag
Population
(2000 census)
5,689,283—
rank, 16th state;
(2008 estimate)
6,214,888—
rank, 17th state
Capital
Nashville
Area
42,143 sq mi
(109,151 sq
km)—rank, 36th
state
Statehood
June 1, 1796
Motto
Agriculture and
Commerce
State bird
Mockingbird
State flower
Iris
44 Tennessee BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Tennis
Tennis is a fast-paced sport for two or
four players. It can be played either outdoors
or indoors. Tennis players use a
stringed racket to hit a ball over a net.
They score points by hitting the ball out
of the opponent’s reach.
Court and Equipment
Tennis is played on a rectangular court.
The court is 78 feet (23.8 meters) long.
The width depends on whether there are
two or four players. For a singles match
(two players), the court is 27 feet (8.2
meters) wide. For a doubles match (four
players), the court is 36 feet (11 meters)
wide. The surface of the court may be
grass, clay, or a hard material such as
concrete. The court is divided in half by
a net that is 3 feet (0.9 meter) high.
The only equipment needed for tennis is
a racket and a ball. A tennis racket has a
frame with crossed strings attached to it.
Most racket frames are made of a lightweight
material such as graphite. Tennis
balls are small, light, and bouncy. They
are usually yellow or white.
Playing the Game
A tennis game begins with a serve. One
of the players, called the server, stands at
one end of the court. The server throws
the ball into the air and tries to hit it
over the net. The opponent tries to
return the serve—hit the ball back over
the net. The players hit the ball back
and forth until one of them fails to
make a good return. Then the other
player scores a point. The players try to
hit the ball to a part of the court where
the opponent will have a hard time
returning it.
The serve is the most important stroke
in tennis. The served ball must land in a
boxed area on the opponent’s side of the
A tennis court is 78 feet long. Its width depends on how many people are playing. In a
singles match, or a match for two players, the court does not include the alleys. The alleys
are used only for doubles matches, in which four people play. The alleys make the court wider.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Tennis 45
court. If the ball misses that box, it is
called a fault. The server then gets
another chance to serve. If the server
makes another fault, the opponent gets a
point. On the other hand, the server
earns a point by serving the ball so well
that the opponent cannot hit it. This is
called an ace.
A player needs four points to win a
game. Points are counted in four stages:
15 for the first point, 30 for the second,
40 for the third, and game. A score of
zero is called love. The server’s score is
given first. For example, if the score is
30–love, the server has two points and
the opponent none. If both players reach
40, the score is called deuce. The player
who scores the first point after deuce
must also get the next point to win the
game. In other words, a player must win
by two points.
A series of games makes up a set, and a
series of sets makes up a match. The first
player to win six games traditionally
wins a set. But again, a player must win
by two. This means that a player cannot
win a set by a score of 6–5. The set continues
until one player wins by two
games—for example, 7–5 or 8–6. To
win a match, a player usually has to win
either two out of three or three out of
five sets.
History
Major Walter CloptonWingfield of
Great Britain published the first book of
tennis rules in 1873. The first tennis
championship took place four years
later. It was held in a part of London,
England, calledWimbledon. Tennis
reached the United States in the 1870s.
Four major international tennis tournaments
take place each year—one in Australia,
one in France, one in the United
Kingdom, and one in the United States.
