a game played on a rectangular court by two players or two pairs of players equipped with rackets, in which a ball is driven back and forth over a low net that divides the court in half.
Compare lawn tennis.
Origin of tennis
1350–1400; Middle English tenetz, ten(e)ys<Anglo-French: take!, imperative plural of tenir to hold, take, receive, apparently used as a server's call
Ask any tennis journalist (myself included) or public relations representative if they have a good Li Na story and they do.
Tennis Star Li Na Says Goodbye to the Court…and Puts the Sport’s Rise in Asia in Question|Nicholas McCarvel|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I'm sure there will be a huge down fall in the next two to three years for women's tennis in China.
Tennis Star Li Na Says Goodbye to the Court…and Puts the Sport’s Rise in Asia in Question|Nicholas McCarvel|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tennis dignitary Chris Evert stands behind her, forced into rapturous laughter along with 14,000 others inside the arena.
Tennis Star Li Na Says Goodbye to the Court…and Puts the Sport’s Rise in Asia in Question|Nicholas McCarvel|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Something stung my elbow and it blew up to the size of a tennis ball.
Emma Stone and Colin Firth on Woody Allen, Shrinkage, and Live-Texting ‘Bridget Jones’|Marlow Stern|July 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Back in Paris at Roland Garros for the French Open tennis tournament.
Discovering The Charms Of La France Profonde|Emma Woolf|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her voice died in a musical little note, and she seemed to be scrutinizing the tennis with an absorbed interest.
Marriage|H. G. Wells
In front were two large lawns, an upper one used for croquet and a lower one for tennis.
The Third Class at Miss Kaye's|Angela Brazil
Sir Richmond astonished the doctor by going to his room, reappearing dressed in tennis flannels and looking very well in them.
The Secret Places of the Heart|H. G. Wells
They live in standardized brick bungalows in their own area which is equipped with tennis courts and a library.
An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson
Two frowning boys sat in their tennis flannels beneath the glare of lamp and gas.
Philosophy 4|Owen Wister
British Dictionary definitions for tennis
tennis
/ (ˈtɛnɪs) /
noun
a racket game played between two players or pairs of players who hit a ball to and fro over a net on a rectangular court of grass, asphalt, clay, etcSee also lawn tennis, real tennis, court tennis, table tennis
(as modifier)tennis court; tennis racket
Word Origin for tennis
C14: probably from Anglo-French tenetz hold (imperative), from Old French tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre