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Tennis is a sport where you use a racket to strike a small, hollow rubber ball into the court of your opponent. The sport can be played one-on-one, called “singles,” or between two teams, called “doubles.” The aim of the game is to hit the ball with your racket to your opponent on the other side of the court. The court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide with a net in the centre that separates the two players or two teams. If you strike the ball to your opponent’s court and he is unable to return the ball to your side, then you gain a point. Each game is called a match. Every match has three sets, however, in the major tournaments or the “Grand Slams”, there are five sets. Additionally, each set has 6 games of 40 points per game. The player who successfully beats the other player in 2 out of 3 sets is the winner. In the case of the Men’s Grand Slams, the player should beat the opponent in 3 out of 5 sets.

The Grand Slams are the most important tennis tournaments of the year. There are four each year on different surfaces: two on hard court—the US Open and the Australian Open, one on grass—the Wimbledon in London, and one on clay—the Roland Garros or the French Open in Paris. The champion gets a lucrative prize money, the prestige and 2500 points for world ranking. The other tournaments give 1000 points to qualify for the Masters, and 500, 250, 100 points for the other categories. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) use a method to determine the world ranking so one can qualify in all tournaments.

Tennis is an exciting sport because the players need to have a lot of stamina and a very good mental condition. They are constantly running after the ball during a match that can last for more than four hours. The players also need to be in control of their emotions and play smart.

I used to play tennis in my younger days but now, I am just a tennis buff. My favorite player is Novak Djokovic. Currently, he is the number one tennis player in the world. He has already won 12 Grand Slam singles titles since 2008. He obtained his rank by defeating other players like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, both of whom are also legends of modern tennis. I have followed Djokovic in all his games. This year, I went to the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec. I was able to see Djokovic up-close and get his autograph. It was one of the most memorable and exciting times in my life.