Tennis: 10 benefits of this sport for kids
Tennis: the story of a sport loved all over the world
Holidays for adults are an occasion to relax, for children, on the other hand, a holiday is an opportunity to dedicate time to new passions, make new friends, or practice outdoor sports like tennis. The Forte Village, an award-winning resort surrounded by the beautiful Sardinian sea, has its own Tennis Academy by Head.
The origin of tennis dates back to the Middle Ages when the French game was called jeu de paume, lit. “palm game” or known in Italian by the name of pallacorda or trincotto, and was practiced first with bare hands and then with a glove.
The name tennis, a sport that in the years after the Middle Ages also conquered the court of Spain, England, Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, derives from a pronunciation error by the first English tennis players. In the fifteenth century, it was mandatory, before throwing the ball, to shout “Tenez!” a French word adopted by the English and turned into tennis.
Modern tennis began in 1874, the year in which English major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented, at the Chamber of Crafts in London, the invention of a new game that involved the use of an hourglass-shaped field, divided in the center by a suspended and mobile net. The game could be kept in a box containing some balls, four racquets, the net, and instructions.
Within a few years, tennis had spread all over the world. In 1877 the Wimbledon Tournament was established, the oldest and most important international tennis tournament that in 1884 was enriched with the male double and the female singles to which were added, in 1913, the female double and the mixed double.
Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the other three are:
- US Open: held for the first time in 1881. In the beginning, it was an exclusively male tournament reserved for professionals. The female equivalent was first organized in 1887;
- French Open: known as Roland Garros, was established in 1891 and has always been played on clay except for the early years when it was on a field made of sand and pebbles;
- Australian Open: yielded in 1905 as the Australasian Championships, today is one of the most distinguished tournaments and is held in Melbourne during the third and fourth week of January.
Other international competitions include the Davis Cup, the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas, the ATP circuit events, the WTA Premier, and WTA International tournaments.
The ruling organization for the game of tennis is the International Tennis Federation (IT), which was founded on 1st of March 1913, and has 203 national tennis associations as members.
Tennis: 10 benefits that make it the perfect sport for kids
Tennis, just like table tennis, squash, badminton, and paddle tennis, belongs to the racquet sports category. Sports practiced with a racket where the size, materials, thickness of the handle, and weight may vary depending on the game.
In the past, rackets had a wooden frame, later replaced by light alloys, while today they use pure graphite or mixed with kevlar, fibreglass, tungsten or basalt, a monofilament rope joined at different points of the frame to form a mesh. Generally, rackets are between 68 and 71 cm long, but there are also XL versions that reach about 73 cm.
Another fundamental element of the game is the tennis ball made with a mixture of synthetic and natural rubber, lampblack, sulfur, and coated with a layer of yellow felt that on one hand emphasize the effects impressed on the ball, and on the other hand it allows you to control the speed and impact with the racket. The ball’s diameter is between 65.41 and 68.58 mm, while the weight goes from 56.7 to 58.4 gr.
The games, divided into matches, are played on a field divided in half by a 0.914 m high net in the center and 1.07 at the sides and the challengers are two players while in the double match, also called two against two, there are two pairs of tennis players.
The goal of the game is to hit the ball and send it into the opposite half of the field, making sure that the opponent cannot hit it back after the first rebound. The point is also awarded in two other cases: if the opponent fails to pass the ball over the net or when he fails the service.
Engaging, complete, and harmonious, tennis is perfect for kids who like to do outdoor sports. Here are the top ten benefits:
- Improves aerobic and anaerobic capacity
- Increases coordination, speed, strength, endurance
- Boosts muscle tone
- Strengthens tendons and bones
- Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
- Helps burn fat and lose weight
- Stimulates the production of endorphins, or “good mood hormones” that positively influence the sleep-wake cycle, reduce the sensation of pain, regulate the appetite and functionality of the gastrointestinal tract, counteract menstrual disorders and psychophysical stress, remove anxiety and promote the feeling of well-being
- Helps to keep the mind working, improving concentration, self-control, reflexes, and intuition
- Promotes socialization
- Educates in healthy competition
Tennis: the Tennis Academy by Head at Forte Village
At Forte Village, the resort of Santa Margherita di Pula in the province of Cagliari, children can discover all the secrets of tennis by joining the Tennis Academy by Head.
The Tennis Club has twelve clay courts and one concrete field and hosts the international tournaments of the ITF circuit. There are tennis courses for players of all ages and levels: for children, there is a group academy from Monday to Friday, while adults can book private lessons with the Tennis Club coaches or train with the great professionals of one of the most popular sports in the world.
The children attending the weekly course will have a free training kit branded Head, the official sponsor of the Academy.
Tennis but not only: in the Sports Academy of Forte Village there is also space for football, freestyle, rugby, basketball, boxing, fencing, swimming and much more.
Do you want to learn how to play tennis and live a dream holiday in a paradise of sport and relaxation? Discover the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia.
