The earliest origins of tennis are a matter of some dispute①. One side believes that the ancient Egyptians， Greeks， and Romans played a precursor② to tennis. Drawings or descriptions of any tennis-like games have not been discovered， but a few Arabic words dating from ancient Egyptian times are cited as evidence. The theory says that the name tennis derives from the Egyptian town of Tinnis alongside the Nile.
Aside from this word， evidence for any form of tennis preceding the year 1000 is lacking， and most historians credit the first origins of the game to 11th or 12th century French monks， who began playing a crude③ handball against their monastery walls or over a rope strung across a courtyard.
The game took on the name jeu de paume， which means “game of the hand.” Many who dispute more ancient origins argue that tennis derived④ from the French tenez， which meant something to the effect of “take this”，said as one player would serve to the other.
As the game became more popular， courtyard playing areas began to be modified into indoor courts， where the ball was still played off the walls. After bare hands were found too uncomfortable， players began using a glove， then either a glove with webbing between the fingers or a solid paddle⑤， followed by webbing attached to a handle—essentially a racquet. Rubber balls were still centuries away， so the ball was a wad of hair， wool， or cork wrapped in string and cloth or leather， then in later years， hand-stitched in felt to look something like a modern baseball.
The nobility learned the game from the monks， and some accounts report as many as 1800 courts in France by the 13th 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 common use， as was a cork-cored 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 England’s Hampton Court， built in 1625， is still used today. Only a handful of such courts remain. It’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 net is five feet high on the ends， but three feet in the middle， creating a pronounced droop⑥.
The game’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， completely 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. Wingfield’s original court had the shape of an hourglass， narrowest at the net， and it was shorter than the modern court. His rules were subjected⑦ 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 committee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The net was still five feet high at the sides， and the service boxes were 26 feet deep. But by 1882， the specifications had evolved to their current form.
① disputen. 争论，争执，争端
② precursorn. 前导，先驱，前辈，前兆
③ crudeadj. 粗糙的，粗陋的
④ derivev. 起源，由来
⑤ paddlen. (桌球的)球拍
⑥ droopn. 下垂，消沉
⑦ subjectv. 使蒙受，使遭遇
网球起源
一种说法是关于网球的起源，古埃及，希腊和罗马是网球的发源地。在古埃及时代，尽管没有相关的古代刻画图形作为证据，但是，却发现了很多阿拉伯单词。有理论说，网球这个单词起源于尼罗河畔的一个名为Tinnis的古埃及小镇。
除了这个单词，关于网球一千年前的情况，并没有历史记载。但是大多的历史学家把其历史归于11，12世纪的法国和尚，这些和尚曾拿着粗糙的球打向寺院的墙壁，或者打过栓在院子里的绳子。
这种和尚所玩的游戏在那时被叫做 jeu de paume，意思是“用手玩的游戏”。但是还有人说其起源于法国的 tenez一词，意识是“接住”，也就是一方球手在发球时对另一方球手所说的词语。
随着这种运动越来越流行，玩耍场地也由室外改为室内的小方地，但是那时的玩法仍然是将球扔向墙壁。但后来人们发现，光着手玩，手会感觉非常疼痛，就开始想了一个办法，将手指间缠绕布，或者用一个结实的拍子，后边带一个把手，把手上缠绕着布，其实在那时就具有了球拍的雏形。但是橡胶球仍然是几个世纪以后的事情。那时的球，是一团头发丝，或者羊毛，或者用细丝，布或者皮毛等缠绕的软木块。随后的年代，人们发明了用手织出的球，类似现在的棒球。
社会上流人士就从这些僧侣那里学到了这种游戏。据说约在十三世纪的法国，大约1800个球场都玩这种游戏。这种活动风靡一时，教皇和路易四世曾经一度禁止，但是以失败告终。随后，它很快地传到了英国，那时亨利七世和八世是网球的痴迷者，他们还下令建造了很多网球场地。
1500年，一种木制的用羊肠子缠绕的拍子被发明并且得到广泛应用。同时还有一种软木内核重3盎司的球也得到了应用。那时的场地和现在草坪网球的场地大不相同。早期的网球演化为今日的网球，其中英国的汉普顿网球场建于1625年，今天仍然被使用着。现在这样的古老场地所存不多了。这种场地很狭窄，室内型，其设计仍然是为了网球玩家把球投向墙壁，墙壁有的地方可能向前突出，为了玩家的特殊技巧所设计。网子两端有25英尺高，而中间只有三英尺，呈明显下坡趋势。
这种运动在1700年曾经销声匿迹，但是在1850年，查尔斯·古德伊尔发明了一种硫化制造橡胶的工艺，在那时，球员们开始尝试在草坪上玩这种新式球。
然而，室外运动的玩法和室内的显然不同，所以就出现了很多新的比赛规则。
在1874年，沃尔特·C.温菲尔德少校发明了一种新的网球装置和游戏规则，类似现在的网球，并获得了专利权。同年，在美国出现了第一个真正意义上的网球场地。随后的第二年，这种装置被销售到俄罗斯、印度、加拿大和中国。
在那时，槌球很受欢迎，并且槌球的场地直接可以用来玩网球。温菲尔德所设计的场地形状像沙漏，在球网处最狭窄。他设计的规则遭到了很多非议，便于1875年进行了修改，但是很快他却放弃了对这项运动的进一步发展而转向了别处。
在1877年，全英国俱乐部举行了首次温布尔登锦标赛，比赛委员会提出了采用长方形场地和一系列比赛规则，其本质上就是我们今天所熟知的网球比赛。网子仍然是五英尺高，发球箱仍然是26英尺深。但是到了1882年，已经发展成了现在的比赛规格。