1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Newport News, Virginia
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Newport News is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 180,719, in 2013, the population was estimated to be 183,412, making it the fifth-most populous city in Virginia. Newport News is included in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, the area now known as Newport News was once a part of Warwick County. Warwick County was one of the eight original shires of Virginia, formed by the House of Burgesses in the British Colony of Virginia by order of King Charles I, the county was largely composed of farms and undeveloped land until almost 250 years later. In 1881,15 years of development began under the leadership of Collis P. With the new railroad came a terminal and coal piers where the colliers were loaded, within a few years, Huntington and his associates also built a large shipyard. In 1896, the new incorporated town of Newport News, which had briefly replaced Denbigh as the county seat of Warwick County, had a population of 9,000. In 1958, by mutual consent by referendum, Newport News was consolidated with the former Warwick County, the more widely known name of Newport News was selected as they formed what was then Virginias third largest independent city in population. The location on the harbor and along the James River facilitates a large boating industry which can take advantage of its miles of waterfront. Newport News also serves as a junction between the rails and the sea with the Newport News Marine Terminals located at the East End of the city. Served by major east-west Interstate Highway 64, it is linked to others of the cities of Hampton Roads by the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway, part of the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is in the city limits. The original area near the mouth of the James River was first referred to as Newportes Newes as early as 1621, the source of the name Newport News is not known with certainty. Several versions are recorded, and it is the subject of popular speculation locally, the new governor ordered them to turn around, and return to Jamestown. Under this theory, the community was named for Newports good news, another possibility is that the community may have derived its name from an old English word news meaning new town. At least one source claims that the New arose from the settlements being rebuilt after a fire. Another source gave the name as New Port Newce, named for a person with the name Newce. The namesake, Sir William Newce, was an English soldier, there he had established Newcestown near Bandon, County Cork. He sailed to Virginia with Sir Francis Wyatt in October 1621 and was granted 2,500 acres of land and his brother, Capt. Thomas Newce, was given 600 acres at Kequatan, now called Elizabeth Cittie
3.
Palm Beach, Florida
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The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the cities of West Palm Beach. In 2000, Palm Beach had a population of 10,468. Prior to Flagler, Palm Beach was sparsely populated, and was a part of Lake Worth, Palm Beach was established as a resort by Henry Morrison Flagler, who made the Atlantic coast barrier island accessible via his Florida East Coast Railway. The nucleus of the community was established by Flaglers two luxury hotels, the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers Hotel. West Palm Beach was built across Lake Worth as a town and has become a major city in its own right. The town was incorporated on 17 April 1911, an area known as the Styx housed many of the servants, most of whom were black. The workers rented their houses from the landowners. In the early 1900s the landowners agreed to all of the residents of the Styx. The houses were razed, according to the Palm Beach Daily News, the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is not native to Florida. Its presence in Palm Beach is due to the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Providencia in 1878 and it was traveling from Havana to Cádiz, Spain with a cargo of coconuts. Since the shipwreck was near the shore, the coconuts were salvaged, a lush grove of palm trees soon grew on what was later named Palm Beach. Palm Beach is the easternmost town in Florida, located on a 16-mile long barrier island, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.4 square miles. 3.9 square miles of it is land and 6.5 square miles of it is water, the total area is 62. 45% water. Palm Beach has a tropical rainforest climate and this is a Köppen climate classification of Af where it is tropical and there is no dry season. It is wetter in the summer, from May to October, when convective thunderstorms and tropical downpours are common, average high temperatures in Palm Beach are 86 to 90 °F with lows of 70 to 75 °F. During this period, more than half of the days bring occasional afternoon thunderstorms. The winter brings drier, sunnier, and much less humid weather, average high temperatures of 75 to 82 °F and lows of 57 to 66 °F
4.
International Tennis Hall of Fame
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The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass courts, an indoor tennis facility. By the 1950s, the retreat was struggling financially and was in danger of being demolished for modern retail space, in 1954, Jimmy Van Alen established the Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in the Casino. The combination of matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved. It is an example of Victorian Shingle Style architecture, Van Alen intended the facility to be a shrine to the ideals of the game, and was elected president of the hall in 1957. The International Tennis Hall of Fame was officially sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association on its foundation in 1954, the first Hall of Fame members were inducted in 1955, as of 2010, there are 218 inductees from 19 countries. Martina Hingis became the first Global Ambassador for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015, the collection is displayed year-round in the museums 13,000 square feet of exhibit space. For a description of each award and a list of its recipients, part of the mens ATP World Tour, the tournament is the only grass court event in North America. Top male players come to Newport directly from Wimbledon to compete for the Van Alen Cup at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, past champions include Americans John Isner, and Mardy Fish, as well as two-time champion Fabrice Santoro of France. For a list of inductees—alphabetically, by country, and by year of induction—see footnote, note, Inductees are listed below in two categories. Tenniseum Official website 11 Intriguing Items at the International Tennis Hall of Fame article International Tennis Hall of Fame article
5.
A. Wallis Myers
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Arthur Wallis Myers CBE was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He is considered to be one of the leading journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Wallis Meyers was the editor of the Ayers Lawn Tennis Almanack from 1908 onwards, during that war Wallis Myers served in the Ministry of Information. He was a tennis player himself and was active mainly in doubles. In April 1906 he won the title with Wilding at the Championships of Barcelona. He won the Monte Carlo doubles championship in 1910 and 1921, in 1923 he won the doubles title of the South of France championships. He was the captain of British tennis teams on tour in Europe, South Africa, in 1924 he founded the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain with Lord Balfour, former Prime Minister, and subsequently Member of the Cabinet, as its first President. He was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by French President Paul Doumer on 29 April 1932 for services to tennis, Wallis Myers married Lilian Wallis Myers. A tribute to Wallis Myers, A. Wallis Myers, A testament to tennis, was written by Prue, Lawn tennis at home and abroad The complete lawn tennis player Leaders of lawn tennis C. B. Wallis Myers at the Association of Tennis Professionals
6.
Australian Open
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The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features mens and womens singles, mens, womens and mixed doubles and juniors championships, as well as wheelchair, legends, the Australian Open typically has high attendances, rivalling and occasionally exceeding the US Open. The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event, the Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, and was first played at the Warehousemans Cricket Ground in Melbourne in November 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre, the tournament was first known as the Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Christchurch and Hastings. Though started in 1905, the tournament was not designated as being a championship until 1924. The tournament committee changed the structure of the tournament to include seeding at that time, in 1972, it was decided to stage the tournament in Melbourne each year because it attracted the biggest patronage of any Australian city. The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 1972 until the move to the new Melbourne Park complex in 1988, the new facilities at Melbourne Park were envisaged to meet the demands of a tournament that had outgrown Kooyongs capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an success, with a 90 percent increase in attendance in 1988 on the previous year at Kooyong. Because of Australias geographic remoteness, very few foreign players entered this tournament in the early 20th century, in the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45 days. The first tennis players who came by boats were the US Davis Cup players in November 1946, even inside the country, many players could not travel easily. When the tournament was held in Perth, no one from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, in Christchurch in 1906, of a small field of 10 players, only two Australians attended and the tournament was won by a New Zealander. The first tournaments of the Australasian Championships suffered from the competition of the other Australasian tournaments, before 1905, all Australian states and New Zealand had their own championships, the first organised in 1880 in Melbourne and called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria. In those years, the best two players – Australian Norman Brookes and New Zealander Anthony Wilding – almost did not play this tournament, Brookes came once and won in 1911, and Wilding entered and won the competition twice. Their meetings in the Victorian Championships helped to determine the best Australasian players, even when the Australasian Championships were held in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding, though three times Wimbledon champion, did not come back to his home country. It was a problem for all players of the era. Brookes went to Europe only three times, where he reached the Wimbledon Challenge Round once and then won Wimbledon twice
7.
French Open
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The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam event held on clay, French spelling rules dictate that in the name of a place or event named after a person, the elements of the name are joined together with a hyphen. Therefore, the names of the stadium and the tournament are hyphenated as Roland-Garros, in 1891 the Championnat de France, which is commonly referred to in English as the French Championships, was begun. It was only open to players who were members of French clubs. The first winner was a Briton—H, the first womens singles tournament, with four entries, was held in 1897. The mixed doubles event was added in 1902 and the doubles in 1907. This French club members only tournament was played until 1924, using four different venues during that period, Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, the Racing Club de France, played on clay. For one year,1909, it was played at the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose in Bordeaux, Tennis Club de Paris, at Auteuil, Paris, played on clay. Another tournament, the World Hard Court Championships, is considered the precursor to the French Open as it was open to international competitors. Winners of this tournament included world no, 1s such as Tony Wilding from New Zealand and Bill Tilden from the US. In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games, in 1925, the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the ILTF. It was held at the Stade Français in Saint-Cloud in 1925 and 1927, in 1926 the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, site of the previous French club members only Championship, also on clay. In 1928, the Roland Garros stadium was opened and the event has held there ever since. After the Mousquetaires or Philadelphia Four won the Davis Cup on American soil in 1927, the Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I pilot, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros, and its Center Court hosted that Davis Cup challenge, during World War II the tournament was held from 1941 through 1945 on the same grounds but these editions are not recognized by the French governing body, Fédération Française de Tennis. From 1946 through 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon, in 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to go open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete. Since 1981, new prizes have been presented, the Prix Orange, the Prix Citron, in another novelty, since 2006 the tournament has begun on a Sunday, featuring 12 singles matches played on the three main courts. Additionally, on the eve of the opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place
8.
The Championships, Wimbledon
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The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hardcourt in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass. The tournament takes place two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies and Gentlemens Singles Final. Five major, junior, and invitational events are each year. Wimbledon traditions include a dress code for competitors and Royal patronage. The tournament is notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. In 2009, Wimbledons Centre Court was fitted with a roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a club founded on 23 July 1868. Its first ground was off Worple Road, Wimbledon, in 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, a new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Todays rules are similar except for such as the height of the net and posts. The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemens Singles was the event held. It was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, about 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final. The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the court was in the middle with the others arranged around it. The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, however, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening of the new No.1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description, by 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word croquet was dropped from the title. However, for reasons it was restored in 1899
9.
US Open (tennis)
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The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament. The tournament is the version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world. The US Open is held annually, starting on the last Monday in August, the main tournament consists of five event championships, mens and womens singles, mens and womens doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens. The US Open is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association, net proceeds from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television deals are used to promote the development of tennis in the United States. The US Open is the only Grand Slam that employs tiebreakers in every set of a match, the first edition was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win seven consecutive singles titles. In the first years of the U. S. National Championship only men competed and this was followed by the introduction of the U. S. Womens National Doubles Championship in 1899 and the U. S. The womens tournament used a system from 1888 through 1918. This view was opposed by another group of players which included eight former national singles champions, the contentious issue was brought to a vote at the annual USNLTA meeting on February 5,1915 and with 128 votes in favor and 119 against it was decided to relocate. From 1921 through 1923, the tournament was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and it returned to Forest Hills in 1924 following the completion of the newly constructed 14,000 seat concrete Forest Hills Stadium. Though regarded unofficially by many as a major championship beforehand, the tournament was officially designated as one of the tournaments by the ILTF commencing in 1924. At the 1922 U. S. National Championships the draw for the first time included seeded players in order to avoid leading players drawing against each other in the early rounds. Open era The open era began in 1968 when all five events were merged into the US Open, the 1968 combined tournament was open to professionals for the first time. That year,96 men and 63 women entered the event, from 1970 to 1974 the US Open used a best-of-nine point, sudden death tiebreaker before moving to the ITF best-of-twelve point system. In 1973 the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women with that years singles champions John Newcombe, another US Open innovation came in 1975 when floodlights enabled night play for the first time. In 1978 the tournament moved from the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens to the larger USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, three miles to the north. In the process, the tournament switched the court surface from clay, jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has played every year since its inception
10.
Tennis
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Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return, the player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, the sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis and it had close connections both to various field games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport of real tennis. The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s, two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. Tennis is played by millions of players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. Historians believe that the ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France. Louis X of France was a player of jeu de paume, which evolved into real tennis. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, in due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. Because of the accounts of his death, Louis X is historys first tennis player known by name. Another of the enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France. It wasnt until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called tennis, from the French term tenez, an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, during the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. This in turn led to the codification of rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls. In 1872, along with two doctors, they founded the worlds first tennis club in Leamington Spa. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, Sports historians all agree that deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis, according to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield popularized this game enormously
11.
Wilmer Allison
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Wilmer Lawson Allison, Jr. was an American amateur tennis champion of the 1930s. Allisons career was overshadowed by the arrival of Don Budge, although he was both a singles player and, along with his frequent partner, John Van Ryn. At the University of Texas at Austin, Allison was the Intercollegiate tennis champion in 1927, one of Allisons earliest tournament wins was the 1928 Canadian Championship, where he won the final over doubles partner Van Ryn 6–2, 6–4, 6–3. Right-handed, Allisons greatest triumph was winning the 1935 U. S, Championship singles, defeating Fred Perry in the semifinals and Sidney Wood in the finals, both in three sets. He had previously lost to Perry 8–6 in the set in the 1934 finals. No.1 both years and World No.4 in 1932 and again in 1935 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph. At the Wimbledon Championships his best results in singles came in 1930 when he finished runner-up to Bill Tilden, en route to the final he defeated reigning champion and first-seed Henri Cochet in straight sets in the quarterfinals. As a doubles player with partner John Van Ryn, Allison won the 1929 and 1930 Wimbledon and 1935 U. S. doubles championships, Allisons last major tournament was a 1936 quarterfinal loss to Bunny Austin. Allison played a total of 44 matches,29 in doubles with Van Ryn, in Davis Cup for the United States and he won 32 of those matches but never the cup. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, who had a fine volley himself and he writes, FOREHAND VOLLEY — Wilmer Allison of Texas, who won the 1935 Forest Hills, had the best I ever saw as a kid, and Ive never seen anyone since hit one better. Budge Patty came closest, then Newcombe and he called the team of Allison and Van Ryn the ninth best of all time. Allison was a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and he coached tennis for the varsity team of his alma mater from 1946 through 1972 and was head coach from 1957. Allison was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1963
12.
United States Davis Cup team
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The United States of Americas Davis Cup Team represents the United States in Davis Cup tennis competition, and is governed by the United States Tennis Association. The U. S. competed in the very first Davis Cup in 1900 and they are the most successful Davis Cup team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted Davis Cup title on 32 separate occasions closely followed by Australia on 28. The U. S. Davis Cup Team won the very first Davis Cup title in 1900 and their most recent win was in 2007, defeating Russia in the final. *Rankings as of 16 January 2017 Here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, the statistics reflect results since the 1981 Davis Cup, and are up-to-date as of the 2013 Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals. Record against continents Record by decade 2010–2019, 5–5 2000–2009, 16–9 1990–1999, 24–7 1981–1989, 16–6 Team page on DavisCup. com
13.
Davis Cup
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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format and it is described by the organisers as the World Cup of Tennis, and the winners are referred to as the World Champion team. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States, by 2016,135 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States, the present champions are Argentina who beat Croatia to win the title for the first time in 2016. The womens equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup, Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United States are the only countries to have held both Davis Cup and Fed Cup titles in the same year. The Hopman Cup, a competition for mixed teams, carries less prestige. The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition and they in turn commissioned a classically styled design from William B. Durgins of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes, Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1932. The first match, between the United States and Britain, was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, the American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete, but the US won the match in 1902 and Britain won the four matches. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, the tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis trophy. The Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous champion in the final round. Beginning in 1923, the teams were split into two zones, the America Zone and the Europe Zone. The winners of the two met in the Inter-Zonal Zone to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup. In 1955 a third zone, the Eastern Zone, was added, because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the Europe Zone was split into two zones, Europe Zone A and Europe Zone B, so the winners of the four competed in the INZ challenger rounds. From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years
14.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
15.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
16.
Vernon Kirby
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Vernon Gordon Bob Kirby is a former tennis player from South Africa. Kirby was educated at the Durban High School where he played cricket and he started tennis at the age of five and played in his spare time while at school. Later in July Kirby beat his doubles partner in straight sets in the final of the Scottish Championships at Peebles. He also won the North of England Championships in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in singles and doubles, in 1933 he won the Kent Championships and in January 1934 he was victorious in the Estoril tournament. In 1934 Kirby reached the quarterfinal of the Wimbledon Championships. In 1935 he reached the doubles final of the Australian Championships with the Australian Birdie Bond. They were defeated by Australian Louise Bickerton and Frenchman Christian Boussus in three sets, Kirby reached the singles final of the South African Championships on four occasions. He was victorious in the doubles in 1931 and 1932 and he was ranked the third in the South African rankings in 1932 and World No.9 in 1935 by J. Brooks Fenno, Jr. of The Literary Digest. In 1937 he was ranked No.1 in South Africa, between 1931 and 1937 he played in ten ties for the South African Davis Cup team. The best team result was reaching the semifinal of the European Zone in 1935 against Czechoslovakia, Kirby had a Davis Cup match record of 16 wins vs.8 losses and was more successful in doubles than singles. Vernon Kirby at the International Tennis Federation Vernon Kirby at the Davis Cup New South Wales State Library Image of Vernon Kirby
17.
Norman Farquharson
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Norman Gordon Farquharson was a male tennis player from South Africa. In 1937 they again reached the final in which they lost to the German pair Gottfried von Cramm. Farquharson won the title of the South African Championships on four occasions. Between 1929 and 1937 he played in twelve ties for the South African Davis Cup team, the best team result during that period was reaching the semifinal of the European Zone in 1935 against Czechoslovakia. Farquharson had a Davis Cup match record of 13 wins vs.10 losses and was successful in doubles than singles. Norman Farquharson at the International Tennis Federation Norman Farquharson at the Davis Cup
18.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
19.
Jacques Brugnon
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Jacques Toto Brugnon was a French tennis player, one of the famous Four Musketeers from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was born in Paris and died in Paris and he was primarily a doubles specialist who won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles in the French, American, Australian and British championships. Additionally he won two mixed doubles titles at Roland Garros partnering Suzanne Lenglen and he was also a fine singles player but never won a Major title. He played in 20 Wimbledon Championships between 1920 and 1948 and achieved his best singles result in 1926 when he reached the semifinals, losing in a close five set match to Howard Kinsey. Between 1921 and 1934 he played 31 ties for the French Davis Cup team, mainly as a doubles player, and compiled a record of 26 wins versus 11 losses. He was part of the famous Four Musketeers team that conquered the Cup in 1927 against the USA, Brugnon was ranked World No.9 for 1927 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph. The Four Musketeers were inducted simultaneously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1976
20.
Henri Cochet
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Henri Jean Cochet was a French tennis player. He was a world No.1 ranked player, and a member of the famous Four Musketeers from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s, born in Villeurbanne, Rhône, Cochet won ten amateur Majors and one professional Major during his singles career. He was ranked World No.1 player for four years,1928 through 1931 by A. Wallis Myers. He turned professional in 1933 but, after a less than stellar pro career, the Four Musketeers were inducted simultaneously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1976. Cochet died at age 85 in Paris, Henri Cochet was born on 14 December 1901 in Villeurbanne to Gustave Cochet and Antoinette Gailleton. His father was a groundkeeper in a Lyonnese tennis club where Henri worked as a ball boy and he began playing at the age of eight along with his sister. The president of the club, an owner and French-ranked player Georges Cozon, recognized his talent. He entered his first local tournament in 1920 where he met his mentor in the final and he then moved on to win a series of matches at Aix-les-Bains mostly scratch and handicap matches. That qualified him to be featured in the 1921 French Closed Championships where he repeated his victory over Borotra, also in 1921 he won the military Championship of France. Meanwhile, his sister Aimée Cochet also became a player and later was on the main draw of the 1930 Wimbledon Championships. Immediately after he entered the amateur scene Cochet won every major tournament of the era. After his success abroad he claimed the French Closed Championships when he defeated defending champion Jean Samazeuilh in the final, afterwards he topped the French rankings. In June 1922 he debuted in the France Davis Cup team against Denmark, the next round the team only composed of him and André Gobert and fell to the Australasian team. He also found success in the minor tournaments, at the South of France Championships he lost to Russian count Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston. At the Côte dAzur Championships he repelled the Englishman Morgan for his first Riviera title, in February 1923 he retained his World Covered Court Championships title, defeating John B. Gilbert in the final in straight sets. On 1 April 1924 he met René Lacoste in the match for the Beausite trophy of Cannes. He was ranked the number one player of France alongside Lacoste, due to his business affairs and injuries he missed most of the 1925 season, while he kept his French first place shared with Borotra. The French Internationals of that year marked the first instance of an all-Four Musketeers final in the doubles of the Championships where Brugnon and Lacoste finished ahead of Cochet–Borotra
21.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
22.
Keith Gledhill
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Keith Gledhill was an American tennis player of the 1930s. In 1929 Gledhill won the junior singles and, partnering Ellsworth Vines, doubles title. He attended Stanford University and in 1931, became the second Stanford player to win the NCAA Mens Singles Championship, in 1932, Gledhill and partner Joe Coughlin won the NCAA Doubles Championship. In Grand Slam events, Glenhill and partner Ellsworth Vines won the championship at the U. S. Six months later, Gledhill and Vines won the 1933 Australian Championships doubles title, in that tournament, Gledhill also recorded his highest Grand Slam singles finish, losing in the final to Jack Crawford. In 1930 and 1933 Gledhill reached the final in the event of the Pacific Coast Championships on Los Angeles. Gledhill turned professional in early 1934 and joined a tour with Bill Tilden, keith Gledhill at the Association of Tennis Professionals
23.
Ellsworth Vines
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Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No.1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932,1935,1936 and 1937 and he later became a professional golfer. Vines attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, many believe that Mercer Beasley started him on his tennis career at age 14 in Pasadena. He was mentored by Perry T. Jones through the Los Angeles Tennis Club, in the amateur ranks Vines won three Grand Slam tournaments, the Wimbledon Championships in 1932 and the U. S. Championships in 1931 and 1932 and he reached the final of Wimbledon in 1933 and he played his first professional tennis match on January 10,1934 and then became the leading pro player until 1938. In 1934 and 1935 he won almost all the great pro events, Vines won five professional majors, which were the Wembley Pro in 1934,1935 and 1936, the French Pro in 1935 and the US Pro in 1939. Vines also won the Paris Indoor in 1934 and Southport Pro in 1935, in 1939 Vines lost his world pro crown to Don Budge but narrowly, in their first pro tour against each other, Vines trailed Budge 17–22. The tour proved that at his best Vines was unbeatable, but also that Budges consistency would prevail a majority of the time, in May 1940 Vines,28 years 7 months old, played his last tennis competition. His physical problems, his desire to enjoy life, his loss of the world crown. Comparing Vines and Fred Perry after the 1939 tours, Budge wrote, It was simply that after enduring Viness power game, years later, Budge deemed that the worlds all-time best player had been Ellsworth Vines, on his day. Budge was always astonished when someone had not ever heard of Vines whom he considered as the champion of the 1930s, in the opinion of Jack Kramer, himself a great player, Vines was, along with Don Budge, one of the two greatest players who ever lived. Budge was consistently the best, according to Kramers 1979 autobiography, hell, when Elly was on, youd be lucky to get your racket on the ball once you served it. Tall and thin, Vines possessed a game with no weaknesses, except, according to Kramer, because of his great natural athletic ability. He was particularly known for his forehand and his very fast serve. Although he could play the game, he generally played an all-court game. Kramer made up his mind on the spot to concentrate on tennis, Vines had, according to Kramer, the perfect slim body, that was coordinated for anything. Elly won Forest Hills the first time when he was only nineteen. He went there, on a basketball scholarship, in his chapter on 1932, Bud Collins writes in Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia that Vines. had a curious windmill stroke in which the racket made an almost 360-degree sweep
24.
Jack Crawford (tennis)
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John Herbert Crawford, OBE was an Australian tennis player during the 1930s. He was the World No.1 player for 1933, during which year he won the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon and he also won the Australian Open in 1931,1932, and 1935. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979, Crawford was born on 22 March 1908 in Urangeline, near Albury, New South Wales, the second youngest child of Jack Sr. and Lottie Crawford. He had no training as a child and practiced mainly by hitting against the house and school. Crawford played his first competition match at age 12 in a doubles match at the Habersfield club. He won the Australian junior championships four times from 1926 to 1929 which entitled him to the permanent possession of the trophy. In 1933, Crawford won the Australian Championships, French Championships, Crawford ended up losing the match, and tennis immortality, by the final score of 3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself and he was also known for taking a shot of whiskey between sets if the game was tense. Crawford was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1979 and he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1976 for his services to sport. Crawford was a baseline player with a game that was based more on technical skills. He was not particularly fast but had excellent anticipation and his game was described as fluent and his style was compared with Henri Cochet. Crawford played with an old-fashioned flat-topped racket and always wore long, white flannels and a long-sleeved shirt
25.
Adrian Quist
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Adrian Karl Quist was an Australian tennis player. Adrian Quist was born in Medindie, South Australia and his father was Karl Quist, who had been a noted interstate cricketer, and owned a sporting goods store at the time of his sons birth. The tennis legend grew up in Adelaide and once played Harry Hopman and he was a three-time Australian Championships mens singles champion but is primarily remembered today as a great doubles player. He won the Australian doubles title 10 years in a row, Quist was ranked World No.3 in 1939 and World No.4 in 1936. In his 1979 autobiography tennis great Jack Kramer writes that in doubles Quist played the backhand court and he had a dink backhand that was better for doubles than singles, and a classic forehand drive with a natural sink. He was also fine at the net, volley and forehand, Quist was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1984. Adrian Quist also held the most Davis Cup victories by any Australian until Lleyton Hewitt surpassed that record on 18 September 2010 in Cairns and he died in Sydney, New South Wales in 1991, aged 78. Adrian Quist is the uncle of fashion designer Neville Quist, founding director of Saville Row
26.
Don Budge
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John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No.1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He won 10 majors, of six were Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Budge was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis, growing up, he played a variety of sports before taking up tennis. He was tall and slim and his height would later help what is considered one of the most powerful serves of all time. Budge studied at the University of California, Berkeley in late 1933, accustomed to hard-court surfaces in his native California, he had difficulty playing on the grass surfaces in the east. Budge became the first man in history to have achieved the Triple Crown at a Grand Slam event three times, eclipsing Bill Tilden who won consecutive Triple Crowns at the U. S. Championships. He gained the most fame for his match that year against Gottfried von Cramm in the Davis Cup inter-zone finals against Germany, trailing 1–4 in the final set, he came back to win 8–6. His victory allowed the United States to advance and to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 12 years. For his efforts, he was named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, Open, to become the first person ever to win the Grand Slam in tennis. He also is the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam and he completed that on June 11,1938 in winning the French Open, two days before his 23rd birthday. Budge turned professional after winning the Grand Slam and thereafter played mostly head-to-head matches, in 1939 he beat the two reigning kings of professional tennis, Ellsworth Vines,22 matches to 17, and Fred Perry,28 matches to 8. That year he won two great pro tournaments, the French Pro Championship over Vines and the Wembley Pro tournament over Hans Nüsslein. There was no tour in 1940 but seven principal tournaments. Budge kept his crown by winning 4 of these events including the greatest one. In 1941 Budge played another major tour beating the 48-year-old Bill Tilden, the final outcome probably being 46–7 plus 1 tie. In 1942 Budge won both his last major tour over Bobby Riggs, Frank Kovacs, Perry and Les Stoefen and for a time the U. S. Pro. In 1942 Budge joined the United States Army Air Force to serve in World War II, at the beginning of 1943 in an obstacle course he tore a muscle in his shoulder. In his book A Tennis Memoir page 144 he said, The tear didnt heal, I was able to carry on with my military duties
United States
