Tennis in Themiclesia
Tennis (Shinasthana: 反奠, pran-drjingh) was first attested in Themiclesia as the influence of real tennis in a 17th-century version of the game of balls, but the game of lawn tennis was first played in Themiclesia in 1879. The latter game originally enjoyed little popularity but gained a following in social clubs around 1895, with the first tournament held in 1899. Tennis evolved from an elite, social sport to a competitive sport in the 1920s but was not popular with the general public until after the Pan-Septentrion War. Between 1947 and 1983, multiple Themiclesian players won major titles in both the amateur and professional games and achieved international recognition, but the nation's dominance in top levels has declined since.
Themiclesia is home to the Lawn Tennis Open Championships of Themiclesia, which is considered one of the four major events in tennis culture.
History
Early history
The game of balls evolved from one that focused on fighting for a ball to one that rewarded moving the ball to a scoring area and not allowing it to come to rest on the ground in the course of the 16th century. Most sports historians attribute this evolution to influence from real tennis, but there is to date no conclusive evidence that real tennis was ever played in Themiclesia or immediate peripheries. A minority of historians argue that the apparent changes in rules were not the result of foreign influence, but domestic evolution. Several written references have been made by Themiclesian merchants and diplomats who went to Casaterra, where the game was played. It is thought that they may have introduced elements of real tennis to balls, which then lost its combative aspect and became more strategic (contact is not allowed in the modern version of balls).
Lawn tennis was brought to Themiclesia by E. R. Ben, who was the Themiclesian consul in Hadaway between 1871 and 1877. The first ever game in Themiclesia was, apparently, played in his very lawn in Kien-k'ang having brought a commercially-sold set of equipment home. Nevertheless, the game did not spread further from his household for some years, as much of the Themiclesian gentry at that time thought that physical exertion was unbecoming of their status. This changed by the end of the 19th century, and games like lawn tennis and croquet became more popular in social clubs in the capital city. In 1894, only a single club was known to have provided premises for the game, but by 1896 six had adopted it for summer entertainment. By 1898, "every fashionable club in the city has a lawn for the playing of the game called 'lawn-tennis'."
In 1899, the first inter-club tournament was held under the name of Lower Themiclesia Lawn Games, inviting "young gentlemen accomplished in the skills of lawn-tennis" to compete. Evidently, older gentlemen were not explicitly invited because they were more likely to be engaged in "serious work" like politics and legal practice, and games like tennis were still considered somewhat incompatible with their social position. Yet for the monied and socially-active young men, tennis became a popular game. A ladies' tournament began in 1902. The introduction of sports had a considerable impact on club culture in Themiclesia, prompting clubs to specialize in providing sports, food, or exclusivity from rivals; some providing sporting facilities felt confident in their ability to retain members even moving to less central areas, where more courts could be built.
45 tennis-playing clubs founded the Themiclesian Lawn Tennis Committee in 1907 to organize tournaments and oversee competitive standards, and in 1908 the Lower Themiclesian Lawn Games were renamed the Themiclesian Lawn Tennis Championships. Some of the early tournaments were played between teams representing clubs, but others were entered individually. The TLTC, with one vote per member club, adopted the rule of amateurism in 1910 to prevent wealthier clubs from bribing players from other clubs to improve their teams in club-versus-club tournaments. The same rule also prevented clubs from paying non-members to play on their behalf, which was advocated by the social reformer S. R. Krep, who argued that all clubs should open their doors to non-members because sports brought a "classless benefit".
Pre-war era
The TLTC was particularly interested in bolstering the reputation of Themiclesian tennis in its early years and to this end set up a ten-tournament calendar in 1915 for players' convenience and to eliminate scheduling issues. Most players who could afford to play continuously in this era possessed considerable wealth as the tournaments did not offer much prize money. In 1924, the TLTC lobbied the International Lawn Tennis Federation to recognize the Themiclesian Championships as a major event. The decision was not uncontroversial, as Themiclesia's tennis-playing population still lagged behind other states where tennis was popular, but the TLTC compensated for this fact by presenting a robust list of events and statistics of the crowds that they drew. According to some, the ILTF also considered the future promotion of tennis in the Orient, and Themiclesia's tournaments were, relatively speaking, the best-attended in Hemithea. There is a persistent rumour that the TLTC offered a $10,000 bribe to some members of the ILTF, but this remains unsubstantiated.
The first Themiclesian professional player, Martin Duk (1892 – 1976), signed a 100-match contract with an Anglian promoter in 1925 and played in Anglia, Sieuxerr, and Tol Galen. His performance was unremarkable according to contemporaries, and when he retired from professional playing he became a coach in the Lang-pin Club helping members improve their games.