Australian Open

The Australian Open tennis tournament, held annually in the last fortnight of January, is the first of the world's four Grand Slam tournaments.

The tournament has been held for 100 years since 1905. Originally based at the grass courts at Kooyong in the city of Melbourne's inner south-east, the tournament was in danger of fading into irrelevance, but was revived in the 1980s with a shift to Melbourne Park, a new hardcourt venue next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the southern fringe of the central business district.

Like all the Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions, men's, women's, and mixed doubles, as well as junior and master's competitions.

Two tournaments were held in 1977; the first in January, the second in December. The tournament moved back to January in 1987, so no championship was decided in 1986.

French Open

The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (English: Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held from the middle of May to the beginning of June in Paris, France, and is the second of the world's Grand Slam tournaments.

The French Open began as a national tournament in 1891. In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternatively between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Français. For the 1928 Davis Cup challenge, a new tennis stadium was built at Porte d’Auteuil.

US Open

The U.S. Open originates from two separate tournaments: the men's tournament and the women's tournament. The event was first held in August 1881 and staged at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island (men's singles only). The championships were known as the U.S. National Singles Championship for men. Only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter.

In 1900, U.S. National Men's Doubles Championship was held for the first time. Tournaments were held in the east and the west of the country in order to determine the best two teams (sectional winners). These would then compete in a play-off - the winner would play the defending champions in the challenge round.

Six years after the men's nationals were held, the first official U.S. Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887, followed by the U.S. Women's National Doubles Championship in 1889. The first Mixed Doubles Championship was held alongside the Women's Singles and Doubles.

Wimbledon

Wimbledon is the oldest and most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. Wimbledon, held in June/July, is the third Grand Slam tournament played each year, preceded by the Australian Open and French Open, and followed by the US Open. The tournament (which is the only one of the Grand Slams to be played on grass courts) lasts for a fortnight, subject to extensions for rain. Separate tournaments are simultaneously held for Gentlemen's Singles, Ladies' Singles, Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Youth tournaments - Boys' Singles, Girls' Singles, Boys' Doubles and Girls' Doubles - are also held. Additionally, special invitational tournaments are held for retired players - 35 and over Gentlemen's Doubles, 45 and over Gentlemen's Doubles, and 35 and over Ladies' Doubles.

Hopman Cup

The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early-January (sometimes commencing in late-December) each year.

Unlike other major international team tennis tournaments like the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, which are strictly for men or women only, the Hopman Cup is a mixed competition where male and female players team up together on combined teams.

Eight nations are selected annually to compete in the Hopman Cup. Each team consists of one male player and one female player. Each match-up between two teams at the championships consists of:

* one women's singles match
* one men's singles match
* one mixed doubles match

Tennis Masters Cup

The Tennis Masters Cup was created on December 9, 1999. On that day, the Grand Slam Committee, the ITF and the ATP Tour announced that the ATP Tour World Championship and the men's Grand Slam Cup would be discontinued and a new jointly owned, end of year men's tournament to be known as the Tennis Masters Cup was created. At the end of the tennis year, the top eight players in the world compete for the Masters Cup.

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual team competition in sport, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from the competing countries in a knock-out format. The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup (known as the Federation Cup before 1995).

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who came up with the idea of challenging the British to a tennis showdown. Once the idea received the go ahead from the respective lawn tennis associations, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and spent the money from his own pocket to purchase an appropriate sterling silver trophy.

The first match, between the United States and Great Britain was held in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1900. 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 next match in 1902. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1924.

Fed Cup

The Fed Cup (until 1995 Federation Cup) is the most important tennis tournament for female national teams, very similar to the men's Davis Cup. Both events are sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation.

The event was first held in 1963, the 50th anniversary of ITF, and has been held annually ever since.

World Team Cup

The World Team Cup is the international team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The tournament has been contest annually since 1978 and is considered to be second most prestigious men's team competition in tennis after the Davis Cup.

Every year, the eight nations whose top two male players have achieved the highest combined placings in the men's world rankings at the end of the previous year are invited to compete for the cup.

The competition is played on clay courts in Düsseldorf, Germany. The event is generally regarded as the sports highlight of the social scene in the Düsseldorf area. It attracts around 75,000 visitors every year and is televised to over 160 countries.