Tennis

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Stockholm can be justifiably called the city of young and sport active people. The capital city of Sweden plays dominating role in most European sports. Traditional football and tennis are of no exception.

The game tennis itself has a long and interesting history. It takes its roots in the late XVI century. It was preferably played in France and England. As for Stockholm, it is believed that the game appeared in the city in XVIIII century.

Tennis is mostly popular in Stockholm as the city is home to one of the biggest annual male and female tournament – “If Stockholm Open”. It is held every year at the end of October, November under The Royal Lawn Tennis Club in Stockholm.

The year 1969 is believed to be the year of the grand opening of the tournament. Ever since then, the championship has been played every year, without any exception but 1989 and 1994. It is played both single and double. The game is played indoors on a hard court.

Since 2009, "If Stockholm Open" was added to the list of ATP World Tour of 250 series. Its prize fond is 600 000 Euros that is calculated for 28 singles and 16 doubles. By now it is the oldest indoor tennis championship.

The first to set a record in "If Stockholm Open" was John McEnroy. He is a 4 time golden medalist in single and one time double.

Apart from "If Stockholm Open", there are many reasons why this kind of sport is so popular in the city. First of all it is in the school program. Most schools in Stockholm have pretty large courts and some of the fanciest even provide their own tennis championships.

Universities in Stockholm are sport oriented too. Just as in the rest of Europe students have to choose at least one kind of sport that they are going to attend. Among different kinds of sport, football and tennis are believed to be the most popular.

If you study in Stockholm you shouldn’t be professional tennis player, scholar or student. There are plenty of independent court that are placed throughout the city. Some of them are paid; usually the ones that are placed in the gym. And some are free of charge. Those can be seen anywhere in Stockholm. They are open every day and are separated from people only by a little gate that is always open for everybody.