TENNIS LEGEND ORIGINAL PHOTO WHITNEY REED VINTAGE FROM SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

Description: This vintage San Francisco Examiner photograph captures the legendary tennis player Whitney Reed in action. The photograph is an original, not a licensed reprint, making it a valuable addition to any collection of sports memorabilia. The image depicts Reed in his prime, showcasing his expertise and passion for the sport. It is perfect for avid collectors of photographs, especially those interested in capturing moments of historical significance. This piece is a must-have for any tennis enthusiast or fan of San Francisco sports history. Whitney Reed was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player from the United States who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Reed was ranked No. 1 amateur in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. amateur top ten in 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1962 ___________________ Whitney Reed (August 20, 1932 – January 9, 2015) was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player from the United States who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. Reed was ranked No. 1 amateur in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. amateur top ten in 1957 (No. 8), 1959 (No. 9), 1960 (No. 8), and 1962 (No. 6).[1] During his career, he had wins over Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Neale Fraser, Chuck McKinley, Frank Sedgman, Manuel Santana, Gardnar Mulloy, Art Larsen and Alex Olmedo. All these players have been inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He won the 1959 NCAA Intercollegiate singles championship while at San Jose State University. Also that year, he won the singles title and reached the doubles final at the Cincinnati Masters. He was runner-up to Larry Nagler in their match for 1960 NCAA Tennis Singles Championship.[2] In 1961 and 1963, he won the singles titles at the Canadian Open Tennis Championships. In 1967 and 1969 he won the San Francisco City Championships.[3] He also was named three times to the United States Davis Cup squad: in 1958, 1961 and 1962. Reed has been inducted in the San Jose State University and USTA Northern California Halls of Fame.[4][5] Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.[1][2] Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages.[3] The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis.[4] It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis.[5] The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times,[6][7] and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s.[8] A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye.[9][10] Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport.[11] The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for the sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open, played on hardcourts; the French Open, played on red clay courts; Wimbledon, played on grass courts; and the US Open, also played on hardcourts.[12] Additionally, tennis was one of the original Olympic sports, and has been consistently competed in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988. HistoryMain article: History of tennisPredecessors Painting from Cremona; end of the 16th century Jeu de paume in the 17th centuryHistorians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand.[13] Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis, and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the end of the 13th century".[14] In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe.[14] In June 1316 at Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, and following a particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy, although there was also suspicion of poisoning.[15] Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history's first tennis player known by name.[15] Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France, who had a court set up at the Louvre Palace.[16] It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez, which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent.[17] It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis.[18] An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry, written c. 1705, read, in part:[19] Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball:Was racketted, from spring to fall,With so much heat and so much hast,Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England.[20] The invention of the first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others.[21] Origins of the modern game Augurio Perera's house in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, where he and Harry Gem first played the modern game of lawn tennisBetween 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, England.[22][23] In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa.[24] This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for the first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History, Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for a year and a half".[25] In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè (Greek: σφαιριστική, meaning "ball-playing"), and which was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall, in Llanelidan, Wales.[26] According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis."[20][27] According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced a boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with the clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874."[28] The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874.[29] This was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in a significant debate on how to standardise the rules.[28] Lawn tennis in the US, 1887In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge, a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play.[30] She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York. The first American National championship was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth.[31] There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in the world[32] was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions.[33] The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open, was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island.[34] The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia.[35] Tennis doubles final at 1896 Olympic GamesTennis also became popular in France, where the French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs.[36] Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis.[37][38] Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball).[39] Lawn tennis in Canada, c. 1900In 1913, the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And the World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament.[40] At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia [41] – today's Grand Slam events.[40][42] The impact on the four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event.[40] The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen.[43] That same year, tennis withdrew from the Olympics after the 1924 Games, but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier, ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The success of the event was overwhelming, and the IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988.[44][45] International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode IslandThe Davis Cup, an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900.[46] The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup, was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF.[47] In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences.[38][48] The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen.[38][49] Players turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.[38] In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis.[50] With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image[51] (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).[51][52] In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island.[53] The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world.[54] EquipmentMain article: Tennis technologyPart of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only a racket and balls.[1] Racket of Franjo Punčec in a wooden frame – late 1930sRacketsMain article: Racket (sports equipment) § Tennis Wooden racket – c. 1920sThe components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut. Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of the 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to the following guidelines;[55] The hitting area, composed of the strings, must be flat and generally uniform.The frame of the hitting area may not be more than 29 inches (74 cm) in length and 12.5 inches (32 cm) in width.The entire racket must be of a fixed shape, size, weight, and weight distribution. There may not be any energy source built into the rackets.The rackets must not provide any kind of communication, instruction or advice to the player during the match.The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm).[56] Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist.[57] The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in the hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. StringsMain article: Strings (tennis)There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon, kevlar, or polyester.[58] Two different tennis strings of lengths 12m (left), and 200 m (right)Natural gutThe first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on the arm than most strings.[59] SyntheticMost synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts.[58] Polyester strings allow for more spin on the ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones.[60] Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm.[61] Hybrid stringsHybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for the mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses.[62] BallsMain article: Tennis ball A tennis racket and balls.Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers.[63] Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with a felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz).[64] Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in the United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East. The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region.[65] Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on the official ITF list of approved tennis balls.[66] Manner of play The dimensions of a tennis courtFor individual terms, see Glossary of tennis terms.CourtMain article: Tennis court Tennis court in Petäjävesi, Western Finland ProvinceTennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches.[67] Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm (1⁄3 in).[66] The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre.[67] The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield. In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle.[68] Tennis is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces.[69] Grass, clay, and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. LinesThe lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve.[70] The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called the service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving.[71] A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it is often the same width as the others.[70] Play of a single pointMain article: Point (tennis) Two players before a serve.The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player is the receiver. The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind the baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve, although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this is a let or net service, which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults, and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except the net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at the start of a new point.[72] ScoringMain article: Tennis scoring system"Break point" redirects here. For the software term, see Breakpoint.Game, set, match The scoreboard of a tennis match.GameA game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making the player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when the receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score.[73] SetA set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins the game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair.[74] If a tiebreak is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set, where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US.[75] In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". MatchA match consists of a sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in a best-of-five, wins the match.[76] Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase "Game, set, match" followed by the winning person's or team's name. Special point termsGame pointA game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by the chair umpire in tournament play. Break pointA break point occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win the game has break point, double break point or triple break point, respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve, as the receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back. Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Rule variationsSee also: Types of tennis matchNo adFrom 'No advantage'. Scoring method created by Jimmy Van Alen. The first player or doubles team to win four points wins the game, regardless of whether the player or team is ahead by two points. When the game score reaches three points each, the receiver chooses which side of the court (advantage court or deuce court) the service is to be delivered on the seventh and game-deciding point. Utilized by World Team Tennis professional competition, ATP tours, WTA tours, ITF Pro Doubles and ITF Junior Doubles.[77][78]Pro setInstead of playing multiple sets, players may play one pro set. A pro set is first to 8 (or 10) games by a margin of two games, instead of first to 6 games. A 12-point tiebreak is usually played when the score is 8–8 (or 10–10). These are often played with no-ad scoring.Match tiebreakThis is sometimes played instead of a third set. A match tiebreak (also called super tiebreak) is played like a regular tiebreak, but the winner must win ten points instead of seven. Match tiebreaks are used in the Hopman Cup, Grand Slams (excluding Wimbledon) and the Olympic Games for mixed doubles; on the ATP (since 2006), WTA (since 2007) and ITF (excluding four Grand Slam tournaments and the Davis Cup) tours for doubles and as a player's choice in USTA league play.Fast4Fast4 is a shortened format that offers a "fast" alternative, with four points, four games and four rules: there are no advantage scores, lets are played, tiebreakers apply at three games all, with it being first to five points with a "sudden death" point at four points all, and the first to four games wins the set. In the event of a no advantage deuce, the receiver gets to choose the service side. If a let occurs, the point continues as normal, and the non-receiver (in a doubles game) is permitted to return the serve. When players swap sides, they are not permitted to sit down and must be ready to play within sixty seconds. Between sets, players are permitted to sit down, and must be ready to play within ninety seconds.[79][80]Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles. This involves three players, with one person playing against a doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking a turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Match play Convention expects that the two players shake hands at the end of a match.ContinuityA tennis match is intended to be continuous.[81] Because stamina is a relevant factor, arbitrary delays are not permitted. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 seconds after the end of the previous point.[81] This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (after every odd-numbered game), and a 2-minute break is permitted between sets.[81] Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players' control, such as rain, damaged footwear, damaged racket, or the need to retrieve an errant ball. Should a player be deemed to be stalling repeatedly, the chair umpire may initially give a warning followed by subsequent penalties of "point", "game", and default of the match for the player who is consistently taking longer than the allowed time limit.[82] In the event of a rain delay, darkness or other external conditions halting play, the match is resumed at a later time, with the same score as at the time of the delay, and each player at the same end of the court as when rain halted play, or as close to the same relative compass point if play is resumed on a different court. Ball changesBalls wear out quickly in serious play and, therefore, in ATP and WTA tournaments, they are changed after every nine games with the first change occurring after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up.[64] In ITF tournaments like Fed Cup, the balls are changed after every eleven games (rather than nine) with the first change occurring after only nine games (instead of seven). An exception is that a ball change may not take place at the beginning of a tiebreaker, in which case the ball change is delayed until the beginning of the second game of the next set.[66] As a courtesy to the receiver, the server will often signal to the receiver before the first serve of the game in which new balls are used as a reminder that they are using new balls. Continuity of the balls' condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain), then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes. On-court coachingA recent rule change is to allow coaching on court on a limited basis during a match.[83][84][85][86] This has been introduced in women's tennis for WTA Tour events in 2009 and allows the player to request her coach once per set.[87] StanceStance refers to the way a player prepares themselves in order to best be able to return a shot. Essentially, it enables them to move quickly in order to achieve a particular stroke. There are four main stances in modern tennis: open, semi-open, closed, and neutral. All four stances involve the player crouching in some manner: as well as being a more efficient striking posture, it allows them to isometrically preload their muscles in order to play the stroke more dynamically. What stance is selected is strongly influenced by shot selection. A player may quickly alter their stance depending on the circumstances and the type of shot they intend to play. Any given stance also alters dramatically based upon the actual playing of the shot with dynamic movements and shifts of body weight occurring.[88][89] Open stanceThis is the most common stance in tennis. The player's feet are placed parallel to the net. They may be pointing sideways, directly at the net or diagonally towards it. This stance allows for a high degree of torso rotation which can add significant power to the stroke. This process is sometimes likened to the coiling and uncoiling of a spring. i.e. the torso is rotated as a means of preloading the muscular system in preparation for playing the stroke: this is the coiling phase. When the stroke is played the torso rotates to face forwards again, called uncoiling, and adds significant power to the stroke. A disadvantage of this stance is that it does not always allow ‘for proper weight transfer and maintenance of balance’[88] when making powerful strokes. It is commonly used for forehand strokes; double-handed backhands can also be made effectively from it. Semi-open stanceThis stance is somewhere between open and closed and is a very flexible stance. The feet are aligned diagonally towards the net. It allows for a lot of shoulder rotation and the torso can be coiled, before being uncoiled into the shot in order to increase the power of the shot. It is commonly used in modern tennis especially by ‘top professional players on the forehand’.[90] Two-handed backhands can also be employed from this stance. Closed stanceThe closed stance is the least commonly used of the three main stances. One foot is placed further towards the net with the other foot further from it; there is a diagonal alignment between the feet. It allows for effective torso rotation in order to increase the power of the shot. It is usually used to play backhand shots and it is rare to see forehand shots played from it. A stroke from this stance may entail the rear foot coming completely off the floor with bodyweight being transferred entirely to the front foot.[88] [89] Neutral stanceThis is sometimes also referred to as the square stance. One foot is positioned closer to the net and ahead of the other which is behind and in line with it. Both feet are aligned at a 90 degree angle to the net. The neutral stance is often taught early because ‘It allows beginners to learn about shifting weight and rotation of the body.’[89] Forehands and backhands may be made from it.[91] ShotsMain article: Tennis shotsCompetent tennis players have eight basic shots in their repertoire: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half-volley, overhead smash, drop shot, and lob. GripMain article: Grip (Tennis)A grip is a way of holding the racket in order to hit shots during a match. The grip affects the angle of the racket face when it hits the ball and influences the pace, spin, and placement of the shot. Players use various grips during play, including the Continental (The "Handshake Grip"), Eastern (either semi-eastern or full eastern, usually used for backhands), and Western (semi-western or full western, usually for forehand grips) grips. Most players change grips during a match depending on what shot they are hitting; for example, slice shots and serves call for a Continental grip.[92] ServeMain article: Serve (tennis) Roger Federer in a serve motion.A serve (or, more formally, a "service") in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. The serve may be hit under- or overhand although underhand serving remains a rarity.[93] If the ball hits the net on the first serve and bounces over into the correct diagonal box then it is called a "let" and the server gets two more additional serves to get it in. There can also be a let if the server serves the ball and the receiver isn't prepared.[66] If the server misses his or her first serve and gets a let on the second serve, then they get one more try to get the serve in the box. Experienced players strive to master the conventional overhand serve to maximize its power and placement. The server may employ different types of serve including flat serve, topspin serve, slice serve, and kick (American twist) serve. A reverse type of spin serve is hit in a manner that spins the ball opposite the natural spin of the server, the spin direction depending upon right- or left-handedness. If the ball is spinning counterclockwise, it will curve right from the hitter's point of view and curve left if spinning clockwise.[94] Some servers are content to use the serve simply to initiate the point; however, advanced players often try to hit a winning shot with their serve. A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an "ace". ForehandMain article: Forehand Juan Martín del Potro in a forehand motion.For a right-handed player, the forehand is a stroke that begins on the right side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the left side of the body. There are various grips for executing the forehand, and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. The most important ones are the continental, the eastern, the semi-western, and the western. For a number of years, the small, frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip. Few top players used the western grip after the 1920s, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the western forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players. No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racket, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. In the 1940s and 50s, the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to achieve a devastating effect against larger, more powerful players. Players such as Monica Seles or France's Fabrice Santoro and Marion Bartoli are also notable players known for their two-handed forehands.[95] BackhandMain article: Backhand Novak Djokovic in a two-handed backhand motion.For right-handed players, the backhand is a stroke that begins on the left side of their body, continues across their body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of their body. It can be executed with either one hand or with both and is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand. For most of the 20th century, the backhand was performed with one hand, using either an eastern or a continental grip. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich, but they were lone exceptions. The two-handed grip gained popularity in the 1970s as Björn Borg, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, and later Mats Wilander and Marat Safin used it to great effect, and it is now used by a large number of the world's best players, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.[96] Two hands give the player more control, while one hand can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. Reach is also limited with the two-handed shot. The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, had a powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and 1940s that imparted topspin onto the ball. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a very accurate slice backhand through the 1950s and 1960s. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides. Other shotsA volley is a shot returned to the opponent in mid-air before the ball bounces, generally performed near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed punching motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. The half volley is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, also generally in the vicinity of the net, and played with the racket close to the ground.[97] The swinging volley is hit out of the air as the player approaches the net. It is an offensive shot used to take preparation time away from the opponent, as it returns the ball into the opponent's court much faster than a standard volley. From a poor defensive position on the baseline, the lob can be used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court to either enable the lobber to get into better defensive position or to win the point outright by hitting it over the opponent's head. If the lob is not hit deeply enough into the other court, however, an opponent near the net may then hit an overhead smash, a hard, serve-like shot, to try to end the point. A difficult shot in tennis is the return of an attempted lob over the backhand side of a player. When the contact point is higher than the reach of a two-handed backhand, most players will try to execute a high slice (under the ball or sideways). Fewer players attempt the backhand sky-hook or smash. Rarely, a player will go for a high topspin backhand, while themselves in the air. A successful execution of any of these alternatives requires balance and timing, with less margin of error than the lower contact point backhands, since this shot is a break in the regular pattern of play. If their opponent is deep in their court, a player may suddenly employ an unexpected drop shot, by softly tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it. Advanced players will often apply back spin to a drop shot, causing the ball to "skid" upon landing and bounce sideways, with less forward momentum toward their opponent, or even backwards towards the net, thus making it even more difficult to return. TournamentsSee also: List of tennis tournamentsTournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men's singles, women's singles, and doubles, where two players play on each side of the net. Tournaments may be organized for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. Example of this include the Orange Bowl and Les Petits As junior tournaments. There are also tournaments for players with disabilities, such as wheelchair tennis and deaf tennis.[98] In the four Grand Slam tournaments, the singles draws are limited to 128 players for each gender. Most large tournaments seed players, but players may also be matched by their skill level. According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, a player is given a rating that is adjusted periodically to maintain competitive matches. For example, the United States Tennis Association administers the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP), which rates players between 1.0 and 7.0 in 1/2 point increments. Average club players under this system would rate 3.0–4.5 while world class players would be 7.0 on this scale. Grand Slam tournaments A tennis match at Centre Court of Wimbledon in 2007.The four Grand Slam tournaments are considered to be the most prestigious tennis events in the world. They are held annually and comprise, in chronological order, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Apart from the Olympic Games, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and Hopman Cup, they are the only tournaments regulated by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).[99] The ITF's national associations, Tennis Australia (Australian Open), the Fédération Française de Tennis (French Open), the Lawn Tennis Association (Wimbledon) and the United States Tennis Association (US Open) are delegated the responsibility to organize these events.[99] Aside from the historical significance of these events, they also carry larger prize funds than any other tour event and are worth double the number of ranking points to the champion than in the next echelon of tournaments, the ATP Masters 1000 (men) and Premier events (women).[100][101] Another distinguishing feature is the number of players in the singles draw. There are 128, more than any other professional tennis tournament. This draw is composed of 32 seeded players, other players ranked in the world's top 100, qualifiers, and players who receive invitations through wild cards. Grand Slam men's tournaments have best-of-five set matches while the women play best-of-three. Grand Slam tournaments are among the small number of events that last two weeks, the others being the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Masters. Currently, the Grand Slam tournaments are the only tour events that have mixed doubles contests. Grand Slam tournaments are held in conjunction with wheelchair tennis tournaments and junior tennis competitions. These tournaments also contain their own idiosyncrasies. For example, players at Wimbledon are required to wear predominantly white. Andre Agassi chose to skip Wimbledon from 1988 through 1990 citing the event's traditionalism, particularly its "predominantly white" dress code.[102] Wimbledon has its own particular methods for disseminating tickets, often leading tennis fans to follow complex procedures to obtain tickets.[103] Overview of Grand Slam tournamentsGrand SlamFirst heldHeldLocationSurfaceDatePrize moneyAustralian Open1905111 timesMelbourneHardJanuary–FebruaryA$76,500,000 (2023)French Open1891*93 timesParisClayMay–June€49,600,000 (2023)Wimbledon1877136 timesLondonGrassJune–July£44,700,000 (2023)US Open1881143 timesNew York CityHardAugust–SeptemberUS$65,000,000 (2023)The French became an international tournament in 1925.Men's tournament structureMasters SeriesThe ATP Masters 1000 is a group of nine tournaments that form the second-highest echelon in men's tennis. Each event is held annually, and a win at one of these events is worth 1000 ranking points. When the ATP, led by Hamilton Jordan, began running the men's tour in 1990, the directors designated the top nine tournaments, outside of the Grand Slam events, as "Super 9" events.[104] In 2000 this became the Tennis Masters Series and in 2004 the ATP Masters Series. In November at the end of the tennis year, the world's top eight players compete in the ATP Finals, a tournament with a rotating locale. It is currently held in Turin.[105] In August 2007 the ATP announced major changes to the tour that were introduced in 2009. The Masters Series was renamed to the "ATP Masters 1000", the addition of the number 1000 referring to the number of ranking points earned by the winner of each tournament. Contrary to earlier plans, the number of tournaments was not reduced from nine to eight and the Monte-Carlo Masters remains part of the series although, unlike the other events, it does not have a mandatory player commitment. The Hamburg Masters has been downgraded to a 500-point event. The Madrid Masters moved to May and onto clay courts, and a new tournament in Shanghai took over Madrid's former indoor October slot. As of 2011 six of the nine "1000" level tournaments are combined ATP and WTA events.[106] 500 and 250 seriesThe third and fourth tier of men's tennis tournaments are formed by the ATP 500 series, consisting of 11 tournaments, and the ATP 250 series with 40 tournaments.[107] Like the ATP Masters 1000, these events offer various amounts of prize money and the numbers refer to the number of ranking points earned by the winner of a tournament.[100] The Dubai Tennis Championships offer the largest financial incentive to players, with total prize money of US$2,313,975 (2012).[108] These series have various draws of 28, 32, 48 and 56 for singles and 16 and 24 for doubles. It is mandatory for leading players to enter at least four 500 events, including at least one after the US Open. Challenger Tour and Futures tournamentsThe Challenger Tour for men is the lowest level of tournament administered by the ATP. It is composed of about 150 events and, as a result, features a more diverse range of countries hosting events.[109] The majority of players use the Challenger Series at the beginning of their career to work their way up the rankings. Andre Agassi, between winning Grand Slam tournaments, plummeted to World No. 141 and used Challenger Series events for match experience and to progress back up the rankings.[110] The Challenger Series offers prize funds of between US$25,000 and US$150,000. Below the Challenger Tour are the Futures tournaments, events on the ITF Men's Circuit. These tournaments also contribute towards a player's ATP rankings points. Futures Tournaments offer prize funds of between US$10,000 and US$15,000.[111] Approximately 530 Futures Tournaments are played each year. Women's tournament structureIn 2021, the WTA rebranded, resembling the men's tournament series, and also providing extra simplicity for fans and consumers. The numbers do not indicate ranking points, or prize money, but is a system to help define different levels of women's tennis. WTA 1000The WTA 1000 Tournaments (formerly the Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 Tournaments), are a series of seven tournaments that are part of the second-highest tier in women's tennis.[112][113] 500 and 250 SeriesThe third and fourth tier of women's tennis tournaments are formed from the WTA 500 Series (formerly Premier 700), with fifteen tournaments, and the WTA 250 Series (formerly International), consisting of thirty tournaments.[112][114] WTA 125The WTA 125 Series (formerly 125K Series), is the lowest tier of women's tennis, with fourteen tournaments.[114] PlayersProfessional playersProfessional tennis players enjoy the same relative perks as most top sports personalities: clothing, equipment and endorsements. Like players of other individual sports such as golf, they are not salaried, but must play and finish highly in tournaments to obtain prize money. In recent years,[when?] professional tennis players have been mocked by tabloids and fans for the involuntary or deliberate noise caused by players' grunting. This controversy has spurred the Grand Slam Committee, the International Tennis Association, and the Women's Tennis Association to teach players techniques to avoid grunting.[115] Singles and doubles professional careers McEnroe with Fleming playing as a doubles team at Wimbledon in the 1980s.While players are gradually less competitive in singles by their late 20s and early 30s, they can still continue competitively in doubles (as instanced by Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe, who won doubles titles in their 40s). In the Open Era, several female players such as Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court, Martina Hingis, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams (the latter two sisters playing together) have been prolific at both singles and doubles events throughout their careers. John McEnroe is one of the very few professional male players to be top ranked in both singles and doubles at the same time,[116][117][118] and Yevgeny Kafelnikov is the most recent male player to win multiple Grand Slams in both singles and doubles during the same period of his career. In terms of public attention and earnings (see below), singles champions have far surpassed their doubles counterparts. The Open Era, particularly the men's side, has seen many top-ranked singles players that only sparingly compete in doubles, while having "doubles specialists" who are typically being eliminated early in the singles draw but do well in the doubles portion of a tournament. Notable doubles pairings include The Woodies (Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde) and the Bryan brothers (identical twin brothers Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan and Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan). Woodbridge has disliked the term "doubles 'specialists'", saying that he and Woodforde "set a singles schedule and doubles fitted in around that", although later in Woodbridge's career he focused exclusively on doubles as his singles ranking fell too low that it was no longer financially viable to recover at that age. Woodbridge noted that while top singles players earn enough that they do not need to nor want to play doubles, he suggested that lower-ranked singles players outside the Top Ten should play doubles to earn more playing time and money.[119][120] OlympicsThe Olympics doubles tennis tournament necessitates that both members of a doubles pairing be from the same country, hence several top professional pairs such as Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares cannot compete in the Olympics. Top-ranked singles players that are usually rivals on the professional circuit, such as Boris Becker and Michael Stich, and Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have formed a rare doubles partnership for the Olympics. Unlike professional tennis tournaments (see below) where singles players receive much more prize money than doubles players, an Olympic medal for both singles and doubles has similar prestige. The Olympics is more of a priority for doubles champions while singles champions often skip the tournament.[119][120] While the ATP has voted for Olympic results to count towards player ranking points, WTA players voted against it.[121] For the 2000 Olympics, Lisa Raymond was passed over for Team USA in favour of Serena Williams by captain Billie Jean King, even though Raymond was the top-ranked doubles player in the world at the time, and Raymond unsuccessfully challenged the selection.[121] Prize moneyIn professional tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon, the singles competition receives the most prize money and coverage, followed by doubles, and then mixed doubles usually receive the lowest monetary awards.[122] For instance in the US Open as of 2018, the men's and women's singles prize money (US$40,912,000) accounts for 80.9 percent of total player base compensation, while men's and women's doubles (US$6,140,840), men's and women's singles qualifying (US$3,008,000), and mixed doubles (US$505,000) account for 12.1 percent, 5.9 percent, and 1.0 percent, respectively. The singles winner receives US$3,800,000, while the doubles winning pair receives $700,000 and the mixed doubles winning pair receives US$155,000.[123] Grand Slam tournament winnersSee also: Lists of tennis records and statisticsThe following players have won at least five singles titles at Grand Slam tournaments (active players in bold): MenTitlesSerbia Novak Djokovic24Spain Rafael Nadal22Switzerland Roger Federer20United States Pete Sampras14Australia Roy Emerson12Australia Rod Laver11Sweden Björn BorgUnited States Bill Tilden10United Kingdom Fred Perry8Australia Ken RosewallUnited States Jimmy ConnorsCzechoslovakia Ivan LendlUnited States Andre AgassiUnited Kingdom William Renshaw7United States Richard SearsUnited States William LarnedFrance Henri CochetFrance René LacosteAustralia John NewcombeUnited States John McEnroeSweden Mats WilanderUnited Kingdom Laurence Doherty6New Zealand Anthony WildingUnited States Donald BudgeAustralia Jack CrawfordGermany Boris BeckerSweden Stefan EdbergAustralia Frank Sedgman5United States Tony TrabertWomenTitlesAustralia Margaret Court24United States Serena Williams23Germany Steffi Graf22United States Helen Wills Moody19United States Chris Evert18Czechoslovakia/United States Martina NavratilovaUnited States Billie Jean King12United States Maureen Connolly Brinker9Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/United States Monica SelesNorway/United States Molla Bjurstedt Mallory8France Suzanne LenglenUnited Kingdom Dorothea Lambert Chambers7Brazil Maria BuenoAustralia Evonne Goolagong CawleyUnited States Venus WilliamsBelgium Justine HeninUnited Kingdom Blanche Bingley Hillyard6United States Doris HartUnited States Margaret Osborne duPontAustralia Nancye Wynne BoltonUnited States Louise Brough ClappUnited Kingdom Lottie Dod5United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper SterryAustralia Daphne Akhurst CozensUnited States Helen JacobsUnited States Alice MarbleUnited States Pauline Betz AddieUnited States Althea GibsonSwitzerland Martina HingisRussia Maria SharapovaGreatest male playersFurther information: Tennis male players statistics and World number one male tennis player rankingsBill TildenBill Tilden Pancho GonzalesPancho Gonzales Ken RosewallKen Rosewall Rod LaverRod Laver Pete SamprasPete Sampras Roger FedererRoger Federer Rafael NadalRafael Nadal Novak DjokovicNovak DjokovicA frequent topic of discussion among tennis fans and commentators is who was the greatest male singles player of all time. By a large margin, an Associated Press poll in 1950 named Bill Tilden as the greatest player of the first half of the 20th century.[124] From 1920 to 1930, Tilden won singles titles at Wimbledon three times and the US Championships seven times. In 1938, however, Donald Budge became the first person to win all four major singles titles during the same calendar year, the Grand Slam, and won six consecutive major titles in 1937 and 1938. Tilden called Budge "the finest player 365 days a year that ever lived."[125] In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer said that, based on consistent play, Budge was the greatest player ever.[126] Some observers, however, also felt that Kramer deserved consideration for the title. Kramer was among the few who dominated amateur and professional tennis during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Tony Trabert has said that of the players he saw before the start of the Open Era, Kramer was the best male champion.[127] By the 1960s, Budge and others had added Pancho Gonzales and Lew Hoad to the list of contenders. Budge reportedly believed that Gonzales was the greatest player ever.[128] Gonzales said about Hoad, "When Lew's game was at its peak nobody could touch him. ... I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine. He was capable of making more shots than anybody. His two volleys were great. His overhead was enormous. He had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique."[129] Before and during the Open Era, Rod Laver remains the only male player in history to have won the calendar year Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969 [130] and also the calendar year Professional Grand Slam in 1967.[131] Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, and John McEnroe had a fierce rivalry in the late 1970s and early 1980s that propelled "the men's game to new heights of popularity".[132] Connors had a long and prolific career and holds the Open Era men's singles records of 109 titles including eight Grand Slams, 1,557 matches played, and 1,274 match wins. Borg was regarded by his contemporaries as among the greatest ever, having a calm court demeanor and unrivalled physical conditioning, winning six French Opens and five straight Wimbledon titles, retiring at age 26 when he was still in his prime. McEnroe attained the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, finishing his career with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles; this remains the highest men's combined total of the Open Era.[133] The Agassi–Sampras rivalry showcased the two best players in the 1990s.[134] Sampras had a precise and powerful serve while Agassi was considered to be one of the best service returners in the history of the game.[135][136][137] By the early 2000s, Pete Sampras had won a then-record of 14 Grand Slam titles which was by far the most among his contemporaries. Sampras also held the record for most weeks at No. 1 with 286 until it was broken a decade later by Federer and Djokovic after that. Andre Agassi, was the first player to complete the Career Grand Slam on all modern three surfaces (hard, grass, and clay courts) as previous winners of Grand Slam tournaments played in an era of grass and clay only (Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall also won major Pro tournaments on the three surfaces). Agassi also is the only player to win all four Grand Slam titles along with the year-end championships and the olympics. Both Sampras and Agassi are regarded to be among the greatest players of all time.[135][138][139] By the early twenty-first century, the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have dominated men's singles tennis for two decades,[140][141] collectively winning 66 major singles tournaments; Djokovic with an all-time record 24 titles, Nadal with 22 and Federer with 20. They have been ranked as world No. 1s in singles for a total 947 weeks (equivalent to 18 years); Djokovic for a record 428 weeks, Federer for 310, and Nadal for 209. Greatest female playersFurther information: World number 1 women tennis players and List of WTA number 1 ranked playersSuzanne LenglenSuzanne Lenglen Helen WillsHelen Wills Margaret CourtMargaret Court Martina NavratilovaMartina Navratilova Chris EvertChris Evert Steffi GrafSteffi Graf Monica SelesMonica Seles Serena WilliamsSerena WilliamsAs with the men there are frequent discussions about who is the greatest female singles player of all time with Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams being the three players most often nominated. In March 2012 the Tennis Channel published a combined list of the 100 greatest men and women tennis players of all time.[142] It ranked Steffi Graf as the greatest female player (in 3rd place overall), followed by Martina Navratilova (4th place) and Margaret Court (8th place). The rankings were determined by an international panel. Sportswriter John Wertheim of Sports Illustrated stated in an article in July 2010 that Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player ever with the argument that "Head-to-head, on a neutral surface (i.e. hard courts), everyone at their best, I can't help feeling that she crushes the other legends.".[143] In a reaction to this article Yahoo sports blog Busted Racket published a list of the top-10 women's tennis players of all time placing Martina Navratilova in first spot.[144] This top-10 list was similar to the one published in June 2008 by the Bleacher Report who also ranked Martina Navratilova as the top female player of all time.[145] Steffi Graf is considered by some to be the greatest female player. Billie Jean King said in 1999, "Steffi is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time."[146] Martina Navratilova has included Graf on her list of great players.[146] In December 1999, Graf was named the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press.[147] Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named her as the best female player of the 20th century, directly followed by Martina Navratilova.[148] Tennis magazine selected Martina Navratilova as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005.[149][150] Tennis historian and journalist Bud Collins has called Navratilova "arguably, the greatest player of all time."[151] Billie Jean King said about Navratilova in 2006, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived."[152] In 2018, a Tennis.com panel selected Serena Williams as the greatest female tennis player in the Open Era.[153] In May 2020, the Tennis Channel ranked Williams as the greatest female tennis player of all time.[154] In November 2018, Tennis.com polled its readers to choose the greatest women's tennis player of all time and Graf came in first.[155] In July 2020, The Guardian polled its readers to determine the greatest female tennis player of the past 50 years, and Graf was the clear favorite, picking up nearly twice as many votes as any other player.[156] OfficialsMain article: Official (tennis) An umpire informing two players of the rules.In most professional play and some amateur competition, there is an officiating head judge or chair umpire (usually referred to simply as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to make factual determinations. The umpire may be assisted by line judges, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There also may be a net judge who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service. The umpire has the right to overrule a line judge or a net judge if the umpire is sure that a clear mistake has been made.[157] In past tournaments, line judges tasked with calling the serve were sometimes assisted by electronic sensors that beeped to indicate an out-of-bounds serve; one such system was called "Cyclops".[158] Cyclops has since largely been replaced by the Hawk-Eye system.[159][160] In professional tournaments using this system, players are allowed three unsuccessful appeals per set, plus one additional appeal in the tiebreak to challenge close line calls by means of an electronic review. The US Open, Miami Masters, US Open Series, and World Team Tennis started using this challenge system in 2006 and the Australian Open and Wimbledon introduced the system in 2007.[161] In clay-court matches, such as at the French Open, a call may be questioned by reference to the mark left by the ball's impact on the court surface. The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority about tennis rules. When called to the court by a player or team captain, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision if the tennis rules were violated (question of law) but may not change the umpire's decision on a question of fact. If, however, the referee is on the court during play, the referee may overrule the umpire's decision. (This would only happen in Davis Cup or Fed Cup matches, not at the World Group level, when a chair umpire from a non-neutral country is in the chair.)[157] Junior tennisMain article: Junior tennisIn tennis, a junior is a player under 18 who is still legally protected by a parent or guardian. Players on the main adult tour who are under 18 must have documents signed by a parent or guardian. These players, however, are still eligible to play in junior tournaments. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) conducts a junior tour that allows juniors to establish a world ranking and an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking. Most juniors who enter the international circuit do so by progressing through ITF, Satellite, Future, and Challenger tournaments before entering the main circuit. The latter three circuits also have adults competing in them. Some juniors, however, such as Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Frenchman Gaël Monfils, have catapulted directly from the junior tour to the ATP tour by dominating the junior scene or by taking advantage of opportunities given to them to participate in professional tournaments. In 2004, the ITF implemented a new rankings scheme to encourage greater participation in doubles, by combining two rankings (singles and doubles) into one combined tally.[162] Junior tournaments do not offer prize money except for the Grand Slam tournaments, which are the most prestigious junior events. Juniors may earn income from tennis by participating in the Future, Satellite, or Challenger tours. Tournaments are broken up into different tiers offering different amounts of ranking points, culminating with Grade A. Leading juniors are allowed to participate for their nation in the Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup competitions. To succeed in tennis often means having to begin playing at a young age. To facilitate and nurture a junior's growth in tennis, almost all tennis playing nations have developed a junior development system. Juniors develop their play through a range of tournaments on all surfaces, accommodating all different standards of play. Talented juniors may also receive sponsorships from governing bodies or private institutions. InjuriesMain article: Tennis injuriesMuscle strain is one of the most common injuries in tennis.[163] When an isolated large-energy appears during the muscle contraction and at the same time body weight apply huge amount of pressure to the lengthened muscle, muscle strain can occur.[164] Inflammation and bleeding are triggered when muscle strain occurs, which can result in redness, pain and swelling.[164] Overuse is also common in tennis players of all levels. Muscle, cartilage, nerves, bursae, ligaments and tendons may be damaged from overuse. The repetitive use of a particular muscle without time for repair and recovery is the most common cause of injury.[164] In popular culture"Tennis balles" are mentioned by William Shakespeare in his play Henry V (1599), when a basket of them is given to King Henry as a mockery of his youth and playfulness.David Foster Wallace, an amateur tennis player himself at Urbana High School in Illinois,[165] included tennis in many of his works of non-fiction and fiction including "Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Discipline, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness", the autobiographical piece "Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley", and Infinite Jest, which is partially set at the fictional "Enfield Tennis Academy" in Massachusetts.Japanese manga series The Prince of Tennis revolves around the tennis prodigy Echizen Ryoma and tennis matches between rival schools.The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) is a film that features Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson), a tennis pro who suffers from depression and has a breakdown on court in front of thousands of fans.[166]Wimbledon (2004) is a film about a discouraged pro tennis player (Paul Bettany) who meets a young woman on the women's tennis circuit (Kirsten Dunst) who helps him find his drive to go and win Wimbledon.[167]In The Squid and the Whale (2005), Joan (Laura Linney) has an affair with her kids' tennis coach, Ivan (William Baldwin). In a symbolic scene, Joan's ex-husband, Bernard (Jeff Daniels), loses a tennis match against Ivan in front of the kids.[168]Woody Allen's Match Point (2005) features a love affair between a former tennis pro, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and his best friend's fiancé, Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). A scene of the movie includes a brief comparison between Andre Agassi and Tim Henman, with Chris Wilton calling both of them "geniuses".[169]Confetti (2006) is a mockumentary which sees three couples competing to win the title of "Most Original Wedding of the Year". One competing couple (Meredith MacNeill and Stephen Mangan) are a pair of hyper-competitive professional tennis players holding a tennis-themed wedding.[170]There are several tennis video games including the Mario Tennis series, the TopSpin series, the Virtua Tennis series, Sega Superstars Tennis, Grand Slam Tennis and Wii Sports.[171][172]See alsoPortals:icon Tennis Sportsicon GamesAmerican handballOutline of tennisTennis gamesTennis strategyTennis technologyTennis statisticsTennis injuries The Man Who Bowed in the Wrong Direction: Wild and Wonderful Whitney Reed, 1932-2015 from Inside Tennis In Inside Tennis’ 2005 cover story on the 40 zaniest, most intriguing figures in tennis, the singular Ilie Nastase was our number one. After all, the man nicknamed Nasty—who once told Arthur Ashe “Negroni, tomorrow I do things on court that will turn you white”— was completely crazed. What Roger Federer is to Wimbledon, Ilie Nastase was to wackiness. Having said that, our No. 2 was none other than the lovable Oakland-born Whitney Reed, the top American player in 1961, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 82. In fact, we placed Reed—who cut his own singular path—ahead of the likes of John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic, Torben Ulrich, Richard Williams, Jeff Tarango and Marat Safin. “If there’s such a thing as a tennis bum, I’m it,” Reed matter-of-factly admitted to Sports Illustrated in a characterful 1962 profile. As his friend and sometimes opponent Marty Hennessy puts it, “If there was any life story you’d like to know, it would be about Whitney. He was the most amazing individual you could ever hope to meet. He was bigger than life.” Read more Whitney Reed, a Northern California tennis great and “character”, passed away on January 9. He made an indelible mark on the tennis world and all that knew him. He will be missed. Services are currently pending and we will provide an update as soon as one becomes available. Whitney Reed (born August 20, 1932, in Oakland, California) was ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. top ten in 1957 (No. 8), 1959 (No. 9), 1960 (No. 8), and 1962 (No. 6). During his career, he had wins over Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Neale Fraser, Chuck McKinley, Frank Sedgman, Manuel Santana, Gardnar Mulloy, Art Larsen and Alex Olmedo. All these players are enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He won the 1959 NCAA Intercollegiate singles championship while at San Jose State University. Also that year, he won the singles title and reached the doubles final at the Cincinnati Masters. In 1961 and 1963, he won singles titles at the Canadian National Championships. He also was named three times to the United States Davis Cup squad, 1958, 1961 and 1962. Message from Katrina Adams (Chairman, CEO and President of USTA): I am very sorry to share with you the news that Whitney Reed passed away on January 9 in Alameda, Calif. Whitney was ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1961 and was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 during the late 1950s and early 1960s. During his career, he had wins over Roday Laver, Roy Emerson and Gardnar Mulloy, among others. Whitney won the 1959 NCAA Intercollegiate singles championship while at San Jose State University. Also that year, he won the singles title and reached the doubles final at the Cincinnati Masters. In 1961, he was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. National Championships, and was three times a member of the U.S. Davis Cup squad, in 1958, 1961 and 1962. A chronicle of his life “Unflappable: The Life and Times of Whitney Reed” was published in 2006. Whitney had a real zest for life and was one of the top talents of the U.S. game in its amateur days. Our sincere sympathies go out to Whitney’s family and friends. Was Whitney Reed the best tennis player many people have never heard of? Or just the most eccentric? Whitney won the 1959 NCAA Intercollegiate singles championship while at San Jose State University. Also that year, he won the singles title and reached the doubles final at the Cincinnati Masters. In 1961 and 1963, he won the singles title at the Canadian National Championships. He was ranked in the top 10 in the United States 5 times, and in 1961 was ranked number 1. During his career, he had wins over Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Neale Fraser, Chuck McKinley, Frank Sedgman, Manuel Santana, Gardnar Mulloy, Art Larsen, Allen Fox, and Alex Olmedo. But he never got past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam, probably why he is less remembered than so many other players of his era. What follows are some thoughts on his life on and especially off the tennis court. Amusing God Some folks feel that if you are charming and witty, and live life with verve and imagination, God will cut you some slack. Some folks feel that if you keep God amused enough, he may ignore a few shortcomings and allow the tiniest of indiscretions. Maybe even let you get away with a little sin here and there. Whitney Reed didn't conscientiously elect to play flim-flam with the Lord. Whitney was playing Whitney, and God must have thought it was entertaining. Whitney as a young junior player.Whitney was born in August of 1932 in Oakland, California and died in January of 2015 in nearby Alameda. The family had moved to Alameda when he was four. His father was a jet mechanic at the Naval Air Station in Alameda. His mother was a nurse, homemaker, and tennis player. Friends say the homemaker, nurse, and tennis player may not have been in her exact order of importance. The 1930s were not the best of times. The country was still in the depths of the Great Depression. Nazism was on the rise in Germany, and war in Europe was only a few years off. Considering the difficult times the '30s represented, Whitney's parents were ahead of the mean. They both had jobs. They had a small but comfortable home, and no one in the family missed a meal. Whitney didn't walk to school in a foot of snow with sodden tennis shoes on his feet. He didn't sell newspapers or apples on the street corners, and his father didn't get drunk and beat him up for a little extra exercise. It is safe to say, Whitney had a very conventional childhood. He didn't fight his way out of the ghetto to become one of the best tennis players in the world. He didn't face racial inequality, segregation, and school busing to finally reach the hallowed ground of Wimbledon. He was a skinny little blond kid who lived in a quaint little town with malt shops, sockhops, and hot apple pie. He walked to school down Sycamore lined streets, and played Pirates of the Caribbean in the estuary. Norcal junior stars: Jack Darrah, Cliff Mayne, Whitney, and Norm Peterson.Nothing he did growing up would indicate that he was destined to live a life as eccentric and unconventional as any athlete in recent memory, and nothing he did growing up would indicate that he was destined to become one of the unique characters in sports history. Whitney was probably lucky that country clubs, exclusive tennis clubs, and expensive coaches did not make an appearance in his early life. These trappings may have influenced him in an adverse way. Whitney had an ok serve. He could hit topspin passing shots off both sides—very unusual for the era. But what set him apart is how he played the midcourt. He tortured opponents by consistently hitting half volley drop shots often followed by lob volley winners. Junior coaches, especially, would have found his unique style daunting. They would have seen the talent and attempted to mold it in a traditional sense. The effort would have been as successful as trying to mold Janis Joplin into Beverly Sills. Origins of that Style During the formative years, from diapers to post puberty, Whitney and his parents would pile into the family car and head for Washington Park tennis courts in Alameda. The court protocol was simple: you win, you stay on the court. You lose and it can be hours before you play again. The courts where Whitney grew up at Washington Park in Alameda, as they stand today.Even as a kid, Whitney hated to lose and he hated to sit around waiting for a court. Accordingly, he'd do everything possible to hold the court. Not an easy task when you are young, scrawny, and diminutive. So instead of swinging as hard as his arms would allow, he became very crafty. He learned to drop shot, lob, and to slice his forehand and backhand. Since running was not something he enjoyed if there was an easier way, the center of the court became his domain. Why Tennis? If you possess incredible hand-eye coordination, are reasonably fleet of foot, and consider the team concept about as appealing as geometry, you need to think tennis. How did Whitney Reed get real good at tennis?Whitney probably considered tennis, because if he didn't, as a little kid, he would have spent a lot of time home alone, and he had no fondness for geometry. Whether his parents had to wake him every Saturday morning and drag him kicking and screaming to the tennis court is conjecture. Whether they made him leave his homework and bat a tennis ball against the garage door is also conjecture. However it occurred, Whitney would say he "got real good at tennis." So good that no one wanted to play the kid from Alameda who never missed a shot. How Alameda kids "got good at tennis" is a mystery. There was no coaching in a true sense. If a kid was looking to play tennis, he needed to wait at a playground for someone to come along toting a tennis racquet. Sometimes the kids set up matches at the various playgrounds –sort of like an Old West shootout. Two players would meet at Washington Park, the winner would enhance his reputation, and the loser would look to tomorrow for redemption. Rarely, a more accomplished older player, maybe 18, would help a younger kid with a serve or ground strokes. For Whitney, it wasn't long before the competition petered out completely. Not even the 18 year olds wanted to play the little kid who strolled around the middle of the court hitting the ball where no one could return it. High School High School tennis was a big disappointment both competitively and socially. Whitney had to hide his racquet somewhere along Santa Clara Avenue on his way to school. Kids who carried tennis racquets didn't get the best seat at the malt shops. Whitney's matches with Ham Richardson in the juniors were portents of the future.The kids who carried tennis racquets didn't get the girls. Tennis must have satisfied a deep need in young Whitney, because he played at the risk of compromising social situations that are very important to maturing teenagers. But there were a few crowning moments in Whitney's high school tennis career. He and Norm Peterson won the National Junior Doubles in 1950, and Whitney beat Jack Darrah about 1000 times in high school matches. Later in life Darrah enjoyed a modicum of retribution, he won about a million dollars from Whitney playing backgammon. Playing tournaments tennis began early for Whitney. The Oakland Post Enquirer sponsored a public playground tournament. All the playgrounds in the area sent their best kids. The first year Whitney lost in an early round. He went back to Alameda and began practicing against his garage door. He spent hours hitting forehands and backhands until either his father or the neighbors called a halt to the incessant banging. The next year he won the playground tournament. From 13 to 15 he played all the sanctioned junior tournaments, winning most of them in Northern California. At age 15 he went east to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for the national 15 and under. He lost in the semifinals. Two years later in Kalamazoo he played Ham Richardson in the finals of the juniors and lost in a very closely contested match. Whitney got a measure of retribution in doubles. He and Norm Peterson beat Jack Frost and Richardson in the finals. The Richardson/Frost win was huge. Ham Richardson went on to win two NCAA tennis titles. He was ranked number one in the U.S. in 1956 and then again in 1958. The doubles final in Kalamazoo was a pretty good win for a couple of skinny blond kids from Alameda. First Two College Tries Whitney went to USC to play tennis and have fun. But wild ones don't do well in a university setting unless they have an IQ of 150 or more. Legendary Modesto coach Fred Earle: Whitney did not fit his mold.Whitney was very bright but his IQ was shy of 150. So when a bunch of Sigma Nu brothers captured him, made him imbibe strong drink, and then left him at the beach, his university life at the University of Southern California was destined to be short lived. Who can have fun, play tennis, and compete academically at the university level? Not any one I know, not unless you have the constitution of a Bill Clinton. Consequently, after a year in the warm Southern California sun, Whitney returned to Alameda. The second college try was Modesto Junior College. Fred Earle, the school's legendary tennis coach, fashioned a legendary array of talent in the '50s and '60s. Whitney was, for awhile, the perfect addition to Earle's parade of stars. The team was so strong in 1951, the little junior college from the valley beat USC and UCLA on consecutive days. Whitney, Jerry DeWitt, and Norm Peterson crushed the best players in the Pacific Eight Conference. However, as with Art Larsen before him, Whitney did not fit the mold created by Coach Earle. For the second time, he was not ready for the discipline of college life. Ironically, it was not because of the plethora of distractions, but because of the lack of distractions. For Whitney, boredom was worse than the sin of gluttony. Consequently, the lack of action in the agricultural valley and the intolerance of coach Earle terminated Whitney's second stint in the pursuit of a higher education. You probably didn’t see much notice when Reed, one of Northern California’s unique and most accomplished athletes, died last month at 82. He came from another time, when tennis was largely an amateur sport and populated by a brand of individualism so alarmingly absent today. He also liked to play about five cocktails deep into a bender, and we’ll get to that. He was the top-ranked player in the U.S. at the end of 1961. He spent four other seasons in the top 10, played on three Davis Cup teams and scored tour victories over the likes of Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Alex Olmedo and Manuel Santana. The lasting image of Reed’s career, though, is his style. Nobody played the game quite like him, and few dared translate the act of partying — in the grandest fashion — into an on-court asset. Would he even be playing tennis today, as a young man with aspirations? Not likely. American tennis is far too structured, churning out robotic-like players fiercely glued to the baseline. A rush to the net, or a drop shot struck deftly against the odds, is the act of a wild-eyed radical. We simply can be thankful that Reed graced the courts in just the right era. Born in Oakland, raised in Alameda, Reed learned the game by whacking balls against his family’s garage and angling for court time at Washington Park. He was a skinny kid, hardly physically imposing, but in the absence of legitimate coaching, he developed an imaginative, all-court game completely on his own. There wasn’t a shot he wouldn’t try: lobs off volleys, lobs off lobs, half-volley winners from any angle, drops against players already at the net, shots from between his legs while running toward the net. “He has few shots that look like anyone else’s,” wrote Sports Illustrated in 1962, “and his form leaves spectators astonished. Weird as he looks, however, Reed is a marvelous athlete with superb reflexes and anticipation and, above all, he has whole handfuls of that precious commodity called touch.” Give ’em a show Winning was preferable, naturally, but Reed was most enamored with the performance. He wanted to put on a show, something people would remember. It was said he hated to see matches end and would try to prolong them, just to further enjoy the delights of a tennis ball brilliantly struck. Tom Brown, another Northern California great who died in 2011, once told Inside Tennis that Reed was “a true sportsman, someone who would never take advantage of anyone.” How Reed prepared for matches, on the other hand, was wickedly unconventional. As C.J. Stewart wrote in “Unflappable,” a rollicking account of Reed’s life, one needs to acknowledge the times: “The 50s and 60s embraced a different set of standards. Executives thought nothing of a three-martini lunch with a pack of cigarettes. A man was judged by how well he handled liquor, tobacco and fashion. It was cool to drink copious amounts of booze; it was uncool to do so and act like a bore. It was cool to smoke; it was uncool to dress like a slob. Whitney Reed was always quintessentially cool.” Friends remembered him as essentially shy by nature, “but the ladies loved him,” said longtime Palo Alto stockbroker Robert Rowell (not to be confused with the former Warriors executive). “He was kind of a skinny beach boy before anybody knew what that was. Long, shaggy hair, looked like he hadn’t eaten in a week — which maybe he hadn’t — and he attracted great-looking women without even trying.” All-night partying Between his drinking and his companionship, Reed gave “training” a whole new interpretation. Competing for San Jose State in the 1959 NCAA tournament, he and his girlfriend partied all night before his scheduled final against future Davis Cup captain Donald Dell. Imagine the scene when a friend knocked on his hotel-room door and told him, “Whitney, the finals were at noon and it’s 12:30.” “Who won?” Reed asked. Somehow, Reed was allowed to play that final — and he won in straight sets. One afternoon on the men’s tour, he found himself down two sets to one, made a mad sprint to the bar, ordered five cups of beer, set them strategically alongside his chair, sipped heartily at the changeovers and won the match in five. After a particularly spectacular performance at Philadelphia’s Marion Cricket Club in 1960, Reed was so inebriated that he took a chair into the shower with him, unable to stand up. Allison Danzig, the esteemed tennis writer of the New York Times, surveyed the wreckage and asked if there were any more players like him in Northern California. “Not any more,” Reed replied. “They’re all dead.” A bow at Wimbledon On the occasion of one of the most important matches of his career — second round at Wimbledon in 1961 against Neale Fraser, ranked No. 1 in the world — Reed ran into an old Air Force buddy and got into a spirited card game the night before, emerging from the room around sunrise. He awoke from a nap at 1:30 for a Centre Court match scheduled for 2 p.m. (sharp, by the club’s strict standards) and realized he was at least 20 minutes away by cab. He got there in time, but realized he’d left his only racket in his friend’s car. Racing through the locker room, he ran into a ballboy who loaned him a brand-new Jack Kramer, the model of choice in those wood-racket days. On the fabled court, unfamiliar with protocol, he was advised by Fraser to give a bow to the Royal Box. He did so, only to the opposite end of the arena — giving the assorted dignitaries a clear view of his rear end. And then he became Whitney Reed, taking Fraser to the limit before losing the fifth set 7-5. Lifelong passion Those were such different times. There was no money in the game, except for the few who turned pro, and it was often an adventure just to reach the tournaments. Once there, however, Reed and his contemporaries mixed with the rich and famous, drawing lavish attention in exotic, global settings and salvaging enough under-the-table money to reach the next stop. His passion for tennis was a lifelong affair, and he competed in Northern California age-group events long after his retirement from the tour. We look back today on the last generation of true American characters — John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis, Brad Gilbert — and can only imagine their predecessors, playing the sport out of pure love. At the end of “Unflappable,” published in 2006, Stewart concluded that Whitney Reed “isn’t about gambling or booze, or jumping nude into a swimming pool. He’s all about forehands and backhands, half-volley lobs, and drop shots. He is about great drama, great theater, and more than a little pathos. Whitney is to tennis what Robards was to Broadway, or what Pavarotti was to La Scala. Too bad, and so wretched for tennis, he is one of a kind, and, sadly, the last of a kind.” Unflappable gives you a look into the pro tennis tour of the 1950’s and 60’s – before coaches, the paparazzi, and monster purses. This was a time when the some of the best players in the country were forced to hitchhike from one tournament to another. It was a time when a certain player had to give his trophy to a toll taker to be able to travel on the interstate. It was a time when the best players on the tour played for the love of the game. Unflappable introduces you to Whitney Reed, the number 1-ranked player in the United States in the early 60’s. Unflappable lets you experience pro tour life through the eyes of a real-life, unabashedly original character. Even if you are not a tennis player, you may be captivated reading how someone could survive a whole life time in our society doing exactly what he wanted to do, without guilt, conscience, or a visible means of support. If you are between 30 and 40 and a tennis player all you have been exposed to is tennis pros whose entire lives have revolved around tennis. These players come from tennis academies where the goals are: win tennis matches; make lots of money. These players have been pampered, isolated, and sterilized. Their public persona is well monitored; they have coaches, trainers, financial advisors, and social directors. You may enjoy Unflappable’s fresh look into the tennis world of a simpler time. If you are between 50 and 60 and a tennis player you definitely noticed the transition from amateur play for gold trophies to professional play for very large purses. You may have been aware of Jack Kramer’s single handedly changing the financial face of tennis. You may have heard of Whitney Reed, and you may have even seen him play. Unflappable may bring back some memories of, maybe not a better time, but a different time in tennis history. If you are between 60 and 70 and a tennis player, you do know who Whitney is—unless, of course you played your tennis in Appalachia or Nova Scotia. If you witnessed one of his matches, then you experienced about as much fun as can be expected from a tennis match. If you played against him, you may have experienced a very frustrating time and lost very badly, or you caught him in-between escapades and possibly won a match. Either way, playing or watching Whitney, the number one tennis character in the tennis world, was like reading a Ludlum thriller. You could never be quite sure of the outcome. If you are not a tennis player -- maybe not even a tennis follower – read the book anyway! You may find it a real kick. OLD FORUM Moderated by Whitney Reed Whitney’s buddy Jackie Cooperhas a unique tennis perspectiveHe says, “Play More, Win More, Have More Fun.” Far in the future, when the Grim Reaper strolls on the court and says, “Jackie, you are about to hit your last mid-court volley” it would be terrific if, at that moment, all of life’s mysteries were unveiled. Personally, I’d like to know the truth about the Kennedy assassination; I’d like to know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, and I’d love to understand why a no-mans-land, and swinging volleys strike fear in the hearts of most tennis players. So, in the next 1500 words, I’m going to try and convince most tennis players that no-mans-land is not such a scary place, and swinging volleys are not just for player with world rankings. We as tennis professionals want everyone to improve their play, win lots of USTA matches, have fun, and spend more money taking tennis lessons. We are out to improve everyone’s play, from the housewife’s backhand to Rafael Nadal’s half volley. I personally favor a more aggressive style of play. Aggressive, in that as we grow older we don’t move in the cat like fashion of our youth. We need an edge. We need a way to play competitively without having to spend a fortune on medical care for our arthritic knees. In my soul, I feel that learning to play in the mid-court will extend your tennis life, increase your winning percentage, and actually makes tennis more fun. I say these things because my life is tennis. I think more about analyzing players’ technique, strategizing matches, and dissecting tennis mechanics than I do thinking about girls. STAY OUT OF NO-MAN'S LAND Most tennis pros say, stay out of no-mans-land---that dreaded area from the service line to a couple of feet inside the baseline. Most tennis pros say being caught in no-mans-land is more miserable than a toothache. They say the ball will be non-returnable, because you can’t return a ball if it hits you in the shoe laces. They say the best thing you can expect is a lucky 1000 to 1 carom off the frame of your racquet for a winner. They say the worst thing you can expect is the humiliating experience of witnessing your ball ricocheting into the grandstands. I call no-mans-land the land of opportunity. A place where a player can move to at a convenient pace, cut off the angles, pick off passing shots, and be in a better position to put away lobs. To be successful in the land of opportunity, a player needs to overcome a few basic prejudices. First, the player needs to realize that hitting the ball to the corners may not be the best tactic. A ball hit deep to the center of the court affords your opponent a limited choice of returns, and no tight angles. Second, the player needs to over come the fear of the half-volley. Third, the player needs to realize that volleying from behind the service line is not a shot restricted to players that have a world ranking of 100 or better. SWINGING VOLLEYS ARE FOR MAC ENROE AND FEDERER AND ANYONE WITH A WORLD RANKING OF 50 OR BETTER When I watch the best volleyers in the business, I don’t see a lot of charging the net, coming to a complete stop, holding the racquet up, and allowing the ball to ricochet off the strings---not in Kentucky, and not in any place that I ever played. I see the ball being hit with a slight shoulder turn on both the backhand and the forehand. The stroke is short, firm, and concise. At my club in Palm Desert, I tolerate, and even encourage alternative teaching techniques. Any pro can teach anything they feel is worthy. I reserve the right to interject a few salient comments if I don’t agree with what I’m hearing. (Hey, It’s my club) But, before I jump in with my two cents, I consider the mind set of the students. If everyone is giggling and having fun---no harm, no foul. As long as the students are pleased with their progress, they can stand on their heads and hit volleys. I appreciate the clarity of the game, so I’d probably try and help the student with the head-standing affliction. However, if winning is the most important consideration, and if the head-standing player wins consistently then far be it from me to be critical. A problem arises when a student is losing consistently and questions the effectiveness of his/her volley. Nothing makes a student more fickle than losing. They grab the phone book and start with “T” for tennis teaching professionals. We, as professionals, better have an alternative solution, because all the exercises and all the explanations known to man are useless if they don’t help the student win a few sets now and then. I try to impress upon my student the value of relaxation. I have them hold the racquet comfortably at 45-degree angle, shoulders, elbows, and wrists relaxed. As I feed a forehand volley, I ask the student to turn their shoulders, take the racquet back, and strike the ball with a short punching action without a follow through. I ask them to hold the racquet rigid momentarily after the ball makes contact with the strings. The idea is to stress fluidity in preparation and rigidity at impact. If the ball is high to the forehand, a topspin shot is effective. As a drill, I have my students alternate, the short swinging volley and the topspin-swinging volley. If a student continues to hold the racquet out like a big paw, I give them their money back. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE In Kentucky we say, let’s beat the pants off the guys on the other side of the net. We don’t push a volley at our opponent, we stroke it pass them, through them, or around them. We don’t let our opponents have easy passing opportunities. We make them win points the hard way, by earning them. We aren’t out too make our opponents look good; we are out too embarrass them, humiliate them, and send them back to their club pro demanding a better game. The San Francisco Examiner is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the Hearst chain,[1] the Examiner converted to free distribution early in the 21st century and is owned by Clint Reilly Communications, which bought the newspaper at the end of 2020 along with the SF Weekly.[2] HistoryFounding First edition, June 12, 1865The Examiner was founded in 1863 as the Democratic Press, a pro-Confederacy, pro-slavery, pro-Democratic Party paper opposed to Abraham Lincoln, but after his assassination in 1865, the paper's offices were destroyed by a mob, and starting on June 12, 1865, it was called The Daily Examiner.[3][4][5] Hearst acquisition Announcement that William Randolph Hearst has become owner of the newspaper, March 4, 1887In 1880, mining engineer and entrepreneur George Hearst bought the Examiner. Seven years later, after being elected to the U.S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was then 23 years old. The elder Hearst "was said to have received the failing paper as partial payment of a poker debt."[6] William Randolph Hearst hired S.S. (Sam) Chamberlain, who had started the first American newspaper in Paris, as managing editor[5] and Arthur McEwen as editor, and changed the Examiner from an evening to a morning paper.[3] Under him, the paper's popularity increased greatly, with the help of such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and the San Francisco-born Jack London.[7] It also found success through its version of yellow journalism, with ample use of foreign correspondents and splashy coverage of scandals such as two entire pages of cables from Vienna about the Mayerling Incident;[5] satire; and patriotic enthusiasm for the Spanish–American War and the 1898 annexation of the Philippines. William Randolph Hearst created the masthead with the "Hearst Eagle" and the slogan Monarch of the Dailies by 1889, at the latest. 20th centuryAfter the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Francisco, the Examiner and its rivals—the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Call—brought out a joint edition. The Examiner offices were destroyed on April 18, 1906,[8] but when the city was rebuilt, a new structure, the Hearst Building, arose in its place at Third and Market streets. It opened in 1909, and in 1937, the facade, entranceway, and lobby underwent extensive remodeling designed by architect Julia Morgan.[9] Through the middle third of the twentieth century, the Examiner was one of several dailies competing for the city's and the Bay Area's readership; the San Francisco News, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, and the Chronicle all claimed significant circulation, but ultimately attrition left the Examiner one chief rival—the Chronicle. Strident competition prevailed between the two papers in the 1950s and 1960s; the Examiner boasted, among other writers, such columnists as veteran sportswriter Prescott Sullivan, the popular Herb Caen, who took an eight-year hiatus from the Chronicle (1950–1958), and Kenneth Rexroth, one of the best-known men of California letters and a leading San Francisco Renaissance poet, who contributed weekly impressions of the city from 1960 to 1967. Ultimately, circulation battles ended in a merging of resources between the two papers. For 35 years, starting in 1965, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner operated under a joint operating agreement whereby the Chronicle published a morning paper and the Examiner published in the afternoon. The Examiner published the Sunday paper's news sections and glossy magazine, and the Chronicle contributed the features. Circulation was approximately 100,000 on weekdays and 500,000 on Sundays. By 1995, discussion was already brewing in print media about the possible shuttering of the Examiner due to low circulation and an extremely disadvantageous revenue sharing agreement for the Chronicle.[10] On October 31, 1969, sixty members of the Gay Liberation Front, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF), and the Gay Guerilla Theatre group staged a protest outside the offices of the Examiner in response to a series of news articles disparaging people in San Francisco's gay bars and clubs.[11][12][13][14] The peaceful protest against the Examiner turned tumultuous and was later called "Friday of the Purple Hand" and "Bloody Friday of the Purple Hand."[14][15][16][17][18][19] Examiner employees "dumped a barrel of printers' ink on the crowd from the roof of the newspaper building."[20][21] The protestors "used the ink to scrawl slogans on the building walls" and slap purple hand prints "throughout downtown [San Francisco]," resulting in "one of the most visible demonstrations of gay power," according to the Bay Area Reporter.[14][16][19] According to Larry LittleJohn, then president of Society for Individual Rights, "At that point, the tactical squad arrived – not to get the employees who dumped the ink, but to arrest the demonstrators. Somebody could have been hurt if that ink had gotten into their eyes, but the police were knocking people to the ground."[14] The accounts of police brutality included instances of women being thrown to the ground and protesters' teeth being knocked out.[14][22] In its stylebook and by tradition, the Examiner refers to San Francisco as "The City" (capitalized), both in headlines and in the text of stories. San Francisco slang has traditionally referred to the newspaper in abbreviated slang form as "the Ex" (and the Chronicle as "the Chron"). San Francisco Examiner front page, Friday, February 27, 1942San Francisco Examiner front page, Friday, February 27, 1942 The Examiner, 2007The Examiner, 200721st centuryFang acquisition Hearst Building, San Francisco Ted FangWhen the Chronicle Publishing Company divested its interests, Hearst purchased the Chronicle. To satisfy antitrust concerns, Hearst sold the Examiner to ExIn, LLC, a corporation owned by the politically connected Fang family, publishers of the San Francisco Independent and the San Mateo Independent.[23] San Francisco political consultant Clint Reilly filed a lawsuit against Hearst, charging that the deal did not ensure two competitive newspapers and was instead a generous deal designed to curry approval. However, on July 27, 2000, a federal judge approved the Fangs' assumption of the Examiner name, its archives, 35 delivery trucks, and a subsidy of $66 million, to be paid over three years.[24] From their side, the Fangs paid Hearst US$100 for the Examiner. Reilly later acquired the Examiner in 2020.[25] On February 24, 2003, the Examiner became a free daily newspaper, printed Sunday through Friday.[citation needed] Anschutz acquisitionOn February 19, 2004, the Fang family sold the Examiner and its printing plant, together with the two Independent newspapers, to Philip Anschutz of Denver, Colorado.[23] His new company, Clarity Media Group, launched The Washington Examiner in 2005 and published The Baltimore Examiner from 2006 to 2009. In 2006, Anschutz donated the archives of the Examiner to the University of California, Berkeley Bancroft Library, the largest gift ever given to the library.[26] Under Clarity's ownership, the Examiner pioneered a new business model[27] for the newspaper industry. Designed to be read quickly, the Examiner is presented in a compact size without story jumps. It focuses on local news, business, entertainment, and sports, with an emphasis on content relevant to its local readers. It is delivered free to select neighborhoods in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, and to single-copy outlets throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties. By February 2008, the company had transformed the newspaper's examiner.com domain into a national hyperlocal brand, with local websites throughout the United States.[28] Independent ownershipClarity Media sold the Examiner to San Francisco Newspaper Company LLC in 2011. The company's investors included then-President and Publisher Todd Vogt, Chief Financial Officer Pat Brown, and David Holmes Black.[citation needed] Inaccurate early media reports claimed that Black's business, Black Press, had bought the paper.[29] In 2014, Vogt sold his shares to Black Press.[citation needed] Present-day owners of the Examiner also own SF Weekly, an alternative weekly, and previously owned the now-shuttered San Francisco Bay Guardian.[30] Clint Reilly acquisitionIn December 2020, Clint Reilly, under his company, Clint Reilly Communications, acquired the SF Examiner for an undisclosed sum.[31][32] The acquisition included buying the SF Weekly "like a stocking stuffer," Reilly said.[33] He also owns Gentry Magazine and the Nob Hill Gazette. He then hired editor-in-chief Carly Schwartz in 2021.[34] Under her leadership, a broadsheet-style newspaper was re-introduced,[35] and she launched two newsletters with a nod to the rise in popularity of email marketing models such as Substack.[36] Schwartz also put the SF Weekly on hiatus "for the foreseeable future," ending a more-than-40-year tenure.[37] StaffCurrentAllen Matthews was hired as director of editorial operations in 2021.[38]FormerPhil Bronstein, editor (left Examiner in 2012)Herb Caen, columnist (1950–1958)Oscar Chopin, cartoonistC. H. Garrigues, jazz columnist (retired 1967)Howard Lachtman, literary critic (1977–1986)[39][40]Edward S. Montgomery, journalistEdgar Orloff, assistant managing editor (retired 1982)David Talbot, founder of the early online magazine SalonErnest Thayer, humor columnist (1886–1888)Stuart Schuffman, also known as Broke-ass Stuart, was a guest columnist.[41] In 2021, he announced that, after 6+1⁄2 years, he would be moving his column to SF Weekly.[42]Al Saracevic was hired as assistant managing editor in 2021.[43] Saracevic died of a sudden heart attack in August 2022 while working on assignment for SF Examiner.[44]Frank HerbertEditionsIn the early 20th century, an edition of the Examiner circulated in the East Bay under the Oakland Examiner masthead. Into the late 20th century, the paper circulated well beyond San Francisco. In 1982, for example, the Examiner's zoned weekly supplements within the paper were titled "City", "Peninsula", "Marin/Sonoma" and "East Bay".[citation needed] Additionally, during the late 20th century, an edition of the Examiner was made available in Nevada, which, coming out in the morning rather than in the afternoon as the San Francisco edition did, would feature news content from the San Francisco edition of the day before—for instance, Tuesday's news in the Nevada edition that came out on Wednesday—but with dated, non-hard news content—comic strips, feature columnists—for Wednesday.[citation needed] See alsoSan Francisco Bay Area portalJournalism portalSan Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco newspaper strike of 1994 San Francisco,[24] officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 808,437 residents as of 2022,[25] San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of California behind Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers)[26] at the upper end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second-most densely populated major U.S. city behind New York City and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind four of New York City's boroughs. Among the 92 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco is ranked first by per capita income and sixth by aggregate income as of 2022.[27]As of 2023, the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA CSA is the 5th largest in the nation, with an approximate population of over 9,001,024. Prior to European settlement, the modern city proper was inhabited by the Yelamu, who spoke a language now referred to as Ramaytush Ohlone. On June 29, 1776, settlers from New Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate, and the Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, both named for Francis of Assisi.[4] The California gold rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time; between 1870 and 1900, approximately one quarter of California's population resided in the city proper.[27] In 1856, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county.[28] After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire,[29] it was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama–Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, it was a major port of embarkation for naval service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater.[30] In 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations and in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[31][32][33] After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberalizing attitudes, the rise of the beatnik and hippie countercultures, the sexual revolution, the peace movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States. San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area are a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences,[34][35] spurred by leading universities,[36] high-tech, healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services sectors.[37] As of 2020, the metropolitan area, with 6.7 million residents, ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across the OECD countries, ahead of global cities like Paris, London, and Singapore.[38][39][40] San Francisco anchors the 13th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States with 4.6 million residents, and the fourth-largest by aggregate income and economic output, with a GDP of $729 billion in 2022.[41] The wider San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Combined Statistical Area is the nation's fifth-most populous, with around nine million residents, and the third-largest by economic output, with a GDP of $1.32 trillion in 2022. In the same year, San Francisco proper had a GDP of $252.2 billion, and a GDP per capita of $312,000.[41] San Francisco was ranked fifth in the world and second in the United States on the Global Financial Centres Index as of September 2023.[42] Despite a continuing exodus of businesses from the downtown area of San Francisco,[43][44] the city is still home to numerous companies inside and outside of technology, including Salesforce, Uber, Airbnb, Levi's, Gap, Dropbox, and Lyft. In 2022, San Francisco had more than 1.7 million international visitors – the fifth-most visited city from abroad in the United States after New York City, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles – and approximately 20 million domestic visitors for a total of 21.9 million visitors.[45][46] The city is known for its steep rolling hills and eclectic mix of architecture across varied neighborhoods, as well as its cooling summers, fog, and notable landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Alcatraz, along with the Chinatown and Mission districts.[47] The city is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of California, San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, the SFJAZZ Center, and the California Academy of Sciences. Two major league sports teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors, play their home games within San Francisco proper. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers flights to over 125 destinations, while a light rail and bus network, in tandem with the BART and Caltrain systems, connects nearly every part of San Francisco with the wider region.[48][49] EtymologySee also: List of San Francisco placename etymologiesSan Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis," takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, which in turn was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of Padre Francisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, when Washington Allon Bartlett, then serving as the city's alcalde, renamed it from Yerba Buena (Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been name used throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras since approximately 1776. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as on Yerba Buena Island and in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens. While people residing outside the San Francisco Bay Area use nicknames including "Frisco" and "San Fran", local residents in the Bay Area sometimes refer to San Francisco as "the City" or "SF".[1][50] The choice of nickname a person uses is a common way for locals to distinguish long-time residents from tourists and recent arrivals. "San Fran" and "Frisco" are sometimes considered controversial as nicknames among San Francisco residents.[51][52][50] HistorySee also: History of San FranciscoFor a chronological guide, see Timeline of San Francisco.Indigenous historyThe earliest archeological evidence of human habitation of the territory of San Francisco dates to 3000 BCE.[53] The Yelamu group of the Ramaytush people resided in a few small villages when an overland Spanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay.[54] The Ohlone name for San Francisco was Ahwaste, meaning, "place at the bay."[55] The arrival of Spanish colonists, and the implementation of their Mission system, marked the beginning of the genocide of the Ramaytush people, and the deprivation of their language and culture.[56][57][58] Spanish era Juan Bautista de Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco for the Spanish Empire in 1776. Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu on October 9, 1776.The Spanish Empire claimed San Francisco as part of Las Californias, a province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish first arrived in what is now San Francisco on November 2, 1769, when the Portolá expedition led by Don Gaspar de Portolá and Juan Crespí arrived at San Francisco Bay. Having noted the strategic benefits of the area due to its large natural harbor, the Spanish dispatched Pedro Fages in 1770 to find a more direct route to the San Francisco Peninsula from Monterey, which would become part of the El Camino Real route. By 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza had arrived to the area to select the sites for a mission and presidio. The first European maritime presence in San Francisco Bay occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish ship San Carlos, commanded by Juan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to anchor in the bay.[59] Soon after, on March 28, 1776, Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco. On October 9, Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu.[4] In 1794, the Presidio established the Castillo de San Joaquín, a fortification on the southern side of the Golden Gate, which later came to be known as Fort Point. In 1804, the province of Alta California was created, which included Yerba Buena ,which was the former name of San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.[60] Mexican era Juana Briones de Miranda, known as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco"[61]In 1821, the Californias were ceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensive California mission system gradually lost its influence during the period of Mexican rule. Agricultural land became largely privatized as ranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozen barques from various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.[62][63] Yerba Buena (after a native herb), a trading post with settlements between the Presidio and Mission grew up around the Plaza de Yerba Buena. The plaza was later renamed Portsmouth Square (now located in the city's Chinatown and Financial District). The Presidio was commanded in 1833 by Captain Mariano G. Vallejo.[62] In 1833, Juana Briones de Miranda built her rancho near El Polín Spring, founding the first civilian household in San Francisco, which had previously only been comprised by the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.[61] In 1834, Francisco de Haro became the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena. De Haro was a native of Mexico, from that nation's west coast city of Compostela, Nayarit. A land survey of Yerba Buena was made by the Swiss immigrant Jean Jacques Vioget as prelude to the city plan. The second Alcalde José Joaquín Estudillo was a Californio from a prominent Monterey family. In 1835, while in office, he approved the first land grant in Yerba Buena: to William Richardson, a naturalized Mexican citizen of English birth. Richardson had arrived in San Francisco aboard a whaling ship in 1822. In 1825, he married Maria Antonia Martinez, eldest daughter of the Californio Ygnacio Martínez.[64][a] The 1846 Battle of Yerba Buena was an early U.S. victory in the American conquest of California.Yerba Buena began to attract American and European settlers; an 1842 census listed 21 residents (11%) born in the United States or Europe, as well as one Filipino merchant.[65] Following the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma and the beginning of the U.S. Conquest of California, American forces under the command of John B. Montgomery captured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population. At the end of the month, the Brooklyn arrived with a group of Mormon settlers, who had departed New York City six months earlier. Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed both José de Jesús Noé and Washington Allon Bartlett to serve as co-alcaldes (mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Alta California was ceded from Mexico to the United States. Post-Conquest era San Francisco in 1849, during the beginning of the California gold rush Port of San Francisco in 1851Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, post-Conquest San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.[66] Its 1847 population was said to be 459.[62] The California gold rush brought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners," as in "1849"). With their sourdough bread in tow,[67] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[68] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[69] The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.[70] Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870, Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.[71] California was quickly granted statehood in 1850, and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz Island to secure the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.[72] Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidated City and County of San Francisco.[73] The Bank of California, established in 1863, was the first commercial bank in Western United States.[74]The California Gold Rush triggered a wave of entrepreneurial activity as individuals sought to capitalize on the newfound wealth. The discovery of silver deposits, notably the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further fueled rapid population growth and economic expansion.[75] San Francisco, as the gateway to the goldfields, experienced a surge in population and commercial activity. However, the influx of fortune seekers also brought challenges. Lawlessness was rampant, and the Barbary Coast district became synonymous with vice, attracting criminals, prostitutes, and illicit activities, including but not limited to prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling.[76] One of the most influential figures of this era was William Chapman Ralston. A shrewd banker and investor, Ralston amassed considerable wealth and influence in San Francisco. He gained control over a significant portion of the Comstock Lode's gold and silver mines, establishing a virtual monopoly. Using his incredible clout, Ralston was able to generate millions of dollars for San Francisco during its heady boom years.[77] He founded the Bank of California, the first bank in the Western United States, and built the opulent Palace Hotel, a symbol of San Francisco's newfound prosperity and the largest hotel in the country at the time.[78] His financial empire, however, collapsed in 1875 as a result of the Panic of 1873, triggering a major economic crisis in San Francisco. Development of the Port of San Francisco and the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completed Pacific Railroad (the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support[79]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain," creating the city's Chinatown quarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.[80] View of the city in 1878The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[81] By 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it the eighth-largest city in the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.[82] The first North American plague epidemic was the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[83] 1906 earthquake and interwar era The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[84] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[29] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people died, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[85] More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.[86] Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay. Jack London is remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."[87] The reconstruction of San Francisco City Hall on Civic Center Plaza, c. 1913–16Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[88] Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influential San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association or SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.[89] The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, including Pacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.[90] In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose again in the Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[91] The Panama–Pacific Exposition, a major world's fair held in 1915, was seen as a chance to showcase the city's recovery from the earthquake.During this period, San Francisco built some of its most important infrastructure. Civil Engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy was hired by San Francisco Mayor James Rolph as chief engineer for the city in September 1912 to supervise the construction of the Twin Peaks Reservoir, the Stockton Street Tunnel, the Twin Peaks Tunnel, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the Auxiliary Water Supply System, and new sewers. San Francisco's streetcar system, of which the J, K, L, M, and N lines survive today, was pushed to completion by O'Shaughnessy between 1915 and 1927. It was the O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct that would have the largest effect on San Francisco.[92] An abundant water supply enabled San Francisco to develop into the city it has become today. The Bay Bridge under construction on Yerba Buena Island in 1935In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[93] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone, and Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.[94] Contemporary eraSee also: San Francisco in the 1970s The United Nations was created in San Francisco in 1945, when the United Nations Charter was signed at the San Francisco Conference.During World War II, the city-owned Sharp Park in Pacifica was used as an internment camp to detain Japanese Americans.[95] Hunters Point Naval Shipyard became a hub of activity, and Fort Mason became the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater of Operations.[30] The explosion of jobs drew many people, especially African Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. The United Nations Charter creating the United Nations was drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[96] Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition.[97] The onset of containerization made San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the larger Port of Oakland.[98] The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.[99] The suburbs experienced rapid growth, and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America.[100][101] From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population. The Summer of Love in 1967 was an influential counterculture phenomenon with as many as 100,000 people converging in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.Over this period, San Francisco became a magnet for America's counterculture movement. Beat Generation writers fueled the San Francisco Renaissance and centered on the North Beach neighborhood in the 1950s.[102] Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love.[103] In 1974, the Zebra murders left at least 16 people dead.[104] In the 1970s, the city became a center of the gay rights movement, with the emergence of The Castro as an urban gay village, the election of Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors, and his assassination, along with that of Mayor George Moscone, in 1978.[105] Bank of America, now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed 555 California Street in 1969. The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[106] igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.[107] The 1980s also saw a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the city, an issue that remains today, despite many attempts to address it.[108] Transamerica Pyramid, built in 1972, characterized the Manhattanization of the city's skyline in the 1970–80's.The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in the Marina and South of Market districts and precipitated the demolition of the damaged Embarcadero Freeway and much of the damaged Central Freeway, allowing the city to reclaim The Embarcadero as its historic downtown waterfront and revitalizing the Hayes Valley neighborhood.[109] The two recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasingly gentrified.[110] Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.[111] By 2000, the city's population reached new highs, surpassing the previous record set in 1950. When the bubble burst in 2001 and again in 2023, many of these companies folded and their employees were laid off. Yet high technology and entrepreneurship remain mainstays of the San Francisco economy. By the mid-2000s (decade), the social media boom had begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed in Silicon Valley companies such as Apple and Google.[112] The early 2020s featured an exodus of tech companies from Downtown San Francisco in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and struggles with homelessness and public drug use. Although some observers have raised the possibility that office vacancies and declining tax revenues could cause San Francisco to enter an economic doom loop,[113][114] other sources have refuted this broad-based characterization of the city as a whole, asserting that the issues of concern are restricted primarily to the urban core of San Francisco.[43][115] As of March 2024, Union Square was in "sorry shape" and had lost its traditional position as the Bay Area's regional shopping hub[116] to Westfield Valley Fair in San Jose.[117] The Ferry Station Post Office Building, Armour & Co. Building, Atherton House, and YMCA Hotel are historic buildings among dozens of historical landmarks in the city, according to the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco.[118] Geography Satellite view of San FranciscoSan Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States, at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several picturesque islands—Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, and small portions of Alameda Island, Red Rock Island, and Angel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square," a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km2). There are more than 50 hills within the city limits.[119] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, and Russian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms an overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is 928 feet (283 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.[120] Dominating this area is Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level. Lake Merced, located in southwestern San FranciscoThe nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed an auxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[121] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[122] USGS has released the California earthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.[123] San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of the Yerba Buena Tunnel through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resulting soil liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[124] A few natural lakes and creeks (Lake Merced, Mountain Lake, Pine Lake, Lobos Creek, El Polin Spring) are within parks and remain protected in what is essentially their original form, but most of the city's natural watercourses, such as Islais Creek and Mission Creek, have been partially or completely culverted and built over. Since the 1990s, however, the Public Utilities Commission has been studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.[125] NeighborhoodsMain articles: Neighborhoods in San Francisco and List of Landmarks and Historic Places in San FranciscoSee also: List of tallest buildings in San Francisco View of the city's central districts along its northeastern coastlineThe historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city anchored by Market Street and the waterfront. Here the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, and the Tenderloin nearby. Cable cars carry riders up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to the waterfront tourist attractions of Fisherman's Wharf, and Pier 39, where many restaurants feature Dungeness crab from a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street; North Beach, the city's Little Italy and the former center of the Beat Generation; and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Abutting Russian Hill and North Beach is San Francisco's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in North America.[126][127][128][129] The South of Market, which was once San Francisco's industrial core, has seen significant redevelopment following the construction of Oracle Park and an infusion of startup companies. New skyscrapers, live-work lofts, and condominiums dot the area. Further development is taking place just to the south in Mission Bay area, a former railroad yard, which now has a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco and Chase Center, which opened in 2019 as the new home of the Golden State Warriors.[130] West of downtown, across Van Ness Avenue, lies the large Western Addition neighborhood, which became established with a large African American population after World War II. The Western Addition is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods including Hayes Valley, the Fillmore, and Japantown, which was once the largest Japantown in North America but suffered when its Japanese American residents were forcibly removed and interned during World War II. The Western Addition survived the 1906 earthquake with its Victorians largely intact, including the famous "Painted Ladies," standing alongside Alamo Square. To the south, near the geographic center of the city is Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture.[131] The Haight is now[timeframe?] home to some expensive boutiques[132][better source needed] and a few controversial chain stores,[133] although it still retains[timeframe?][citation needed] some bohemian character. San Francisco Chinatown, the oldest in North America and one of the world's largest.North of the Western Addition is Pacific Heights, an affluent neighborhood that features the homes built by wealthy San Franciscans in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. Directly north of Pacific Heights facing the waterfront is the Marina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.[134] In the southeast quadrant of the city is the Mission District—populated in the 19th century by Californios and working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants from Mexico began to predominate.[135] In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, to twenty-something professionals. Noe Valley to the southwest and Bernal Heights to the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children. East of the Mission is the Potrero Hill neighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known as Eureka Valley, now popularly called the Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's first gay village, and is now the center of gay life in the city.[136] Located near the city's southern border, the Excelsior District is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. The Bayview-Hunters Point in the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing and urban renewal projects. The Ferry Building, located in the Embarcadero, the city's eastern waterfront along San Francisco BayThe construction of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development of West Portal, and nearby affluent Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north to Golden Gate Park lies the vast Sunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.[137] The northwestern quadrant of the city contains the Richmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as many Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Together, these areas are known as The Avenues. These two districts are each sometimes further divided into two regions: the Outer Richmond and Outer Sunset can refer to the more western portions of their respective district and the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset can refer to the more eastern portions. Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace. Climate San Francisco fog is a regular phenomenon in the summer.San Francisco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), characteristic of California's coast, with moist winters and dry summers.[138] San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water of San Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.[139] Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.[140] During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog.[141] The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. As a result, the year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime. Temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on an average of only 21 and 23 days a year at downtown and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), respectively.[142] The dry period of May to October is mild to warm, with the normal monthly mean temperature peaking in September at 62.7 °F (17.1 °C).[142] The rainy period of November to April is slightly cooler, with the normal monthly mean temperature reaching its lowest in January at 51.3 °F (10.7 °C).[142] On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).[142] Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warm El Niño conditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold water La Niña periods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.[142] Snowfall in the city is very rare, with only 10 measurable accumulations recorded since 1852, most recently in 1976 when up to 5 inches (13 cm) fell on Twin Peaks.[143][144] The Farallon Islands are located in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the Pacific coast of San Francisco.The highest recorded temperature at the official National Weather Service downtown observation station[b] was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.[146] During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.[147] The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[148] During an average year between 1991 and 2020, San Francisco recorded a warmest night at 64 °F (18 °C) and a coldest day at 49 °F (9 °C).[142] The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).[142] As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected by climate change. As of 2021, sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), resulting in periodic flooding, rising groundwater levels, and lowland floods from more severe storms.[149] San Francisco falls under the USDA 10b Plant hardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.[150][151] vteClimate data for San Francisco (downtown),[c] 1991–2020 normals,[d] extremes 1849–presentMonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYearRecord high °F (°C)79(26)81(27)87(31)94(34)97(36)103(39)99(37)98(37)106(41)102(39)86(30)76(24)106(41)Mean maximum °F (°C)67.1(19.5)71.8(22.1)76.4(24.7)80.7(27.1)81.4(27.4)84.6(29.2)80.5(26.9)83.4(28.6)90.8(32.7)87.9(31.1)75.8(24.3)66.4(19.1)94.0(34.4)Mean daily maximum °F (°C)57.8(14.3)60.4(15.8)62.1(16.7)63.0(17.2)64.1(17.8)66.5(19.2)66.3(19.1)67.9(19.9)70.2(21.2)69.8(21.0)63.7(17.6)57.9(14.4)64.1(17.8)Daily mean °F (°C)52.2(11.2)54.2(12.3)55.5(13.1)56.4(13.6)57.8(14.3)59.7(15.4)60.3(15.7)61.7(16.5)62.9(17.2)62.1(16.7)57.2(14.0)52.5(11.4)57.7(14.3)Mean daily minimum °F (°C)46.6(8.1)47.9(8.8)48.9(9.4)49.7(9.8)51.4(10.8)53.0(11.7)54.4(12.4)55.5(13.1)55.6(13.1)54.4(12.4)50.7(10.4)47.0(8.3)51.3(10.7)Mean minimum °F (°C)40.5(4.7)42.0(5.6)43.7(6.5)45.0(7.2)48.0(8.9)50.1(10.1)51.6(10.9)52.9(11.6)52.0(11.1)49.9(9.9)44.9(7.2)40.7(4.8)38.8(3.8)Record low °F (°C)29(−2)31(−1)33(1)40(4)42(6)46(8)47(8)46(8)47(8)43(6)38(3)27(−3)27(−3)Average precipitation inches (mm)4.40(112)4.37(111)3.15(80)1.60(41)0.70(18)0.20(5.1)0.01(0.25)0.06(1.5)0.10(2.5)0.94(24)2.60(66)4.76(121)22.89(581)Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)11.210.810.86.84.01.60.71.11.23.57.911.671.2Average relative humidity (%)80777572727175757371757875Mean monthly sunshine hours185.9207.7269.1309.3325.1311.4313.3287.4271.4247.1173.4160.63,061.7Percent possible sunshine61697378747070687371575469Average ultraviolet index235791010975326Source 1: NOAA (sun 1961–1974)[142][152][153][154]Source 2: Met Office (humidity),[155] Weather Atlas (UV)[156]Ecology Aerial view of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden GateHistorically, tule elk were present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five different Native American shellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.[157][158] Perhaps the first historical observer record was from the De Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776. Herbert Eugene Bolton wrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today's Presidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."[159] Also, when Richard Henry Dana Jr. visited San Francisco Bay in 1835, he wrote about vast elk herds near the Golden Gate: on December 27 ."..we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer [note: "red deer" is the European term for "elk"], and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about...," although it is not clear whether this was the Marin side or the San Francisco side.[160] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of San FranciscoHistorical populationYearPop.±%18481,000— 184925,000+2400.0%185234,776+39.1%186056,802+63.3%1870149,473+163.1%1880233,959+56.5%1890298,997+27.8%1900342,782+14.6%1910416,912+21.6%1920506,676+21.5%1930634,394+25.2%1940634,536+0.0%1950775,357+22.2%1960740,316−4.5%1970715,674−3.3%1980678,974−5.1%1990723,959+6.6%2000776,733+7.3%2010805,235+3.7%2020873,965+8.5%2023808,988−7.4%https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s-f-exodus-population-recovery-data-18564064.phpThe 2020 United States census showed San Francisco's population to be 873,965, an increase of 8.5% from the 2010 census.[16] With roughly one-quarter the population density of Manhattan, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated large American city, behind only New York City among cities greater than 200,000 population, and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, following only four of the five New York City boroughs. San Francisco is part of the five-county San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.7 million people (13th most populous in the U.S.), and has served as its traditional demographic focal point. It is also part of the greater 14-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, whose population is over 9.6 million, making it the fifth-largest in the United States as of 2018.[161][failed verification] Race, ethnicity, religion, and languages Ethnic origins in San FranciscoAs of the 2020 census, the racial makeup and population of San Francisco included: 361,382 Whites (41.3%), 296,505 Asians (33.9%), 46,725 African Americans (5.3%), 86,233 Multiracial Americans (9.9%), 6,475 Native Americans and Alaska Natives (0.7%), 3,476 Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (0.4%) and 73,169 persons of other races (8.4%). There were 136,761 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (15.6%). San Francisco is a majority minority city, as non-Hispanic White residents comprise less than half of the population; in 1940 they formed 92.5% of the population.[162] In 2010, residents of Chinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups include Filipinos (5%) and Vietnamese (2%), with Japanese, Koreans and many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.[163] The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and the Sunset and Richmond Districts. Filipinos are most concentrated in SoMa and the Crocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border with Daly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.[163][164] The Tenderloin District is home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.[163] The principal Hispanic groups in the city were those of Mexican (7%) and Salvadoran (2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in the Mission District, Tenderloin District, and Excelsior District.[165] The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state. African Americans constituted about 5% of San Francisco's population in 2020; their share of the city's population has been decreasing since the 1970s.[166] The majority of the city's Black residents live in the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, and the Fillmore District.[165] There are smaller Black communities in Diamond Heights, Glen Park, and Mission District. The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community; in 2018 Jewish Americans made up an estimated 10% (80,000) of the city's population. It the third-largest Jewish community in proportional terms in the United States, behind only those of New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively, and it is also relatively young compared to other major U.S. cities.[167] The Jewish community resides throughout the city, but the Richmond District is home to an ethnic enclave of mostly Russian Jews.[168] The Fillmore District was formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearby Marin County.[169] Demographic profile[170]186018801920196019801990200020102020[171]Non-Hispanic White alone90.2%87.7%93.5%72.7%52.8%46.9%43.5%41.7%39.1%Non-Hispanic Asian alone4.6%9.3%2.7%7.9%21.3%28.0%30.7%33.1%33.7%— Chinese American4.6%9.3%1.5%5.1%12.1%17.6%20.0%19.8%21.0%— Filipino American——0.2%1.5%5.2%5.4%5.0%4.9%4.4%Hispanic or Latino, any race(s)3.0%2.4%3.4%9.4%12.6%13.3%14.2%15.2%15.6%— Mexican American1.8%1.4%1.5%5.1%5.0%5.2%6.0%7.5%7.9%Non-Hispanic Black alone2.1%0.6%0.4%9.7%12.3%10.7%7.6%6.0%5.1%Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander alone——<0.1%—0.2%0.4%0.4%0.5%0.3%Non-Hispanic Native American alone<0.1%<0.1%<0.1%0.1%0.4%0.4%0.3%0.3%0.2%Non-Hispanic other———0.2%0.4%0.2%0.3%0.3%0.8%Non-Hispanic two or more races——————3.0%2.9%5.2%Foreign-born[e]50.2%44.5%30.1%20.2%29.5%35.4%38.4%38.2%34.2%See also: Demographics of San Francisco § Historical estimatesSource: U.S. Census and IPUMS USA[170] Map of racial distribution in San Francisco, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ OtherAccording to a 2018 study by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Jews make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population, making Judaism the second-largest religion in San Francisco after Christianity.[167] A prior 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco's metropolitan area are Christians (48%), followed by those of no religion (35%), Hindus (5%), Jews (3%), Buddhists (2%), Muslims (1%) and a variety of other religions have smaller followings. According to the same study by the Pew Research Center, about 20% of residents in the area are Protestant, and 25% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. Meanwhile, 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify as agnostics, while 5% identify as atheists.[172][173] As of 2010, 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke a variety of Chinese (mostly Taishanese and Cantonese[174][175]), 12% (88,147) Spanish, 3% (25,767) Tagalog, and 2% (14,017) Russian. In total, 45% (342,693) of San Francisco's population spoke a language at home other than English.[176] Ethnic clusteringSan Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods including Chinatown and the Mission District. Research collected on the immigrant clusters in the city show that more than half of the Asian population in San Francisco is either Chinese-born (40.3%) or Philippine-born (13.1%), and of the Mexican population 21% were Mexican-born, meaning these are people who recently immigrated to the United States.[177] Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.[177] During this same time period, the San Francisco metropolitan area received 850,000 immigrants, ranking third in the United States after Los Angeles and New York.[177] Education, households, and income Sea Cliff is one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods.[178]Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only to Seattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.[179] San Francisco had the highest rate at 7,031 per square mile, or over 344,000 total graduates in the city's 46.7 square miles (121 km2).[180] San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.[181] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area.[182] San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income[183] with a 2007 value of $65,519.[184] Median family income is $81,136.[184] An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,[185] with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.[186] The city's poverty rate is 12%, lower than the national average.[187] Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Francisco since the early 1970s.[188] The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[189][190] There are 345,811 households in the city, out of which: 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) were opposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) were same-sex married couples or partnerships. The average household size was 2.26; the average family size was 3.11. 452,986 people (56%) lived in rental housing units, and 327,985 people (41%) lived in owner-occupied housing units. The median age of the city population is 38 years. San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989, and city officials strengthened the stance in 2013 with its 'Due Process for All' ordinance. The law declared local authorities could not hold immigrants for immigration offenses if they had no violent felonies on their records and did not currently face charges."[191] The city issues a Resident ID Card regardless of the applicant's immigration status.[192] HomelessnessSee also: Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area Homeless encampment under a freeway in San FranciscoHomelessness in San Francisco emerged as a major issue in the late 20th century and remains a growing problem in modern times.[193] 8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's 2019 point-in-time street and shelter count. This was an increase of more than 17% over the 2017 count of 6,858 people. 5,180 of the people were living unsheltered on the streets and in parks.[194] 26% of respondents in the 2019 count identified job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness, 18% cited alcohol or drug use, and 13% cited being evicted from their residence.[194] The city of San Francisco has been dramatically increasing its spending to service the growing population homelessness crisis: spending jumped by $241 million in 2016–17 to total $275 million, compared to a budget of just $34 million the previous year. In 2017–18 the budget for combatting homelessness stood at $305 million.[195] In the 2019–2020 budget year, the city budgeted $368 million for homelessness services. In the proposed 2020–2021 budget the city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services.[196] In January 2018 a United Nations special rapporteur on homelessness, Leilani Farha, stated that she was "completely shocked" by San Francisco's homelessness crisis during a visit to the city. She compared the "deplorable conditions" of the homeless camps she witnessed on San Francisco's streets to those she had seen in Mumbai.[195] In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctioned homeless encampments.[197] CrimeMain article: Crime in San Francisco This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2024) SFPD mounted police officersSan Francisco's violent crime rate is low compared to other major cities, though many residents are still concerned about it.[198] In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.[199] There were about 134 rapes, 3,142 robberies, and about 2,139 assaults. There were about 4,469 burglaries, 25,100 thefts, and 4,210 motor vehicle thefts.[200] The Tenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.[201] Another area with high crime rates is the Bayview-Hunters Point area. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.[202] That rate, though, did rise again by the close of 2016. According to the San Francisco Police Department, there were 59 murders in the city in 2016, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015.[203] The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.[204] During the first half of 2018, human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents, with about 65 calls per day. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem.[205] SFPD parking enforcement officersIn January 2022, CBS News reported that a single suspect was "responsible for more than half of all reported hate crimes against the API community in San Francisco last year," and that he "was allowed to be out of custody despite the number of charges against him."[206] Several street gangs have operated in the city over the decades, including MS-13,[207] the Sureños and Norteños in the Mission District.[208] African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including the Bloods, Crips and their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,[209] while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.[210] Criminal gangs with shot callers in China, including Triad groups such as the Wo Hop To, were active in San Francisco in the 20th century.[211] According to statistics released by SFPD in April 2024, the crime figures were down in the first 100 days of the year, namely in terms of robberies, burglaries and larceny.[212] In the first half of 2024, San Francisco experienced a 32% decrease in overall crime compared to the previous year. Personal property theft saw a 41% reduction, and violent crimes, including gun-related incidents, decreased by 30%.[213] EconomySee also: List of companies based in San Francisco San Francisco's Financial District, despite its declining importance,[214] is still considered the Wall Street of the West.The city has a diversified service economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, including tourism, financial services, and (increasingly) high technology.[215] In 2016, approximately 27% of workers were employed in professional business services; 14% in leisure and hospitality; 13% in government services; 12% in education and health care; 11% in trade, transportation, and utilities; and 8% in financial activities.[215] In 2019, GDP in the five-county San Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion.[216][217] Additionally, in 2019 the 14-county San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area had a GDP of $1.086 trillion,[217] ranking 3rd among CSAs, and ahead of all but 16 countries. As of 2019, San Francisco County was the 7th highest-income county in the United States (among 3,142), with a per capita personal income of $139,405.[218] Marin County, directly to the north over the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Mateo County, directly to the south on the Peninsula, were the 6th and 9th highest-income counties respectively. Skyline of South of Market (SoMa), including Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San FranciscoThe legacy of the California gold rush turned San Francisco into the principal banking and finance center of the West Coast in the early twentieth century.[219] Montgomery Street in the Financial District became known as the "Wall Street of the West," home to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the site of the now-defunct Pacific Coast Stock Exchange.[219] Bank of America, a pioneer in making banking services accessible to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco and in the 1960s, built the landmark modern skyscraper at 555 California Street for its corporate headquarters, since relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks, and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions,[220] six Fortune 500 companies,[221] and a large supporting infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—San Francisco is designated as an Alpha(-) World City.[222] The 2017 Global Financial Centres Index ranked San Francisco as the sixth-most competitive financial center in the world.[223] Beginning in the 1990s, San Francisco's economy diversified away from finance and tourism towards the growing fields of high tech, biotechnology, and medical research.[224] Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990, growing to 4 percent in 2010 and an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013.[225] San Francisco became a center of Internet start-up companies during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the subsequent social media boom of the late 2000s (decade).[226] Since 2010, San Francisco proper has attracted an increasing share of venture capital investments as compared to nearby Silicon Valley, attracting 423 financings worth US$4.58 billion in 2013.[227][228][229] In 2004, the city approved a payroll tax exemption for biotechnology companies[230] to foster growth in the Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus and hospital of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Mission Bay hosts the UCSF Medical Center, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, and Gladstone Institutes,[231] as well as more than 40 private-sector life sciences companies.[232] Union Square, despite its declining profile,[233] is still a major retail hub for San Francisco and the Bay Area.According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is a global city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during the California gold rush.[234] However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high office vacancy rates and the closure of many retail and tech businesses in the downtown core of San Francisco.[235][236] Attributed causes include a shift to remote work in the technology and professional services sectors, as well as high levels of homelessness, drug use, and crime in areas around downtown San Francisco, such as the Tenderloin and Mid-Market neighborhoods.[237][238] The top employer in San Francisco is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed by UCSF with over 25,000 employees.[239] The largest private-sector employer is Salesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018.[240] Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms made up 85% of city establishments in 2006,[241] and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[242] The growth of national big box and formula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,[243] and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,[244] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[245] However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.[246] Ferry Building in the Embarcadero.Like many U.S. cities, San Francisco once had a significant manufacturing sector employing nearly 60,000 workers in 1969, but nearly all production left for cheaper locations by the 1980s.[247] As of 2014, San Francisco has seen a small resurgence in manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs across 500 companies, doubling since 2011. The city's largest manufacturing employer is Anchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue is Timbuk2.[247] As of the first quarter of 2022, the median value of homes in San Francisco County was $1,297,030. It ranked third in the U.S. for counties with highest median home value, behind Nantucket, Massachusetts and San Mateo County, California.[248] Technology X headquarters on Market St.San Francisco became a hub for technological driven economic growth during the internet boom of the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.[177][249] Intense redevelopment towards the "new economy" makes business more technologically minded. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the job growth rate was 4.9%, creating over 50,000 jobs in technology firms and internet content production.[177] However, the technology industry has become geographically dispersed.[250][251] In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such as Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Facebook, and Twitter to base their tech offices and for their employees to live.[252] Tourism and conventionsSee also: Port of San Francisco The Fisherman's Wharf is a popular tourist attraction.Tourism is one of San Francisco's most important private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.[224][253] The city's frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.[254] More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.[255] With a large hotel infrastructure and a major convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.[256] Some of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco, as noted by the Travel Channel, include the Golden Gate Bridge and Alamo Square Park, home to the famous "Painted Ladies." Both of these locations were often used as landscape shots for the hit American television sitcom Full House. There is also Lombard Street, known for its "crookedness" and extensive views. Tourists also visit Pier 39, which offers dining, shopping, entertainment, and views of the bay, sunbathing California sea lions, the Aquarium of the Bay, and the famous Alcatraz Island.[257] Coit Tower on Telegraph HillSan Francisco also offers tourists varied nightlife in its neighborhoods.[258][259] The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.[260] Itineraries from San Francisco usually include round-trip cruises to Alaska and Mexico. A heightened interest in conventioneering in San Francisco, marked by the establishment of convention centers such as Yerba Buena, acted as a feeder into the local tourist economy and resulted in an increase in the hotel industry: "In 1959, the city had fewer than thirty-three hundred first-class hotel rooms; by 1970, the number was nine thousand; and by 1999, there were more than thirty thousand."[261] The commodification of the Castro District has contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.[262] Arts and cultureMain article: Culture of San FranciscoSee also: San Francisco in popular culture The Palace of Fine Arts, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International ExpositionAlthough the Financial District, Union Square, and Fisherman's Wharf are well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk.[citation needed] Because of these characteristics,[original research?] San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walkscore.com.[263] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues that cater to the daily needs of local residents while also serving many visitors and tourists. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafés and nightlife such as Union Street in Cow Hollow, 24th Street in Noe Valley, Valencia Street in the Mission, Grant Avenue in North Beach, and Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[264][failed verification] The Castro is famous as one of the first gay villages in the country.[265]Since the 1990s, the demand for skilled information technology workers from local startups and nearby Silicon Valley has attracted white-collar workers from all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.[266] Many neighborhoods that were once blue-collar, middle, and lower class have been gentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,[267][268][269] creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has the highest quality of living of any U.S. city.[270] However, due to the exceptionally high cost of living, many of the city's middle and lower-class families have been leaving the city for the outer suburbs of the Bay Area, or for California's Central Valley.[271] By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.[272] The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.[273] The Mission District is the historic center of the city's Chicano/Mexican-American population and greater Hispanic and Latino community.The international character that San Francisco has enjoyed since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39% of its residents born overseas,[242] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which began to accelerate in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind on the West Coast. With the arrival of the "beat" writers and artists of the 1950s and societal changes culminating in the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury district during the 1960s, San Francisco became a center of liberal activism and of the counterculture that arose at that time. The Democrats and to a lesser extent the Green Party have dominated city politics since the late 1970s, after the last serious Republican challenger for city office lost the 1975 mayoral election by a narrow margin. San Francisco has not voted more than 20% for a Republican presidential or senatorial candidate since 1988.[274] In 2007, the city expanded its Medicaid and other indigent medical programs into the Healthy San Francisco program,[275] which subsidizes certain medical services for eligible residents.[276][277][278] The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, also known as SF MOMASince 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000 free syringes every month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.[279][280][281] San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of the Sierra Club in 1892 to the establishment of the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest in 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.[282][283] The 1980 San Francisco Recycling Program was one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.[284] The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is rolling out the CleanPowerSF program to sell electricity from local renewable sources.[285][286] SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.[287] The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.[288][289] LGBTMain article: LGBT culture in San Francisco San Francisco Pride is one of the oldest and largest LGBT pride events in the world.San Francisco has long had an LGBT-friendly history. It was home to the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, Daughters of Bilitis; the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, José Sarria; the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, Harvey Milk; the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the U.S., Mary C. Morgan; and the first transgender police commissioner, Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.[290] Survey data released in 2015 by Gallup places the proportion of LGBT adults in the San Francisco metro area at 6.2%, which is the highest proportion of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas as measured by the polling organization.[291] The gay pride flag was originally developed in San Francisco.One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldest pride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.[292] In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.[293] Pink Saturday is an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with the Dyke march. The Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week."[294] It started in 1984 and is California's third-largest single-day, outdoor spectator event and the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.[295] Performing artsSee also: List of theatres in San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, part of the S.F. War Memorial & Performing Arts Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the U.S. Golden Gate Theatre is located in the historic Theatre DistrictSan Francisco's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center hosts some of the most enduring performing arts companies in the country. The War Memorial Opera House houses the San Francisco Opera, the second-largest opera company in North America[296] as well as the San Francisco Ballet, while the San Francisco Symphony plays in Davies Symphony Hall. Opened in 2013, the SFJAZZ Center hosts jazz performances year round.[297] The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue that gained fame in the 1960s, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound.[298] It closed its doors in 1971 with a final performance by Santana and reopened in 1994 with a show by the Smashing Pumpkins.[299] San Francisco has a large number of theaters and live performance venues. Local theater companies have been noted for risk taking and innovation.[300] The Tony Award-winning non-profit American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a member of the national League of Resident Theatres. Other local winners of the Regional Theatre Tony Award include the San Francisco Mime Troupe.[301] San Francisco theaters frequently host pre-Broadway engagements and tryout runs,[302] and some original San Francisco productions have later moved to Broadway.[303] MuseumsFurther information: List of museums in San Francisco Bay Area, California § San Francisco The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San FranciscoThe San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.[304] SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed by Snøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.[305] The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily European antiquities and works of art at its Lincoln Park building modeled after its Parisian namesake. The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park features American decorative pieces and anthropological holdings from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, while Asian art is housed in the Asian Art Museum. Opposite the de Young stands the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum that also hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. Located on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero, the Exploratorium is an interactive science museum. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is a non-collecting institution that hosts a broad array of temporary exhibitions. On Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museum is a working museum featuring the cable car powerhouse, which drives the cables.[306] Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts was founded in 1998 and is part of the California College of the Arts.[307] SportsFurther information: Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area Oracle Park, home of the SF GiantsMajor League Baseball's San Francisco Giants have played in San Francisco since moving from New York in 1958. The Giants play at Oracle Park, which opened in 2000.[308] The Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and in 2014. The Giants have boasted stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Barry Bonds (MLB's career home run leader). In 2012, San Francisco was ranked No. 1 in a study that examined which U.S. metro areas have produced the most Major Leaguers since 1920.[309] The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) began playing in 1946 as an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and into Candlestick Park in 1971. The team left San Francisco in 2014, moving approximately 50 miles south to Santa Clara, and began playing its home games at Levi's Stadium,[310][311] Despite this, the 49ers are still branded as a San Francisco team, and when the team hosted Super Bowl 50 events were hosted in San Francisco such as The annual NFL Experience which was held at the Moscone Center and "Super Bowl City" which opened on January 30 at Justin Herman Plaza on The Embarcadero.[312][313] The 49ers have won five Super Bowl titles between 1982 and 1995. The Chase Center, home of the Golden State WarriorsThe NBA's Golden State Warriors have played in the San Francisco Bay Area since moving from Philadelphia in 1962. The Warriors played as the San Francisco Warriors, from 1962 to 1971, before being renamed the Golden State Warriors prior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.[314] The Warriors' arena, Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.[315] After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,[316] and made five consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper. At the collegiate level, the San Francisco Dons compete in NCAA Division I. Bill Russell led the Dons basketball team to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. There is also the San Francisco State Gators, who compete in NCAA Division II.[317] Oracle Park hosted the annual Fight Hunger Bowl college football game from 2002 through 2013 before it moved to Santa Clara. There are a handful of lower-league soccer clubs in San Francisco playing mostly from April – June. ClubFoundedVenueLeagueTier levelEl Farolito1985Boxer StadiumNPSL4San Francisco City FC2001Kezar StadiumUSL League Two4San Francisco Glens SC1961Skyline CollegeUSL League Two4SF Elite Metro2017Negoesco StadiumNISA Nation5 Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race known for colorful costumes.The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[318] The San Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants.[319] The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon has, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.[320] The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. Its private golf course has hosted the U.S. Open on five occasions. San Francisco hosted the 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition.[321] With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city.[322] San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.[323] Golden Gate Park has miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as a golf course and disc golf course. Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District. San Francisco also has had Esports teams, such as the Overwatch League's San Francisco Shock. Established in 2017,[324] they won two back-to-back championship titles in 2019 and 2020.[325][326] Parks and recreationSee also: List of parks in San Francisco Golden Gate Park is the 3rd most-visited city park in the U.S., after Central Park and the National Mall.[327]Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regional Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city are Ocean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by a vibrant surfing community, and Baker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the California Academy of Sciences, a research institute and natural history museum. The Presidio of San Francisco is the former 18th century Spanish military base, which today is one of the city's largest parks and home to numerous museums and institutions. Also within the Presidio is Crissy Field, a former airfield that was restored to its natural salt marsh ecosystem. The GGNRA also administers Fort Funston, Lands End, Fort Mason, and Alcatraz. The National Park Service separately administers the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park – a fleet of historic ships and waterfront property around Aquatic Park.[citation needed] Painted Ladies on Alamo Square. The Cliff House over Ocean BeachThere are more than 220 parks maintained by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.[328] The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park,[329] which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden.[citation needed] Lake Merced is a fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland[citation needed] and near the San Francisco Zoo, a city-owned park that houses more than 250 animal species, many of which are endangered.[330] The only park managed by the California State Park system located principally in San Francisco, Candlestick Point was the state's first urban recreation area.[331] Most of San Francisco's islands are protected as parkland or nature reserves. Alcatraz Island, operated by the National Park Service, is open to the public. The Farallon Islands are protected wildlife refuges. The Seal Rocks are protected as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Red Rock Island is the only privately owned island in San Francisco Bay, but is uninhabited. Yerba Buena Island is largely utilized by the military. San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a 10-Minute Walk of every resident.[332][333] It also ranks fifth in the U.S. for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.[334] GovernmentMain articles: Government of San Francisco, Politics of San Francisco, and Mayors of San FranciscoSee also: San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall, built 1913–16 and designed by Arthur Brown Jr.The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. The government of San Francisco is a charter city and is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.[335] Because of its unique city-county status, the local government is able to exercise jurisdiction over certain property outside city limits. San Francisco International Airport, though located in San Mateo County, is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco's largest jail complex (County Jail No. 5) is located in San Mateo County, in an unincorporated area adjacent to San Bruno. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.[336] The Supreme Court of California is based in the Earl Warren Building.The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[337] Upon the death or resignation of the mayor, the President of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until the full Board elects an interim replacement for the remainder of the term. In 1978, Dianne Feinstein assumed the office following the assassination of George Moscone and was later selected by the board to finish the term.[citation needed] In 2011, Ed Lee was selected by the board to finish the term of Gavin Newsom, who resigned to take office as Lieutenant Governor of California.[338] Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed after he died on December 12, 2017. Supervisor Mark Farrell was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018. Most local offices in San Francisco are elected using ranked choice voting.[339] San Francisco Federal BuildingSan Francisco serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had major military installations at the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than seventy consulates in San Francisco.[340] The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,[341] and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.[342] The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.[342] The city employs around 27,000 workers.[343] The historic Browning CourthouseIn the California State Senate, San Francisco is in the 11th Senate District, represented by Democrat Scott Wiener. In the California State Assembly, it is split between the 17th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Matt Haney, and the 19th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Phil Ting.[344] In the United States House of Representatives, San Francisco is split between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 11th District, represented by Nancy Pelosi (D–San Francisco). A sliver in the southwest is part of the 15th District represented by Kevin Mullin (D–South San Francisco).[345] Pelosi served as the House Speaker from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2023, a post she also held from 2007 through 2011. She has also held the post of House Minority Leader, from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019. EducationColleges and universitiesSee also: List of colleges and universities in San Francisco University of San FranciscoThe University of California, San Francisco is the sole campus of the University of California system entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[346] and operates the UCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.[347] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[348][349][350] A 43-acre (17 ha) Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[351] All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.[352] The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[353] San Francisco's two University of California institutions have recently formed an official affiliation in the UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.[354] San Francisco State University library buildingSan Francisco State University is part of the California State University system and is located near Lake Merced.[355] The school has approximately 30,000 students and awards undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 100 disciplines.[355] The City College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-year community colleges in the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program.[356] University of California College of the LawFounded in 1855, the University of San Francisco, a private Jesuit university located on Lone Mountain, is the oldest institution of higher education in San Francisco and one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi River.[357] Golden Gate University is a private, nonsectarian university formed in 1901 and located in the Financial District. With an enrollment of 13,000 students, the Academy of Art University is the largest institute of art and design in the nation.[358] The California College of the Arts, located north of Potrero Hill, has programs in architecture, fine arts, design, and writing.[359] The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only independent music school on the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting. The San Francisco Art Institute, founded in 1871 and the oldest art school west of the Mississippi,[360] closed in 2022. The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management. California Institute of Integral Studies, founded in 1968, offers a variety of graduate programs in its Schools of Professional Psychology & Health, and Consciousness and Transformation. Primary and secondary schoolsSee also: San Francisco public grammar schools and List of high schools in California § San Francisco County The San Francisco Unified School District operates 114 schools and is the oldest school district in California.Public schools are run by the San Francisco Unified School District, which covers the entire city and county,[361] as well as the California State Board of Education for some charter schools. Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of the Mississippi,[362] and the smaller School of the Arts High School are two of San Francisco's magnet schools at the secondary level. Public school students attend schools based on an assignment system rather than neighborhood proximity.[363] Just under 30% of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100 private or parochial schools, compared to a 10% rate nationwide.[364] Nearly 40 of those schools are Catholic schools managed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.[365] San Francisco has nearly 300 preschool programs primarily operated by Head Start, San Francisco Unified School District, private for-profit, private non-profit and family child care providers.[366] All four-year-old children living in San Francisco are offered universal access to preschool through the Preschool for All program.[367] MediaFurther information: Media in the San Francisco Bay Area This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) San Francisco Chronicle buildingThe major daily newspaper in San Francisco is the San Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[368] The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the late Herb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco." The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.[369][370] Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[371] SF Weekly is the city's alternative weekly newspaper. San Francisco and 7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine Mother Jones is also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such as SFist, and AsianWeek. The Julia Morgan-designed Hearst Building, the western headquarters of the Hearst CorporationThe San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest television market.[372] It is the fourth-largest radio market after that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[373] in the U.S. All major U.S. television networks have affiliates serving the region, with most of them based in the city. CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Russia Today, and CCTV America also have regional news bureaus in San Francisco. Bloomberg West was launched in 2011 from a studio on the Embarcadero and CNBC broadcasts from One Market Plaza since 2015. ESPN uses the local ABC studio for their broadcasting. The regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and its sister station Comcast SportsNet California, are both located in San Francisco. The Pac-12 Network is also based in San Francisco. Sutro Tower is a broadcast tower and local landmark.Public broadcasting outlets include both a television station and a radio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-to National Public Radio affiliate in the country.[374] KUSF is a student-run radio station by college students from the University of San Francisco.[375] Another local broadcaster, KPOO, is an independent, African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station established in 1971.[376] CNET, founded 1994, and Salon.com, 1995, are based in San Francisco. Sutro Tower is an important broadcast tower located between Mount Sutro and the Twin Peaks, built in 1973 for KTVU, KRON, and KPIX. InfrastructureTransportationSee also: Transportation in the San Francisco Bay AreaPublic transportationSee also: San Francisco Municipal Railway A San Francisco cable car with Alcatraz seen behindTransit is the most used form of transportation every day in San Francisco. Every weekday, more than 560,000 people travel on Muni's 69 bus routes and more than 140,000 customers ride the Muni Metro light rail system.[377] 32% of San Francisco residents use public transportation for their daily commute to work, ranking it fourth in the United States and first on the West Coast.[378] The San Francisco Municipal Railway, primarily known as Muni, is the primary public transit system of San Francisco. As of 2023, Muni is the eighth-largest transit system in the United States.[379] The system operates a combined light rail and subway system, the Muni Metro, as well as large bus and trolley coach networks.[380] Additionally, it runs a historic streetcar line, which runs on Market Street from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf.[380] It also operates the famous cable cars,[380] which have been designated as a National Historic Landmark and are a major tourist attraction.[381] Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a regional Rapid Transit system, connects San Francisco with the East Bay and San Jose through the underwater Transbay Tube. The line, which contains all except the Orange Line, runs under Market Street to Civic Center where it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae.[380]BART also shares stations with SFMTA Muni Metro under Market Street. Muni Metro, run by SF MuniAnother commuter rail system, Caltrain, runs from San Francisco along the San Francisco Peninsula to San Jose.[380] Historically, trains operated by Southern Pacific Lines ran from San Francisco to Los Angeles, via Palo Alto and San Jose. Amtrak Thruway runs a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay in Emeryville.[382] Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose and Santa Clara. Thruway service also runs south to San Luis Obispo with connection to the Pacific Surfliner. San Francisco was an early adopter of carsharing in America. The non-profit City CarShare opened in 2001[383] and Zipcar closely followed.[384] Golden Gate Ferries connect the city to North Bay communities, while San Francisco Bay Ferry connects the city to both the North and East Bay.San Francisco Bay Ferry operates from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Oakland, Alameda, Bay Farm Island, South San Francisco, Richmond, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.[385] The Golden Gate Ferry is the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco and Marin County.[386] SolTrans runs supplemental bus service between the Ferry Building and Vallejo. To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to the Silicon Valley daily, employers like Genentech, Google, and Apple have begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, as protesters claim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.[387] Freeways and roadsFurther information: List of streets in San Francisco The Bay Bridge connects the city to Oakland and the East Bay.In 2014, only 41.3% of residents commuted by driving alone or carpooling in private vehicles in San Francisco, a decline from 48.6% in 2000.[388] There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.[388] Due to its unique geography, and the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,[389] Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link to Marin County and the North Bay. As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexible slats in order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.[390] Lombard Street in Russian Hill is famed as "the most crooked street in the world."State Route 1 also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in the South of Market neighborhood. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished the Embarcadero Freeway and a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[389] State Route 35 enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard and terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. State Route 82 enters San Francisco from the south as Mission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco's Lincoln Park. Vision ZeroIn 2014, San Francisco committed to Vision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.[391] San Francisco's Vision Zero plan calls for investing in engineering, enforcement, and education, and focusing on dangerous intersections. In 2013, 25 people were killed by car and truck drivers while walking and biking in the city and 9 car drivers and passengers were killed in collisions. In 2019, 42 people were killed in traffic collisions in San Francisco.[392] AirportsMain article: San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the worldThough located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown in unincorporated San Mateo County, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines[393] and Alaska Airlines.[394] SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.[395] In 2011, SFO was the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 22nd-busiest in the world, handling over 40.9 million passengers.[396] Located in the South Bay, the San Jose International Airport (SJC) is the second-busiest airport in the Bay Area, followed by San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, which is a popular, low-cost alternative to SFO. Geographically, San Francisco Bay Oakland Airport is approximately the same distance from downtown San Francisco as SFO, but due to its location across San Francisco Bay, it is greater driving distance from San Francisco.[citation needed] Cycling and walkingMain article: Cycling in San Francisco Bay Wheels station on Market St.Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.[397] In recent years,[when?] the city has installed better cycling infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and parking racks.[398] Bay Wheels, previously named Bay Area Bike Share at inception, launched in August 2013 with 700 bikes in downtown San Francisco, selected cities in the East Bay, and San Jose. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District are responsible for the operation with management provided by Motivate.[399] A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.[400] Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2015, Walk Score ranked San Francisco the second-most walkable city in the United States.[401][402][403] San Francisco has significantly higher rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths than the United States on average. In 2013, 21 pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the highest since 2001,[404] which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.[405] San Francisco cycling eventCycling is becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010 Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.[406] In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.[407] As of 2019, 2.6% of the city's streets have protected bike lanes, with 28 miles of protected bike lanes in the city.[377] Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from the League of American Bicyclists.[408] In 2022 a measure on the ballot passed to protect JFK drive in Golden Gate Park as a pedestrian and biking space with 59% of voters in favor.[409] Public safety

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