Tennis is compared to golf and contrasted with body contact sports. It is a game evolved in England by the upper classes which lends itself to both sexes over a wide age range. It has a clearly defined etiquette around the major function of the game, the aggression-guilt axis. The author applies Peller's four developmental phases and Erikson's eight stages to the game in detail. There is an interesting discussion disagreeing with Anna Freud's statement that work is the goal of development. The author contends, and it seems rightly so, that there is such a thing as mature play. It is different from work and the two can develop together.