The in-line thin diamond bracelet that features a symmetrical pattern of diamonds is called a tennis bracelet. According to Diamond Bug, in 1987 Chris Evert, the former World No. 1 woman tennis player and the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, was playing in the U.S. Open. She was wearing an elegant, light in-line diamond bracelet, made by jeweler-to-the-stars George Bedewi which accidentally broke and the match was interrupted to allow Chris to recover her precious diamonds. The “tennis bracelet” incident sparked a new name for the item and sparked a huge jewelry trend. Tennis bracelets continued to be worn by various tennis stars like Serena Williams and Gabriela Sabatini.
From Wikipedia. Digest as necessary.
Also at http://www.diamondring.com/journal/1090-tennis-bracelet/