History

Real tennis has evolved over centuries from an earlier ball game played around the 12th century in France. This had some similarities to palla, fives, pelota, or handball, involving hitting a ball with a bare hand and later with a glove. One theory is that this game was played by monks in monastery cloisters, and the shape of the court is certainly to this day reminiscent of a courtyard. Another theory is that the court features relate to medieval city streets and squares. The term "tennis" derives from the French word tenez, which means "take it" - a warning from the server to the receiver.

The game spread across Europe and became increasingly popular, with the Venetian Ambassador reporting in 1600 that there were 1,800 courts in Paris alone. Shakespeare mentions the game in Act 1 of Henry V. By the 16th century, the glove had become a racquet, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area and the rules had stabilised. Henry VIII's great attachment to the game around this time is also well known. The game became popular among the 17th and 18th century nobility in England and France, but eventually declined in popularity. This was due in large part to the impact that wider political and social changes - the English Civil War and Puritanism, and the French revolution - had upon the aristocracy and its pursuits. Real tennis played a minor role in the history of the French Revolution, through the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge signed by French deputies in a real tennis court, which formed an decisive early step in starting the revolution.

The game regained popularity in the 19th century, but soon gave birth to the outdoor game of lawn tennis which quickly became the most popular form of the sport.

Today there are only around forty real tennis courts remaining in the world and several thousand active players. There has been something of a revival towards the end of the 20th century, with several new courts being built, for example in the UK at Clifton College and the Millennium Tennis Court at Middlesex University and in Australia in Sydney, Ballarat and Romsey. The Netherlands and Ireland have real tennis interest groups.