Real tennis, the ancestor of modern (lawn) tennis, is the
descendant of a ball game that presumably originated in
the north of medieval France in the early 13th century.
History
Good reasons support the assumption that tennis was
initially a goal game, a variety of medieval football
played by clerics in the cloisters of their monasteries.
This explains the architecture of the real tennis court,
which features three penthouses with slanting roof and
a hazard called the grille. Penthouse and grille were apparently adapted from the arcaded walks of the cloisters and the lattice window of the locutorium, respectively. The oldest courts in existence are those of
Hampton Court, erected in 1532–1533 (rebuilt in
1625), and Falkland Castle in Scotland, in 1539.
The name real tennis was coined in the latter part of
the 19th century when adepts of the game, filled with
deep misgivings about the apparent success of the
newfangled lawn tennis, stubbornly called their brand
the real tennis. In the United States, real tennis is referred to as court tennis; in Australia it is royal tennis.
In France, it has preserved one of its many medieval
names, jeu de la paume, literally “game of the palm [of
the hand]”; in French, this term must be distinguished
from jeu de paume, which denotes the facility or court.
Today, the distinction between jeu de la paume (the
game) and jeu de paume (the facility) is not always
made; that is why the sport is now officially known as
jeu de courte paume.
Originally a pastime of the medieval clergy, real
tennis was early on adopted by the young noblemen receiving their education from them. It continued as the
favorite exercise of the aristocracy for many centuries
and was known as the “Game of Kings” accordingly.
From the late 16th century on, tennis increasingly became a prerogative of university students. In addition,
commercial courts existed in almost every important
town of Europe. However, tennis was also soon appropriated by townspeople and the medieval peasantry.
The former appended smaller roofs to the gables of
their houses, and the latter resorted to makeshifts such
as stone slabs or corn sieves in order to execute the service properly.
Women have been notably absent from real tennis
courts until very recently. As late as 1903, J. M. Heathcote could write: “We may not wish to encourage our
wives and daughters to emulate . . . Margot . . . and to
compete with us in an exercise fatiguing to all, and to
them possibly dangerous, but we accord to them a
hearty welcome when they honour the ‘dedans’ (as
spectators) with their presence.”
Rules and Play
Played with the palm of the hand (and the feet) by its
inventors, real tennis has made use of the sheepgutstrung racket since about 1500 C.E. Stuffed with animal
hair originally, the still solid balls now consist of strips
of heavy cloth tape wound into a ball, tied with twine,
and covered with white felt. They are still sewn by hand
by the club professional.
The courts vary in size, standardized playing fields
being a feature of modern sports since the 19th century only. Real tennis courts are about half the length of
a lawn tennis court and slightly wider.
Real tennis is played in much the same way as lawn
tennis: the ball must be struck after its first bounce or
on the volley. The distinctive features of the game are
due to the fact that the medieval player put to good use
the peculiarities of the original court. One of the
game’s chief attractions is balls ricocheting off the
walls. The rule deviating most from lawn tennis is the
so-called chase rule. Whereas in lawn tennis the ball is
dead if it bounces a second time, in real tennis the spot
of the second impact (known as “the chase”) is
marked. Whenever the score is within a point of winning the game (the scoring method is the same as in
lawn tennis) or whenever two chases have occurred,
the players change ends to contend the chase or chases.
In order to do this, the player who made a chase in his
opponent’s court has to “defend” it, by preventing the
ball of his opponent from landing, if it bounces a second time, closer to the rear wall than in the case of his
own chase.
The sport has six national governing bodies and recent years have seen a revival of real tennis, especially
in Australia.
—HEINER GILLMEISTER
Bibliography: Butler, L. St.J., and P. J.Wordie, eds. (1989) The
Royal Game. Fordhead, Kippen, Stirling, UK: Falkland
Palace Real Tennis Club. de Bondt, Cees. (1993) “Heeft yeman lust met bal, of met reket te spelen . . . ?” Tennis in
Nederland 1500–1800. Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren.
Garnett, Michael. (1991) Royal Tennis for the Record.
Romsey, Victoria: Historical Publications.