Real tennis

It is also known as Royal Tennis, Court Tennis (America), and jeu de paume (France). Players generally just call it "tennis", as opposed to "lawn tennis", but this use of language is obscure.

The rules evolved over centuries from those of an earlier game, similar to fives, pelota or handball, played since the 12th century by hitting a ball with the hand against the walls of monasteries. The rules stabilised around 1600. The game was popular among 18th and 19th century aristocrats, but today are only a few dozen courts in the world. This is partly because a real tennis court is a very substantial building (a larger area than a lawn tennis court and with walls and ceiling to contain all but the highest lob shots). In the UK there is something of a revival with new courts are being built, including a recent one at Clifton College.

The basic rules and scoring are similar to those of modern lawn tennis, which derives from real tennis. The ball is much heavier and less bouncy, nearly as heavy as a cricket ball and racquets are small and strengthened. Real tennis is enclosed by walls with sloping roofs and buttresses which may all be played off. The ball has to be served by rolling it along the roof to the left hand side of the server and service only happens from one end of the court. It has extra complexities in that when the ball bounces twice the receiving player does not generally lose the point outright, but gets the chance to replay the point from the other end under the obligation of getting every shot to have a second bounce further back from the net than the shot he failed to reach. This feature prevents drop shots and combined with the skill involved means that Real Tennis is an unusual sport in which people reach their prime later in life.

External link

• http://www.realtennisonline.com/