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Real
Tennis as it is called in Britain, Royal Tennis as it is called
in Australia, Court Tennis as it is called in the States, Jeu
de Paume as it is called in France or Tennis as it is properly
known, is the oldest of all the racket games, and unlike most
of the others, such as squash or lawn tennis, it is a product
of evolution rather than pure invention.
The game started to form into something recognisable in the 11th
century. It started as hand ball, played by monks around the cloisters
of monasteries in Italy and France, much as schoolchildren do
in any appropriate corner of their school, and rules varied to
suit local whims and conditions. Gradually, as monks travelled
to other monasteries, the more enjoyable rules were more generally
adopted, the more bizarre rules abandoned and people started to
add features to their courtyards that improved the pastime, and
demolish or modify others that detracted from it. The monks enjoyed
the game so much that the Pope banned the playing of it, and by
the 14th century the game had spread from cloister to castle and
become a game of the nobility.
There are, of course, many other theories on the history of tennis.
Roger Morgan's book 'Tennis, The developement of the European
ball game' is another source of infomation and conflicts with
the above theories. The forward, written by H.R.H. Prince Edward,
himself a keen Real Tennis player, says "Many myths and inaccuracies
are dispelled; chief among these that tennis owes its origins
to the monateries of France". Morgan also says that the origins
were from a ball game played in the streets during the Middle
Ages, which is a nice idea, but as the streets were also used
as sewers.
The Equipment - Originally the game was played with the bare hand,
later with a glove, then someone had the bright idea of attaching
cord or tendons to the fingers. It was a short step to attaching
these cords to a frame and adding a handle to form a racket. Today
Grays of Cambridge are the only Real Tennis racket makers. The
ball although similar in appearance to a lawn tennis ball is made
with a core of cork, covered in cloth, tightly bound in string
and covered in felt. The balls are all hand stitched and last
for about 2 weeks. This method has been used throughout history,
although other substances such as hair or wool were used for the
centre, and the balls were a good deal lighter (1oz as opposed
to nearly 3oz), before the advent of the racket.
The modern version of the game is virtually indistinguishable
from the 16th century version, indeed the actual court that Charles
I built at Hampton Court in 1625, is still used for championship
play today. Visitors to Hampton Court Palace can view the Real
Tennis court.
The 16th and 17th centuries were a golden age for Real Tennis,
it was played by the nobility throughout England and France. There
were reputably as many as 1800 courts in Paris during the game's
heyday, although many of these were probably quite rough structures.
It is even recorded that a court was built on a 2,000 ton French
ship in the 16th century. The court at Versailles was built in
1686 at a cost of 45,403 Francs. By the 1700's the game had began
to decline. Almost 100 years later, The ‘Serment du Jeu
de paulme’ (oath of the Real Tennis court) was signed in
the Real Tennis court at Versailles on the 20th June 1789. The
court at Versailles is now a museum (see image). 11 months earlier
on 21st July 1788, in Vizille castle’s "real tennis"
room, the assembly of the three orders of the Dauphiné
held the meeting that gave birth to the revolutionary process,
It contains today the museum of the French Revolution. By 1800,
partly due to the Revolution the game in France was practically
non existent.
In England in the Tudor and Stuart periods tennis flourished,
Henry VII loved the game and his successor Henry VIII was an accomplished
player and had the original court at Hampton Court Palace built.
Sadly he was an addicted gambler and many of his financial problems
were due to his massive wagers on the Real Tennis court. James
I lost his life due to Real Tennis, as he tried to evade his assassins
by hiding down the drains his path was blocked by Real Tennis
balls! Charles I and Charles II both enjoyed the game
and tennis thrived during this period, apart from some awkwardness
between their reigns. Like France, the 18th century saw a decline
in the game of Real Tennis, although some courts were built in
this period. An example of this was the court built in Bath in
1777. Sadly this court was used for only 37 years, but the building
still survives as the Bath Industrial Heritage Centre.
In the mid 19th century there was a revival of the game and a
flurry of court construction, primarily as additions to estates,
most of the courts in use today are products of this period. The
first courts in the USA and Australia were built in 1876 and 1882
respectively. The first World War cast a deep shadow over the
game from which it has only just began to emerge. The current
state of play is : Australia - 4 active courts (with new courts
planned), France - 3, the UK 19, (new courts have recently been
built at The Oratory School and the Harbour Club in London, refurbished
in Newmarket and further courts planned for Clifton and Bridport
) and the USA - 9 (with further courts being planned). The Dutch
Real Tennis Association have hopes to build a Real Tennis court
in The Hague. Even the Russians have plans to restore the Real
Tennis court in St. Petersburg. Apparently the court, which was
built around the 1790's, is now a gym.
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