Court tennis—also known as “real tennis”—is a variety of tennis played indoors on a specially constructed court having high cement walls off which the ball may be played.
Court tennis is a variety of tennis played indoors on a specially constructed court having high cement walls off which the ball may be played. Points being made chiefly by stroking the ball into any of three openings in the walls of the court.
Also referred to as “real tennis” – one of several games sometimes called “the sport of kings” – court tennis is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is primarily known as court tennis in the United States, formerly royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
The term “real” was first used by journalists in the early 20th century as a retronym to distinguish the ancient game from modern lawn tennis (even though the latter sport is seldom contested on lawns these days outside the few social-club-managed estates such as Wimbledon).
There are more than 50 active real tennis courts in the world, located in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and France. Other countries have currently disused courts, such as the two in the Republic of Ireland. The sport is supported and governed by various organizations around the world.
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