If Tennis isn't Real Tennis, What is Real Tennis?

The game we call “Tennis” is in fact a late-19^th century variation on a much older medieval game called “Real Tennis”. Real Tennis was hugely popular among the nobility in England and Europe during the middle ages. 

Most of the medieval courts have been destroyed but there are a few that remain. The “Real Tennis” court on Merton Street is the only surviving court in Oxford.  It is the smallest court and the third oldest in the U.K.  It was built in 1798 but it was built on the site where an earlier court had been been since 1595.  Hampton Court Palace south of London (1628) and Falkland Palace in Scotland (1539) are the oldest courts still in use in the U.K.

No two Real Tennis courts are exactly alike, although they all have common features such as the kink in the main wall, the netted galleries, and, in the furthest right corner, the box-like grille. The lines on the floor are the chase line which are part of the scoring system.  They all have names such as "Half a yard worse than six" and "Hazard worse than the Door", just to name a few. 

What makes Real Tennis different is that, unlike tennis, serving only takes place from one end. A serve must bounce on the sloping roof of the hazard penthouse to be valid.  And players plays off the walls, roof, and floor.  From here is gets complicated.  It’s a fun game to watch since it is a strange combination of tennis and racquet ball with all kinds of rules and regulations that are an interesting part of this historic, fascinating and tactical game’s appeal.

Today, there are about 45 courts in use in the word and the number is growing as disused courts are being renovated and new courts are being built.  Here’s a link to what it looks like played:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYvbHCMBxuU