real tennis

real tennis
n [U]
a very old form of tennis, played by two or four people in a large indoor court with rackets, a hard ball and a net. It was originally played by British kings and noblemen (‘real’ is an old form of the word royal), and lawn tennis developed from it. Real tennis has complicated rules. There are very few courts, so not many people play the game.

* * *

sport
also called  Court Tennis, or Royal Tennis,  

      racket sport that is descended from and almost identical to the medieval tennis game jeu de paume (“game of the palm”). Real tennis has been played since the Middle Ages, but the game has become almost completely obscured by its own descendant, lawn tennis. Although real tennis contributed its name and scoring system to lawn tennis, real tennis is now played at fewer than 30 courts in the world. The court at Hampton Court palace, where Henry VIII played, is still used occasionally.

      Real tennis is played on an indoor court with four irregularly sized walls, using pear-shaped, lopsided rackets to hit cloth balls that are much harder than those used in lawn tennis. Roofs to the court slope over a net that is 1.5 m (5 feet) high at its sides and 0.9 m (3 feet) in the middle. The construction of a court is complex and difficult, and the declining number of players discourages the building of new courts. The world real tennis championship is decided by challenge match, in which a player challenges the champion to defend his title. Pierre Etchebaster held the world title from 1938 to 1954, when he retired at the age of 61.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Real tennis — – one of several games sometimes called the sport of kings – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis (usually simply called tennis), is descended. It is also known as court tennis in the United States,[1]… …   Wikipedia

  • real tennis — ► NOUN ▪ the original form of tennis, played with a solid ball on an enclosed court …   English terms dictionary

  • real tennis — noun an ancient form of tennis played in a four walled court • Syn: ↑royal tennis, ↑court tennis • Hypernyms: ↑tennis, ↑lawn tennis * * * ˈreal tennis 7 [real tennis] …   Useful english dictionary

  • Real Tennis — Dieser Artikel behandelt den Vorläufer des Tennis. Für das Museum in Paris, siehe Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume. Jeu de paume im 17. Jahrhundert Jeu de Paume (französisch für „Spiel mit der Handinnenfläche“) war ein Vorläufer des Tennis. Es… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • real tennis — /ril ˈtɛnɪs/ (say reel tenis) noun → royal tennis. {real1 + tennis, to distinguish it from lawn tennis which was introduced in the 1870s; then real reinterpreted as Middle English real royal, from Old French} …  

  • real tennis — noun an indoor racket sport from which the modern game of tennis (lawn tennis) is descended Syn: tennis, courte paume, court paume, royal tennis, court tennis, sport of kings …   Wiktionary

  • real tennis — noun the original form of tennis, played with a solid ball on an enclosed court …   English new terms dictionary

  • List of real tennis organizations — Real tennis organizations: a list of associations and clubs for the sport of real tennis.General* International Real Tennis Professionals Association * Ladies Real Tennis Association * [http://www.curtc.net/googlemap.php Map of real tennis courts …   Wikipedia

  • Irish Real Tennis Association — The Irish Real Tennis Association (Cumann Leadóige na h Éireann) encourages the preservation and development of the game and facilities of real tennis in the Republic of Ireland. Contents 1 Background 2 Saving the Dublin court 3 Future goals …   Wikipedia

  • Nederlandse Real Tennis Bond — The Dutch Real Tennis Association (Nederlandse Real Tennis Bond) was founded in 1986 to return the sport of real tennis to the Netherlands. The association s goals include building a real tennis court and functioning as the national governing… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”