[Thomas Dai]

Real tennis vrs tennis. ‘Real’ golf vrs golf
Odd and quirky vrs standardised.
Thoughts?
Atb

[David_Tepper]

By "real" tennis, do you mean "court" tennis?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis

After two weeks of Wimbledon coming down to the finals weekend, I think a better discussion might be comparing grass court tennis to links golf. Both were the original/first forms of the games, but both are now a very small segment of how & where the games are played daily around the world.   

[Tom_Doak]

By "real" tennis, do you mean "court" tennis?

Amazingly, the new clubhouse for Sedge Valley features a court tennis facility.

[Marty Bonnar]

By "real" tennis, do you mean "court" tennis?

Amazingly, the new clubhouse for Sedge Valley features a court tennis facility.

I think you meant to type ‘Sedge’, didn’t you? 

[Adam Lawrence]

‘Real’ in the tennis context doesn’t mean real as in not fake, it means ‘royal’ as in Real Madrid. Or, a golf example, Real Club de Puerta de Hierro.

[Ally Mcintosh]

There are - apparently - only 45 Real / Court Tennis courts in existence anywhere in the world. So Sedge (Valley) will make it 46…. Always a game I fancied…

[David_Tepper]

Real/court tennis and (so-called) "real" golf are both quaint anachronisms in the modern world (and by modern I mean post World War II).

https://uscourttennis.org/introduction-to-court-tennis/

6 1/2 minutes of the best real tennis you will ever watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1RK9fuGZgI

Pierre Etchebaster (1893-1980) won the real/court tennis world championship 26 years in a row, 1928 to 1954. In the 1960's & 70's he was one of the tennis & squash pros at Piping Rock on Long Island. I met him there once. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Etchebaster

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Archie,

Thanks for that Video of well played court tennis. Squash on steroids.

I have played it at the Philadelphia Racquet club But had no idea what I was doing. Actually an elegant game. I'm probably nationally ranked having played it just once.

Court tennis started in France where children were educated in Catholic monastic cloisters and the kids devised a game within the cloister like handball where you could play the ball on top of the surrounds as well as within the center of the cloister.

The old museum of Impressionistic Art in Paris "Jeu de Paume" was a court tennis court originally. It was all moved to a new Museum at Gare de Orsay later. "Jeu de paume" translates to handball or game of the palm

[Craig Sweet]

Sounds colonial to me...in the "sun never sets on Britannia" sort of way.

[Bruce Katona]

Racketball played with a larger racket & a sagging net.


I learned something this morning.......never heard of or saw this game played before watching the video.

[David_Tepper]

Real/court tennis did (and still does) have one thing in common with golf of 125 years ago. Just like "featheries" were hand-made/hand sewn, the balls for real/court tennis were (and still are) hand-made/hand-sewn. Since so few people play the game, there is no commercial firm willing to be bothered making the balls.


"Despite trials by Dunlop to introduce machine-made balls in the 1970s,^[4] almost all balls are entirely hand made by club professionals. The inner core of a ball can last several years, but the cover must be replaced every two to three weeks, depending on usage."

The wood racquets are still made (I think) by the venerable firm Gray's of Cambridge, which also makes wooden implements for cricket and field hockey. I played with their squash racquets decades ago. 

[Steven Wade]

My club is a very racquet sports heavy club featuring grass tennis court and we have even wholeheartedly embraced padel, adding courts last year. If we were to install a real/court tennis court I’d be forced to dive headlong into participating. I’m not sure what the real tennis to golf comp is… maybe hickory rounds?

[Rob Marshall]

By "real" tennis, do you mean "court" tennis?

Amazingly, the new clubhouse for Sedge Valley features a court tennis facility.

What is “court” tennis? Synthetic surface like the us open?

[David_Tepper]

"What is “court” tennis?"

Rob M. -

Court tennis and real tennis are the same sport played on the same court.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_tennis

DT

[Jason Connor]

By "real" tennis, do you mean "court" tennis?

Amazingly, the new clubhouse for Sedge Valley features a court tennis facility.

What is “court” tennis? Synthetic surface like the us open?

Court tennis = Real tennis = the enclosed space.


In fact a tennis court -- the way we usually think of it -- is a bastardization of the word "court".


The etymology of "Court" is an enclosed yard. Which is more accurate to Real, or Court, Tennis.


Compare that with the first tennis, lawn tennis, was just that: tennis in fields, which is the opposite of a 'court'.   

[David_Tepper]

And then there is the sport of rackets/racquets (aka hard rackets), possibly more obscure than court/real tennis:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rackets_(sport)

Not to be confused with squash, court/real tennis or racquetball.

World Championships video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c3CF7bDtoM

There are 36 courts in Britain and the U.S.

[Pete_Pittock]

Actually stayed in a hotel that had real tennis. Back in 1975 somewhere along the final holes of Royal Troon. Hit balls for about half an hour.  Real home course advantage. I heard it had been turned into a retirement home.
Also discovered Famous Grouse.
It was on Crosbie Rd near the 17th green. NLE

[Darragh Garrahy]

Recently when in Newport, RI, I was invited down to watch a game of court tennis. I hadn't a clue of the rules but I loved the enthusiasm of the gentleman playing who was explaining it all to us as he played. He said once you go court, you never go back. Perhaps it's like links vs parkland golf.

[ward peyronnin]

The wonderful small village of Falkland and it's palace have a place inthe discussion  Falkland Palace is home to the world’s oldest tennis court. Dating from the 16th century, the residence was built between 1501 and 1541 after being commissioned by King James IV –  the historic royal tennis court was part of the development.
Almost five centuries later, the court – completed in 1539 and enjoyed by James IV, his son James V and their royal guests – is still in use today. The game played there is known as royal tennis or “real tennis” and although the rules are similar to the modern game, it isn’t the sort of tennis you would expect to see at Wimbledon.
   

[Marty Bonnar]

Falkland is a very quaint wee village in the middle of Fife. Somewhat unfortunately, it’s now largely overrun by massive numbers of Outlander fans as it was used as a stand-in location for Inverness in the first Series.
F.

[Marty Bonnar]

Falkland is a very quaint wee village in the middle of Fife. Somewhat unfortunately, it’s now largely overrun by massive numbers of Outlander fans as it was used as a stand-in location for Inverness in the first Series.
F.

On an Architectural note, probably also worth mentioning that Falkland has one of the maddest 9-holes around. Wiggling around the Football pitch on an incredibly tight site, it’s a masterpiece of routing!


https://maps.app.goo.gl/L91uapHQcwuZeaZT6?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy


Now, if only someone could prove that Mary, Queen of Scots played there, it would be mobbed with those Outlander tourists…

[ward peyronnin]

Marty
I have played it and it is a treat. One plays around the sewage settlememnt tanks, across a soccer pitch, and a Cape Hole bends around a guys back yard. I think the greens were rolling at 4 when I played with James and John the 10 and 11 year old sons of the B&B keeper. We stuffed the honor box with a quid fifty for each oif us. Design attributes- probably a Braid?

[David_Tepper]

Believe it or not, there is an article about real tennis (aka court tennis) on the bottom of the front page of today's Wall Street Journal. As you might expect, it focuses on how obscure and complicated the game is.    


https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/real-tennis-champions-mcenroe-4b930d8c?mod=itp_wsj

[Phil Young]

Philadelphia Cricket Club has 21 GRASS tennis courts. The St. Martin Club was the site of early U. S. Women's  Open tennis matches from 1915 - 1919.

[Tom_Doak]

Philadelphia Cricket Club has 21 GRASS tennis courts. The St. Martin Club was the site of early U. S. Women's  Open tennis matches from 1915 - 1919.

Sedge Valley has also put in several [I think four] grass tennis courts.  They hardly get used, so the surface is amazing!


Piping Rock Club used to have a couple of grass courts . . . not sure if they've been revived.  In the 1970s they kept them in good shape, but by the time I saw them they were so thatchy that the ball barely bounced.

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