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Courts

Real tennis: courts

A real tennis court is an indoor hall with a net across the middle, sloping roofs along three walls and openings that score when the ball goes in. No two courts are exactly alike, so there is no single standard size.

Importance 2 out of 5Importance rating
RacketWiki EditorsVerified 25 October 20264 sources

Real tennis court

Every real tennis court is different. They share a layout, with a sloping penthouse roof along three walls, galleries beneath it, the dedans behind the service end, the grille and the angled tambour at the hazard end, and chase lines marked across the floor, but the floor size, the placing of the openings and the tambour vary from court to court, because most courts were built individually over several centuries.

Real tennis court dimensions
ItemSpecificationSource
LengthBeing verifiedNot yet sourced
WidthBeing verifiedNot yet sourced
PenthouseA sloping roof along three walls that the ball may be played offTennis and Rackets Association website, What Is Real Tennis? And How Do You Play?
Winning openingsDedans, grille and winning gallery: a ball played into them wins the pointTennis and Rackets Association website, What Is Real Tennis? And How Do You Play?
TambourA buttress on the main wall in front of the grille that deflects the ballTennis and Rackets Association website, What Is Real Tennis? And How Do You Play?; Plan of a Court
Dedans opening widthBeing verifiedNot yet sourced
Chase linesLines across the floor used to measure chasesTennis and Rackets Association website, What Is Real Tennis? And How Do You Play?

Famous venues

The Queen's Club
London (West Kensington, W14), United Kingdom
The Queen's Club in West Kensington, London, hosts the main grass-court warm-up events for Wimbledon at ATP 500 and WTA 500 level. Founded in 1886, it also has courts for real tennis, rackets, squash and padel.
  • TennisAncestor. Lawn tennis grew out of real tennis and kept much of its scoring.
  • RacketsSame governing body in the UK. Both are run by the Tennis and Rackets Association.
  • SquashWalls in play. Both are indoor games where the ball is played off the walls.

Sources

  1. Tennis and Rackets Association website, Tennis and Rackets Associationtennisandrackets.comOfficial rulebook or governing body (tier 1 of 5)
  2. The Queen's Club: about the Club, The Queen's Clubqueensclub.co.ukNational body or tour (tier 2 of 5)
  3. The Queen's Club: lawn tennis, The Queen's Clubqueensclub.co.ukNational body or tour (tier 2 of 5)
  4. The Queen's Club: location, The Queen's Clubqueensclub.co.ukNational body or tour (tier 2 of 5)