Real tennis is the “original” tennis from which the lawn version was derived. First played between 1200 and 1500 AD, the game is also known as Royal Tennis, Real Tennis, and (in the US) Court Tennis.

About 40 courts are in use today, the majority being in Britain. Today, the game is played in just 4 countries – the UK, US, France, and Australia.

The Real Tennis World Championship is the longest running championship of any sport currently played. Rob Fahey, the current world champion, hails from our small corner of the world, first learning the game in Hobart in the 1980s. He first won the World title in 1994 and will be defending his title in May 2010 at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club.