Strangely shaped rackets and balls, obscure rules and knowledgeable elders in shorts bustling around the court: you might think you were at one of Sydney’s ever-multiplying pickleball clubs.
But a select few gathered in a structure resembling a barn – or a church – in a quaint north Sydney suburb this week to observe a very different racquet sport. After a 20-year absence, a new real tennis court has opened in NSW, joining courts in Melbourne, Ballarat and Hobart, as only the 50th worldwide.
Players on the newly opened real tennis court at the Cheltenham Recreation Club. The court has been hosting its grand opening Bilby tournament.Credit: Wolter Peeters
As the Herald has reported, the court at the Cheltenham Recreation Club has opened after a long battle following the closure of a short-lived one at Macquarie University in 2005. Secretary Chris Cooper has been keeping the dream – and the itinerant Sydney Real Tennis club – alive for 15 years.
“We’ve been playing away matches,” he laughs. “We have a team, but no court up until now.”
It’s in part thanks to a million-dollar government grant secured by former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Epping MP Monica Tudehope cut the ribbon, while her father, former NSW finance minister Damien Tudehope, and local federal MP Julian Leeser had a hit.
The Cheltenham Recreation Club’s new real tennis court is Australia’s fourth court. A vine planted at the opening ceremony is a cutting from the court in Hobart, which was built in 1875. Credit: Wolter Peeters
Real tennis, also known as “royal tennis” (pronounced like the Real in Real Madrid) or the “sport of kings”, has no shortage of high-profile admirers. It’s best known as the favourite sport of Henry VIII, and its international patron is Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
What exactly is the sport, and how can you take advantage of NSW’s only court?
What is real tennis?
Real teal tennis racquets are asymmetrical and the balls closer to a cricket ball. Credit: Edwina Pickles
Real tennis – the ancestor of modern “lawn tennis” – is at least 800 years old, says experienced player Maggie Henderson-Tew, who alongside her husband, former world champion Chris Ronaldson, has decamped from the UK for the past six months to help establish the Sydney court.
The game, known as “jeu de palme” (“the palm game”) in France, began as an outdoor game played with the hand in medieval streets and courtyards, using “an apple, an onion, a rolled up piece of rag”. It moved indoors only when enthusiastic aristocrats wanted to play in privacy.
“They used to slaughter oxen in the court and spread the blood around to make up the playing surface,” says Ronaldson, who Henderson-Tew describes as the eminence grise of the sport.
Although there is a consistent layout, with a high wall on one side, and low roofs and windows around the others, the court’s designer studied courts around the world to find things that worked and things that didn’t.
“The pitch of the roofs is the steepest in Australia,” he says of the aspect which affects the way the ball moves off the walls and low awnings, similar to squash or padel.
No two courts are the same, although they are all modelled on an idealised medieval town square. Credit: Wolter Peeters
What are the rules?
If you’re expecting a quick summary, you’ll be disappointed – the chess-like sport can take years to master, although that means players get better with age, says Henderson-Tew (former world champion and Tasmanian Rob Fahey last held the title at 54). “It doesn’t rely on power and athleticism like lawn tennis.”
Singles and doubles matches are standard, and the function of the net and some of the scoring is the same as modern tennis, but in other areas the ancient game diverges. Serving, which holds the advantage, only ever takes place from one end. Points can be won from opponents’ unforced errors, such as hitting the net, or by successfully hitting the netted windows (known as the “grille” and the “dedans”) at either end.
Serving changes hands only by a complex process known as the “chase”, which brings into play the horizontal lines and sometimes requires players, against their lawn tennis instincts, to let the ball bounce twice.
How can I play?
Esoteric knowledge, medieval kings, federal politicians, it all sounds a bit – elitist? But Londoner Alex Marino-Home, the club’s new full-time professional after trading a career as a choral singer (including at King Charles’ coronation) for another ancient occupation, says Sydney Real Tennis is very welcoming.
“It’s literally in the constitution to be the friendliest club in the world,” he says.
The public will soon be able to book a taster session on the club’s website (the asymmetrical wooden racquets and handstitched balls are provided). Those that get the bug can join up as full-time members, fees ranging from $25 a month for under-18s and students to $50 for under-35s and $100 for senior members.
What if I don’t like tennis?
Strangely enough, this just might be the racket sport for you. Cooper says he often compares real tennis, which is also handicapped, so players of different abilities can play together, to golf.
“It’s difficult to find the sweet spot on the racquet,” he says. “But when you do, it’s a joyous game to play.”
