First, early in the 11th century, players in France played a sport like this with their hands. It was called “Jeu de Paume”. In the 15th century the players played with rackets. Now it is called “tennis”. It became popular in England and France. King Henry III of France was a big fan of the game. This kind of sport is still played but is known as real tennis ("real" here meaning "royal"). The sport of "lawn tennis" played on grass courts was invented in mid 19th-century England and later spread into many other countries. The name of the sport is usually shortened to "tennis".