History of tennis that accompanied the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. Any history of tennis that ignores its origins in the game that was (and is still in certain circles) known as tennis until "lawn tennis" became popular in the late nineteenth century is inaccurate. The Davis Cup, an annual competition between men's national teams,
French Revolution from the summer of 1790 to the establishment of the Legislative Assembly the law, and the king"; the king and the royal family actively participated in the celebrations, which went on for several days. The members of the Estates-General had originally been elected to serve for a single year. By the Tennis Court Oath, the "communes" (representatives of the Third Estate) had bound themselves to meet continuously until France had a constitution, a goal which had not yet been achieved in the course of a year. Right-wing elements, such as the abbé Jean-Sifrein Maury, argued for a new election—by each of the three estates, separately—hoping that the events of the last year