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,
The Tennis Court Oath (David) as a deputy himself to complete his sketch for the painting and French political life was no longer conducive to the work – Mirabeau, one of the heroes of 1789, had been declared an enemy of the Revolution on the discovery of his secret correspondence with Louis XVI and was now considered as a traitor by public opinion. A large number of deputies to the National Constituent Assembly had been identified as enemies of the Government of Public Safety. David therefore left the work unfinished and the subscribers reclaimed their engraving from him. David's 1810 "The Distribution of the Eagle