History of tennis royal families of Europe were besieged and real tennis was largely abandoned. Real tennis played a minor role in the history of the French Revolution, through the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge signed by French deputies on a real tennis court, which formed a decisive early step in starting the revolution. In England, during the 18th and early 19th centuries as real tennis declined, three other racquet sports emerged: racquets, squash racquets, and lawn tennis (the modern game). The modern sport is tied to two separate inventions. Between 1859 and 1865, in Birmingham, England, Major Harry Gem, a solicitor, and
Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 17 August 2016 at the third pavilion of Riocentro. Around 172 table tennis players (equally distributed between men and women) competed in both the singles and team events. Table tennis had appeared at the Summer Olympics on seven previous occasions beginning with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In addition to men's and women's singles, the team events were staged for the third time since replacing doubles events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. As the