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,
Tennis Court Oath oath "". The only person who did not join was Joseph Martin-Dauch from Castelnaudary, who would only execute decisions made by the king. Before the Revolution, French society—aside from royalty—was divided into three estates. The First Estate comprised the clergy; the Second Estate was the nobility. The entire rest of France—some 98% of the population—was the Third Estate, which ranged from very wealthy city merchants to impoverished rural farmers. The three estates met from time to time in the Estates General, a legislative assembly. Although the Third Estate was the overwhelming majority of the French population, the makeup of the