Real tennis 1599. The game thrived among the 17th-century nobility in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Habsburg Empire, but suffered under English Puritanism, as it was heavily associated with gambling. By the Age of Napoleon, the royal families of Europe were besieged and real tennis, a court game, was largely abandoned. Real tennis played a role in the history of the French Revolution, through the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge signed by French deputies in a real tennis court, which formed a decisive early step in starting the revolution. During the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis
Merton Street tennis court Merton Street tennis court Merton Street tennis court is the home of the Oxford University Real Tennis Club. It stands on the north side of Merton Street in central Oxford, England, and forms part of Merton College. There has been a tennis court in Oxford since 1450 and one at the Merton Street site since c. 1494, according to one source. Alternatively, according to another source, Oxford has had a court since 1595 and one at this site when it was rebuilt in 1798. The Merton Street court, being early, has somewhat non-standard dimensions, and in particular an unusually flat