Tennis recreational players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the Majors) are especially popular: the Australian Open played on hard courts, the French Open played on red clay courts, Wimbledon played on grass courts, and the US Open also played on hard courts. Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis, and became
Salle de la Bouteille de l'Étoile on the rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain-des-Prés (the southeastward extension of the rue des Fossés de Nesle, today known as the ). Salle de la Bouteille The Salle de la Bouteille or Salle du Jeu de Paume de la Bouteille, later known as the Hôtel [de] Guénégaud or Guénégaud Theatre, was a 1671 theatre located in Paris, France, between the rue de Seine and the rue des Fossés de Nesle across from the rue Guénégaud (now 42 rue Mazarine, at its intersection with the rue Jacques Callot). It was the first home of the Paris Opera and in 1680 became