Real tennis Real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (originally called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, formerly royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France (a reference to the older, racquetless game of "jeu de paume", the ancestor of modern handball and racquet games; many French real tennis courts are at "jeu de paume" clubs). The term "real" was first used by journalists in the early 20th century as
Salle du Bel-Air Salle du Bel-Air The Salle du Bel-Air or Salle du Jeu de Paume de Béquet (Hall of the Béquet Tennis Court) was a 1672 theatre located in Paris, France. Originally an indoor tennis court ("jeu de paume") it was converted by the Italian designer Carlo Vigarani into a theatre which was used by Jean-Baptiste Lully's Paris Opera from 15 November 1672 to 1 February 1673. It was located in the Rue de Vaugirard, just west of the city moat ("fossé") and the Rue des Fossés Monsieur-le-Prince (now the Rue Monsieur-le-Prince). Today the site of the former theatre extends into the