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
Skittles (sport) the game. The "jeu de quilles de neuf" ("nine-pin skittle game") of France, also known simply as "quilles de 9" or just "quilles", is a complicated variant with similarities to both British skittles and pétanque. It is popular only in the southwest of the country. It is an indoor game which is played on a hard-packed surface. The skittles are placed on a square court, each resting on a round piece of wood called "pitere" or "pitet", 2.20 m apart from each other. A skittle measures about 96 cm and weighs 3 kg, and is made of beech wood. The