The History Of 'Real Tennis' At Henry VIII's Royal Court | Tudor Tennis Challenge

'The Tudor Tennis Challenge: On The Royal Court At Hampton Court Palace'
Luke Tomes and Louee Dessent travel to Hampton Court Palace to play on the Royal Tennis Court, first built for for Cardinal Wolsey, the Lord High Chancellor of England, between 1526 and 1529.
Throughout the years, numerous kings and queens have played the game of real tennis at the palace, including King Henry VIII, Charles I, Charles II, James II, Prince Albert and, in more recent times, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.
Showing both Louee and Luke the ropes and teaching them a bit more about the history of the sport today, was Head Professional Nick Wood, who was once ranked 4th in the world at Real Tennis.
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#TudorHistory #HenryVIII #hamptoncourtpalace
00:00 Introduction
00:50 History of Tennis
02:56 'Real Tennis' Rules
07:16 Hampton Court Tudor Tennis Challenge
13:01 Serving Practise
14:22 Closing Thoughts

[@mawmawd627]

I love how the instructor gives them verbal praise after each attempt. Very supportive instructor.

[@stevedoredandyfunk3032]

No doubt. I wouldn't mind having him follow me around for a day at work just keeping me motivated.

[@xXPridefulPandaXx]

In Henry’s time that guys support was probably the bases of him and his families survival

[@jonas8993]

Yeah, well I've rarely seen a sport instructor not giving support like that during practice, thats basically what they have to do. Usually when they don't they are pretty bad

[@jakewilliams5018]

Most don’t

[@artomassinen1926]

@@stevedoredandyfunk3032 6y66666

[@Tythrak]

My great grandfather used to teach the royals tennis at Hampton Court Palace :)

[@iteor7320]

They’ve got some in Oxford, Cambridge and Falkland Palace. Fun fact: James I of Scotland was assassinated trying to flee in Perth, but the passage he was in was blocked by a grill designed to prevent the loss of tennis balls from the nearby indoor tennis court.

[@matteoguarisco5009]

It reminds me padel. Incredible how history recalls itself also in secondary things

[@turbotalbo]

Yup, Padel is a natural evolution from the original tennis, now called Tennis or Court Tennis

[@mackemforever]

I've played for 20 years, since I was a kid, and it's a game I wish was more known about. The small rackets, hand stiched (and therefore unpredictable) balls, and court design makes it genuinely difficult but also opens up so many different types of shot and strategies. The handicap system used to rank players also does a fantastic job of ensuring close, and enjoyable, matches even between two players of very different ability. If anybody watching this has a court near them and has any interest in racket sports I implore you to give it a go.

[@ArmyofDrag343]

so what you're saying is, a complete shitter can beat me even if im very skilled, ill stick to badminton thanks

[@silva7493]

Very interesting. I've just stumbled upon this game in the past hour, though thinking about it, I do recall a real tennis scene in the movie "The Other Boleyn Girl", but I thought at the time it was a fanciful recreation of an earlier form of what became lawn tennis. I'm wondering if there's any particular flooring that must be used, or is that variable. The real tennis court at Falkland Palace in Scotland appears to have a stone floor (and no roof). I don't know for a fact, but lawn tennis floor surfaces appear very regimented. thank you.

[@midorimatsuda7241]

I love how melodious the balls hitting racquets are.

[@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289]

I love modern Tennis as a whole, so it's interesting to see how it used to be played 500 years ago when Henry 8th played it with his friends.

[@gjohn163]

Used to play this in Melbourne when I was a kid, absolutely loved switching from modern tennis to this seemingly wild racket sport.

[@catherinepalmer4596]

Thank you. I’m writing a book about the Henry VIII’s wife, Anne of Cleves, and couldn’t imagine what the tennis courts looked like.

[@Desmond17]

That court really looks like what we have in the Southwest of France (especially in the Basque Country) where we play a sport called "Pelote Basque".

[@brentwalker3300]

Ha ha ha!!! "Basquetball".

[@HazelWolfieLive]

C'est un terrain de jeu de paume, l'ancêtre du tennis, c'est pour ça qu'on peut retrouver un peu partout en France, et non pas seulement dans le Sud-Ouest, des terrains similaires.

[@survivehistory]

I had no idea that existed at Hampton Court. Great video guys! 😍

[@35manning]

Would have loved to hear more about the design of the building, summary / explanation of some of the rules as well as any social / royal protocols. Eg, the winning shot of hitting Henry's portrait, what's the story behind that? What's the deal with the slopped roof, both the rules around it and its creation / conception.

[@mellie4174]

Yes! It was a bit lacking in details

[@danielvaldez9946]

Ive got so many qs of that sort. Why did they have a slope on the right side and not the left, and if its because this particular location was already shaped that way did they recreate the set up in all other courts?

[@nathanielcherry149]

The opening where the portrait of Henry VIII is in fact called the grille. This was where the servants used to pass food through to the players on court and was then later filled in to stop balls leaving the court. I believe before this it used to be a hatch that you sometimes see in old English houses to pass food from the kitchen into a dining room.

[@nathanielcherry149]

@@danielvaldez9946 please ask away I would be happy to try and answer you're questions.

[@andrewdriver3318]

Lindybeige did a video covering the rules. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ6xqaqPqd-ir5I He's got a pretty interesting channel; everything from the lindy hop to siege ladders.

[@almister]

Good to see the boys excelling for a change !!! Very impressive

[@astrafaan]

I don't watch tennis but I could watch this

[@debsmostexcellentadventure5353]

What a simply lovely video and channel,have a lovely weekend and stay safe debs xx new fan ...................

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

Quite a _cheeky fellow,_ this gentleman, when he corrected them by saying: "Well, wasn't built by the king himself, he had it comissioned"... haha! Few things are more British than those corrections.

[@christinepage1523]

Just shows how the standard of the spoken word along with the written words have dropped and still dropping.

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

@@christinepage1523 Indeed Christine, indeed. As if all aspects of Human lives were ruled by physics, in the past decades, without a doubt, language has sadly followed _the path of least resistance._

[@agtom1329]

Very interesting video and some relief from the current news. Well done!

[@MustardEAD]

Lol, all the extra bits on the court worth points makes it seem like a 500 year old game of Calvinball!

[@GUTOMOFFICIAL]

Very interesting! Didn't know about this!

[@davidwilliams5497]

Literal History Hits. Gotta love it. Also, much as I dislike the sport, this was a cool look into the evolution since the Tudor era.

[@finbarmurphy6740]

Why do you dislike tennis

[@thebrize09]

I also want to know why you dislike tennis

[@wildthangs2622]

David we need to know

[@shawnnaidoo5522]

David we need to know 🤣haha you made my morning mate

[@mike_404]

lol no answer Davy Williamson

[@MrShoryuken1]

Played a few times at Canford school's court many years ago. It is a really fun game and if you play tennis and squash, easy to pick up quickly.

[@SoSo-li6dn]

I dont get why they need to use crap balls and racquets.

[@TheRandomguy225]

@@SoSo-li6dn Because then what stops it from just being tennis indoors?

[@louisablizzard4118]

@@SoSo-li6dnThe racquets are because tennis used to be played with your hands, the racquets they use are resembling the shape of a hand.

[@bonniesaxe9460]

Fun to watch

[@katlynklassen809]

Old sports always have wonderful flavour

[@pistonburner6448]

3:42 I like this guy. Under-appreciated jokes

[@Jack-dz6st]

Amazing

[@Joker-yw9hl]

Looks pretty fun that

[@youthyfagin5973]

Looks fun

[@yotaiji012]

I wished they showed only “pros” playing, so we could see the sport in action. Super awesome content!

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

But they had to play by the rules of the day and not currently that are in use.

[@yotaiji012]

@@cyankirkpatrick5194 that’s what i mean. I mean the “pros”. “Pros” in this case means anyone who plays with the old rules at hampton. Players who play regularly. Would like to see two seasoned Hampton court Palace players going at it. Look at all those balls! Someone there is playing regularly...no?

[@thesharklord]

Search for Real Tennis or Court Tennis on KZbin, or the USCTA (US Court Tennis Association) channel, there are a number pro of tournaments that have been recorded! You can check out the World Championship matches between Rob Fahey and Camden Rivier

[@ElinHumphries]

​@yotaiji012 Oh yeah, definitely. My brother plays nearly every day if he could. Lots of players choose slots of times they want to play and they do. I play this myself, for Silver DofE. Nick is amazing.

[@criptic_m1st436]

My school trip was canceled because this was being filmed 😂

[@mazuzuri]

To be honest, this seems infinitely more interesting than lawn tennis. A lot more varied.

[@antonpalmer-smith4829]

That was interesting

[@arizonabusinessleague918]

Cameraman never dies!

[@sliceofheaven3026]

As some other commentators have said this really reminds me of pelote. Wonder if one of them inspired the other style of sports.

[@5superhombre]

If anyone has played racquetball there are similarities to that game as well

[@mattcaminiti971]

There is a court tennis court in Tuxedo Park, NY

[@Rustie_za]

Lindybeige covered this in great detail and played a match. Go check that out if this interests you.

[@lukec9090]

I play 5 hours a week. Incredible game. Mixture of tennis, squash and chess

[@jansenart0]

The camera settings were messed up...

[@busterboy7505]

Well done guys, I take it there are other real Tennis courts in England, not just Hampton , and maybe other countries have them? , 👍👍

[@greendaysennafan]

There is one at Lords Cricket Ground in North London

[@matthewshepherd5390]

26 of the world's 40-odd courts are in the uk

[@hughmac13]

There are a few in the U.S. as well. Prince's Courts outside DC, one that I know of in Detroit, and probably at the NY Racquet Club.

[@cholloway0046]

Lindybeige has a very interesting video on real tennis that I'd recommend.

[@vladimirbikchentay3983]

I know of at least 2 in France: one playable in the Fontainebleau palace in France and also one in Paris. The game is called “Jeu de Paume” in French.

[@add1cted2l3arning]

Love the sound of dudes racquet

[@bookaufman9643]

It seems to be closer to modern jai alai than modern tennis. Especially the idea of gambling on the points which is what made jai alai popular for a little while in places like Miami.

[@joseluiiiis]

Head professional ayoooo

[@stephenrichmond917]

Is this the king of sports, or is it the sport of kings? Either way, long live the king!

[@sammykogen3305]

it’s like tennis with no rules, and so many rules

[@brekkis]

the guys that invented this had to be absolutely blazed out of their minds, i mean, "lets put a picture of george IIV or whoever it was on the wall and if you hit it you get x amount of points" so many insane rules in this, we didnt even hear 1/3 of it i think, and the court design, i mean 😂it looks like an absolute joy to play tho.

[@turbotalbo]

So true kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@McNab1986]

Looks more entertaining than actual tennis

[@stephenrichmond917]

This is actual tennis. The other is lawn tennis, a Johnny come lately.

[@Doomsquad99]

I’m grateful the expert clarified that Charles didn’t build the tennis court himself. I was confused then grateful for the clarification.

[@granthurlburt4062]

There seems to be a recent trend that feels this needs to be explained for some reason. Reminds us, as if we need it, that he had work men do it.

[@simonspoke]

The balcony by the top windows used to have a fuck ton of spiders. And the end of the long corridor where you come in from the security entrance was very very unnerving at night! Don't ask me how know. :P

[@markgillespie3971]

Big spiders? I've watched from up there a couple of times but thankfully never seen one!

[@squashduos1258]

I want to understand the reason for the asymmetric angle of the head?

[@turbotalbo]

In the shape of the hand, because the ball skids through it’s easier to strike in the sweet spot with that shape

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@jinz0]

nice, looks better than normal tennis

[@sethlapham7526]

The tour guide is so happy he plays "real tennis"

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@kylefisher1458]

seems like a mix of lawn tennis & squash, is that correct?

[@davidpeterson5647]

So when I first heard the story of Hanoverian Fred dying from taking a tennis ball to the abdomen, that was me thinking of a modern-day tennis ball. Not the one featured in this video. Ouch.

[@anuragchandra7838]

Lawn tennis originated in badminton. British took back badminton sets from Pune India. After a while the birdies ran out of feathers and only the corks remained. Brits did not know how to make the shuttlecocks so they continued to play with the cork balls. Hence “lawn tennis “. That’s why the lawn tennis court is same as a badminton court , just a bit stretched. Rules for serve , singles vs doubles are the same etc. scoring for “lawn tennis “is adapted from a different game.

[@turbotalbo]

What a fascinating idea … worth a little research

[@anuragchandra7838]

@@turbotalbo Read a book about this in the library, by a British author, sometimes in late 1980’s. Since I play both games , it finally made sense why both courts are the same.

[@turbotalbo]

@@anuragchandra7838 The Wiki entry is remarkably good too - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis

[@Infinitegrowth-zt1mh]

A mix of squash and modern tennis

[@turbotalbo]

Sort of, Lawn Tennis emerged from Tennis (Real Tennis) in 1873 with the expansion of recreation time in Victorian times (moving outside on grass much easier and cheaper) and the advent of rubber for the balls. Squash came from Rackets, fairly similar innovation, rubber agin important and the Squash courts are smaller and cheaper to build.

[@tucoramirez6058]

I've seen open air real tennis courts around.

[@tz1843]

This seems much closer to "Squash" than the modern game of "Tennis" . . . .

[@Halvor80]

This looks like something me and my brother would have made up in our back yard.

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@martinspinosa6035]

padle! In Argentain we name padle to that sport

[@ARTEON26]

In France we call it "Le jeux de paume"

[@PrivChurch]

So this is Tudor-style pinball

[@WorgenGrrl]

Now I can visualize that speech in Henry V better. Act 1 Scene 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHmkcntuhaihg9E

[@jamesporter6288]

I couldn't give any less of a fk about tennis... but this is a good video and I watched it all ;)

[@cyrilthesquirrel9246]

for anyone who knows this these looks absolutely exactly like Basque " Pelotte " courts. Wonder if british influence in Souh West France caused this cause modern pelotte " trinquets " as we call them look exactly like this!

[@educelon]

Exactly! A few years ago I was lucky to visit the Trinquet Saint-André in Bayonne and the court looks exactly the same. By the way, the French call this sport "jeu de paume".

[@cyrilthesquirrel9246]

@@educelon yes that was back in thé day, became quite famous during the révolution haha. Basques call it pelotte 😁😁

[@turbotalbo]

Suspect it could be the other way round, English may have imported from their time in south west France

[@charlesrussell8137]

@@educelon I play real tennis and I've played it also on the Trinquet Saint André in Bayonne, and other places in the Basque region. They don't have all the sloping rooves on a trinquet, but its still playable.

[@roman2374]

Interesting how the racquets are so asymmetrical

[@charlesrussell8137]

Easier to scoop the ball up from the court floor.

[@Eric-rf6te]

Like a nowadays Padel court

[@turbotalbo]

Yup Padel evolved from this game

[@mikeFolco]

Real tennis btw.

[@thlee3]

bobby axe brought me here

[@charlescdt6509]

If squah and lawn tennis had a baby. Interesting that more of these courts arent around (at least here in the US).

[@harkiranonline]

Wonder who all can and how much it costs

[@SoSo-li6dn]

@ 7:55 They play tennis.

[@SoSo-li6dn]

Correction 9:00

[@devin7859]

Search up healthy baller in washington dc they have the exact same logo as u may cause copyright issues

[@A-El-E-Ex]

@10:05

[@jez9999]

I just wanna know where the name "real tennis" came from.

[@turbotalbo]

Fairly simple, seems as a result of evolution of Lawn Tennis in 1870s. Originally the “rubber ball over a net outside” game evolved in 1860s and early 1870s. A guy called Wingfield used an hour glass shape court and named it Sphaeristike. This wasn’t a name that marketing people felt would take off so they “outdoors tennis” players just used Lawn Tennis as a derivation of the word Tennis because there was no patent! Real Tennis as the name then evolved because the Tennis players felt they needed a name to differentiate themselves from the ever popular easier and cheaper game of Lawn Tennis. The original winner of Wimbledon, Gore, thought Lawn Tennis would never take off because it wasn’t as interesting as Cricket, Tennis or racquets

[@Wayne_R]

This looks way more fun than lawn tennis to watch or play

[@thesharklord]

It is! Much more to think about, the game carries a lot of strategy. Technique and experience consistently win over power.

[@Wayne_R]

@@thesharklord it reminds me somewhat of racquetball or wallyball. But the different surfaces and scoring zones almost turns into a thinking game instead of physical

[@thesharklord]

@@Wayne_R Definitely as much thinking as physical--there's another video (other comments referenced it) that goes more into chases but setting and defending chases is a key part of the strategy and informs your choices in the moment.

[@CrowGB]

Feel like this channel was doing really well on its inception, was super informative. Now it seems to be going a bit idk.. commercial?

[@agtom1329]

For me, commercial means easy clicks...anything about Hitler, WW2, Egyptian ruins, shipwrecks and treasure. I've never seen a documentary on Tudor tennis.

[@patriciomora9663]

That is old time paddle…

[@mjribes]

It's a bit like squash

[@turbotalbo]

Not really - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@jefftimmerberg193]

Rules??? Scoring???

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

It was fun but you then you realize you were playing with the king and you didn't get to win even if you were a professional.

[@rachelvalley3907]

justice for jane seymour.

[@Dragonachee]

Am I an idiot or is this "Indoor tennis" god damn "Squash"

[@Marotonella]

And so it evolved into squash.

[@arthuradams9138]

Squash really evolved from another game called rackets (or ‘hard’ rackets as against squash rackets). Rackets and real tennis are to this day related, and the communities who play are connected, but they are definitely separate

[@robthomas3968]

U didn’t tell us the rules or anything

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@Make_Boxing_Great_Again]

At what point does being too polite become deceit?

[@sham421]

Not sure “modern” Royal Family is accurate. More like contemporary Royal Family.

[@TomTom-rh5gk]

Takes forever to get to the point.

[@kjellmagnusson3398]

Its more like Padel than tennis

[@almister]

Looks way harder and more nuanced than padel.

[@queNWS]

okay....so its literally padel the mexican and Spanish sport

[@dannyarcher6370]

I don't like that it's been modernised.

[@wrmorris2]

" at real tennis"......

[@EternamDoov]

Why are the two guys so disingenuous and cringe inducing? Wooden acting where they should just be genuine

[@MrEp5]

the inside looks horrendous

[@jcrisp90]

looks like a dull sport to me sadly

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@nicholaskearney678]

Not tennis nor badminton , boring, like snoring. Britain, be better for all, with the 22 creating fun. Love n laughter, happy ever after.. Zealand love ❤

[@turbotalbo]

Yup, something special! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@johanswede8200]

useless...

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@brucebogtrotter3430]

British tennis is trash for banning Russians from Wimbledon. They should be ashamed

[@oo0024]

Thank god tennis evolved into what it is today lol because this type of tennis is trash 🤣

[@turbotalbo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmK1fGycqqyNnassi=WTWGi0-RXPOmogK8

[@greyFCB]

Guys seems like a good guy but I couldnt help but feel a bit of atittude from him when talking about "lawn tennis" I thought he was #4 in the world in REAL tennis not sum rich bloke fuck around game that no one likes because it was made by rich blokes for other pompus rich blokes

[@k.t.5405]

tennis is actually French, dudes 🙄