Real Tennis - The Real Info

This document was developed as a media brief to promote the Hobart Real Tennis Club of which I am an active member. However, it also contains a great deal of useful information about the game, the rules, the history of the Club and new developments in the sport.

It is hoped that the real tennis community finds this work to be of general interest and that new players find it helpful as a handy reference. In researching the media brief, resources contained on the websites of other Clubs and associations were used and have been acknowledged as appropriate throughout.

Anyone wishing to contribute further information or to provide feedback on its contents, is welcome to do so via email to me at cora_t@bigpond.net.au.

Table of Contents

History of the Sport ^[1]

“To see Good Tennis!
What diviner joy Can fill our leisure, or our minds employ?
Let other people play at other things;
The King of Games is still the Game of Kings”^[2]

The origins of tennis are obscure but the game dates back to at least 1322 when there are references to the playing of ‘chases’. In 1415, the scoring in fifteens is described. The scoring of forty and not forty-five is often confusing and is due to the modern use of ‘forty’ as an abbreviation for forty-five. The score was called as forty-five as late as 1800 in tennis and several games still use the older score.

Scoring in fifteens and playing chases are such unusual and singular methods of scoring that it seems reasonable to assume that all games sharing these features have a common origin. There are about two-dozen games across Western Europe that score in this way and are played to similar rules. Several of these games are played in the open air in locations as widely separated as the north of Holland, Picardy and the Canary Islands, while similar games are played in the streets of Catalonia and the hill towns of Tuscany. All these games are played with the bare or gloved hand, which is why the French term for the game is jeu de paume (of the hand). The English word ‘tennis’ is the Anglo-Norman equivalent of tenez, being a warning by the server, which translates as ‘take-it’.

In many of these games, the hand is replaced by an implement to throw the ball a greater distance and to protect the hands of the players from the damage inflicted by striking the ball. Hence the use of wooden battoirs in Longue Paume, a timbrel similar to a tambourine in Tamburello, the wooden cylinder around the forearm in Pallone, the basket work chistera in pelota and the racket for tennis. These implements make the games appear very different, but this is superficial – the rules and the scoring remain the same.

The greatest changes that has influenced tennis was the move from an open area to an enclosed court, a move probably induced by the filthy state of the streets in the Middle Ages and the desire of the nobility for some privacy. This was put into a nutshell by John Stow, the Tudor historian, who wrote that: “The ball is much used by the nobility and gentry in their tennis courts and by the people of meaner sort in the fields and streets.”

The earliest records of tennis courts are those in Valencia, built in 1298 for the gentlemen of the court and that built in 1316 in the Chateau Nesle in Paris and later used by Benvenuto Cellini. The court in Fenchurch Street in London is first mentioned in 1461 and is of particular interest because the archives of the Ironmongers’ Company contain extensive records of the sale of tennis balls, while the court, which stood next to their Hall, belonged to the Clothworkers’ Company and their archives contain a measured plan of the site. In 1555, Antonio Scaino, secretary to the Duke of Ferrara, published his great treatise on tennis, from which it can be seen that the game played at that time was very similar to the game played today.

The 16^th and 17^th centuries were a golden age for Real Tennis; the nobility throughout England and France played it extensively. There were apparently as many as 1800 courts in Paris during the game's heyday, although many of these were probably quite rough structures. It is even recorded that a court was built on a 2,000-ton French ship in the 16th century. The court at Versailles was built in 1686 at the then huge cost of 45,403 Francs. By the 1700's the game had began to decline. Almost 100 years later, the declaration recognised as the start of the French Revolution, The ‘Serment du Jeu de Paulme’ (oath of the Real Tennis court) was signed in the Real Tennis court at Versailles on the 20^th June 1789. The court at Versailles is now a museum. Eleven months earlier, on 21^st July 1788, in Vizille castle’s “real tennis” room, the assembly of the three orders of the Dauphiné held the meeting that gave birth to the revolutionary process. It contains today the museum of the French Revolution. Ironically, by 1800, partly due to the Revolution, the game in France was practically non-existent.^[3]

In England, in the Tudor and Stuart periods, tennis flourished. Henry VII loved the game and his successor Henry VIII was an accomplished player and had the original court at Hampton Court Palace built. Sadly he was an addicted gambler and many of his financial problems were due to his massive wagers on the Real Tennis court. James I lost his life due to Real Tennis; he tried to evade his assassins by hiding down drains and Real Tennis balls blocked his path! Charles I and Charles II both enjoyed the game and tennis thrived during this period, apart from some awkwardness between their reigns. Like France, the 18th century saw a decline in the game of Real Tennis, although some courts were built in this period. An example of this was the court built in Bath in 1777. Sadly this court was used for only 37 years, but the building still survives as the Bath Industrial Heritage Centre.^[4]

These oldest of the London courts have now disappeared, but the building of new courts at several Victorian mansions and the appearance of new clubs and courts such as those at Leamington and Manchester counterbalanced this loss during the mid to late nineteenth century.^[5]

Major Walter Clopton Wingfield who was a personal friend of the Prince of Wales patented lawn tennis as ‘Spairistrike’ in February 1874. Before its development, there was only the older form of the game but, with the increasing popularity of the new sport, it became necessary to distinguish the old from the new. For this reason, the older game became known as Real Tennis in England, Royal Tennis in Scotland and Australia and Court Tennis in the United States. The French still use the term Jeu de Paume for the older game, and there are courts in Paris, Bordeaux and Fontainebleau.

The game suffered a severe decline as a result of the social loss and upheaval during WWI but is now undergoing a revival with old courts being taken back into use, such as those at Newmarket and Bridport and new courts being constructed such as those at the Oratory School in the UK, the Harbour Club and Washington in the US and in Australia, Sydney, Ballarat and Romsey.

Famous Places where Real Tennis is played

• The Queens Club
• Lords (the home of cricket)
• Hampton Court Palace (Henry VIII's Court built in 1530)
• The Newport Club, which is also the site of the ‘International Tennis Hall of Fame’ adjacent to the famous lawn tennis museum
• Falkland Palace in Scotland (built circa 1510)

The History of the Hobart Real Tennis Club

Foundation in 1875

Samuel Smith Travers, who was originally an English merchant, built the court. His love for the game was kindled at Oxford. He migrated and set up business and residence in Hobart. After a year of no tennis, he realized he ‘missed his daily sweat’.

His house still stands on Davey Street in Hobart next to the court. It is the former Trades Hall building, which now forms part of the Commonwealth Law Courts Complex. Smith Travers therefore effectively built the court in his backyard in 1875. This is a fact of some significance.

The timing of its construction makes the Hobart court the first tennis court of any description to exist in any of the British colonies and the southern hemisphere. In 1875, lawn tennis hadn’t even been formally invented (this derivation of the original game came in 1876).

Having built his home court, Smith Travers needed someone to play. He hired an English professional, Thomas Stone, as his personal coach who arrived in Hobart in 1876.

Forming the Club

Smith Travers’ business interests suffered as a result of drought and other ill fortune and he was forced to sell up in the late 1880’s. His great and enduring legacy to the people of Hobart was gifting the court to a group of his friends who founded an Association to administer the Club.

Prominent early players included Chief Justice Sir Lambert Dobson and the famous cricketer WG Grace who visited the club.

Twentieth Century Highlights

In the 1920’s, a Hobart tennis professional was engaged by the Royal Tennis Club in Melbourne which had been formed in 1882. Hobart members viewed this as ‘poaching’ of their professional and the act created a 40 year ‘cold war’ whereby gentlemen from the only two clubs in Australia wouldn’t speak to each other.

In 1965, Hobart played the first match against Melbourne that was initiated in no small part by Hobart’s Andrew Kemp. The trophy was named the Percy Finch after a great stalwart of the game and it remains one of the most hotly contested annual events on the Australian tennis calendar.

In 1968, the Club first admitted women. ABC TV news interviewed Andrew Kemp at the time who explained: “Women could come in during the day between loads of washing”. This move was the beginning of the end of the Club’s ‘Gentlemen Only’ era and has enabled Hobart to achieve a more interesting, diverse and stimulating mix of members that most other clubs in the sport worldwide.

The Club hosted its first international tournament in 1974. This vastly expanded the Club’s horizons, as it suddenly became part of the ‘real tennis’ community worldwide. The Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Aberdare who is also perhaps the sport’s most noted historian, attended the event along with players from the US, the UK, Australia and France.

The first real tennis World Championship was held in 1740, making it the sporting world’s oldest continuous world championship event. Hobart hosted the World Championship in 1994, which was the first time the event came to Australia. The tremendous success of the event itself was capped off by the fact it was won by Tasmanian, Robert Fahey, who has successfully defended the title and continues to hold it in 2003.

Other 20^th Century events of note include Scott of the Antarctic playing at the club immediately prior to the departure of his ill-fated expedition. The Prince of Wales also played at the Club in the early 1920’s on the occasion of his Royal tour of Australia.

The Twenty First Century

Although it is yet young, the twenty-first century has already ushered in a number of significant milestones for the Club in Hobart.

2001 saw the election of Mary McArthur as the Club’s first woman President. It is also believed that she is the first elected woman President of any real tennis club in the world. 2001 also saw the culmination of years of planning to extend and improve the Club’s historic Davey Street premises.

In 2002, our Club Professional Brad Dale and his Assistant Tony Blom scored themselves a place in the Guinness Book of Records by beating the world record for the longest real tennis match, playing on court for forty hours straight. In 2003, Hobart will host the World Doubles Championship from 29 August to 2 September.

Six Generations of Membership: The Butler Family

The Butler family was related by marriage to Samuel Smith Travers and their close association with the Club has continued ever since. In each of the six generations, there have been Butlers as Club Presidents, Champions or Patrons. The Club’s trophy room was formally reopened and renamed in 2002 in honour of the family and to mark the passing of Chris ‘Kekab’ Butler in November 2000.

The Rules and the Game

Overview and Useful Links

“His present, and your pains, we thank you for:
When we have match'd our rackets to these balls,
We will, in France, by God's grace play a set,
Shall strike his father's crown into the Hazard:
Tell him, he made a match with such a wrangler,
That all the Courts of France will be disturb'd with chases.”^[6]

It will also be helpful in reading this rules summary to view Real Tennis Online’s Virtual Court at http://www.real-tennis.com/downloads/rt_court1.html.

There is also a good court diagram to be found on the bottom of the page at www.realtennis.gbrit.com/history.htm.

The rules of tennis^[7] have not changed for centuries. Stripped of its special rules for serving and chases, the game is simple to understand. Each player strives to get the ball over the net and in doing so may use any wall - as in squash. The scoring is the same as in lawn tennis (15, 30, 40, deuce, advantage), except that the score of the winner of the last point, and not that of the server, is called first.

The first player to win 6 games wins a set. So, if the score is five games all, there is a final deciding game. At the conclusion of each game, the winner of that game has his or her score called first. As in lawn tennis, singles or doubles can be played. The length of a Real Tennis Court is approximately one and a half times the length of a lawn tennis court: its width a fraction more than the width of a doubles Lawn Tennis Court. Halfway between the two ends a net stretches from side to side of the court. In the centre the height of the net is the same as a Lawn Tennis net. At either end the net is higher, in fact, five feet.

The origins of tennis being French, various features of a tennis court are still known by their original French names. Thus the long opening at the end of the service side of the court (behind which spectators can sit and watch a game) is known as the Dedans. At the opposite end of the court the buttress projecting from the wall is known as the tambour and the wooden opening near it is called the grille.

More information follows about the game of tennis, the skills required and the equipment that is used:

Service and Chases

A game is begun by a service, which is always from the same end of the court (the service side). The opposite end of the court where the receiver stands is called the hazard side. The service does not alternate with each game as in lawn tennis. The server changes ends and ceases to serve only when a chase has been laid. The meaning of a chase will be explained below. To be a good service, the ball has to touch the penthouse roof at least once on the hazard side of the net and drop in the service court. If it does not touch the penthouse roof or if it hits a window or the roof it will be a fault.

A chase is laid where the ball bounces the second time without being hit by the player. On the service side, a chase is laid wherever the ball bounces a second time. On the hazard side, a hazard chase is laid if the ball bounces the second time between the net and the line parallel to it furthest from the net. If it lands a second time between that line and the back wall, it is a point for the server.

The galleries on either side of the net also count as chases, with the exception, on the hazard side, of the winning gallery. If the ball enters the winning gallery, it is a point for the server. Other winning openings, which provide outright winners, are the dedans on the service side and the grille on the hazard side

If a chase is laid, the point is not won by that shot. The point is kept in abeyance until the player changes ends. When the players change end, the receiver (who was previously the server) has to beat the chase. The players change ends if two chases have been laid or if one player reaches game point and there is one chase. If it is a hazard chase, the receiver will beat the chase by playing any shot, which the server cannot return, either on the floor or by hitting one of the galleries on the service side. If it is a service chase, the receiver will beat the chase by the second bounce landing nearer the back wall than the chase. To assist in determining where precisely a ball bounces the second time, lines are marked on the floor at intervals of one yard. The figures above the lines on the opposite wall show the number of yards measured, on the service side, from the back wall and, on the hazard side, from the service line. The nearer a chase on the service side is to the back wall, the more difficult it is to beat.

When the players change ends, the first point to be played is the chase. The marker will call out the chase, which the receiver hopes to beat. If the chase is exactly on a yard line, the marker will call out the number of yards, e.g. “chase 2 and 3” means two and a half yards from the back wall. If the chase falls between a yard and a half-yard line, the marker will call out ‘better than’ or ‘worse than’ the yard line, depending on whether the ball fell nearer the back wall, or further from the back wall, than the yard line. If the ball went into a gallery, the marker calls out the name of that gallery, e.g. the Last Gallery. Each gallery has a line on the floor opposite to the centre of the gallery. If the chase is laid on the floor between galleries, the marker calls out ‘better / worse than’ say, the Second Gallery.

The Skill of Tennis

It can be said with some justification that tennis is the most difficult of all ball games to play. A correspondent of The Times newspaper described it as ‘running, jumping and hitting chess’. The reason is that since the ball is solid, it can be hit hard and fast and can be spun in all directions. Furthermore the angle of wall and floor and the peculiar hazard of the tambour (which diverts the ball across the court) makes an inexperienced player very uncertain in which direction a ball will travel. Finally the racket head is small and to hit the ball in the middle of the racket is at all times extremely difficult.

To spectators it may seem easy to hit the ball. To players it often seems unbelievably difficult. If the ball is undercut, then, when it strikes the wall at the other end of the court it will drop sharply downwards, making it difficult to return. For this reason good players cut the ball and do not, as in lawn tennis, topspin the ball which causes it to bounce high off the back wall and presents an easy shot to the opponent. The winning openings provide both players with ever-present opportunities of winning points; and the tambour is tactically very important since a ball hitting it will change direction abruptly through about 90°.

Markers

Balls and Rackets

The tennis ball is solid. The balls are hand made by a process that has changed little since the 15^th century and hardly at all since the 18^th century. A full or Royal et of balls is nine dozen. Each ball contains a core wrapped around with some thirteen yards of webbing in half-inch widths. The webbing having been wetted is tightly wound like wool into a ball and is then moulded on a special bench into a spherical shape. When moulded, the ball is then tied with twine, again on an attachment fitted to the special bench, the process being repeated three times before a ball tightly bound with only triangles of webbing showing through the binding is ready for covering. The covering is made of wool cloth which is hand sewn on to the core with thin thread. In view of the heavy use to which most balls are put, each ball will have to be re-covered about once a fortnight. The core, however, only wears out after many years. It used to be said that the uniform of French prisoners-of-war imprisoned in England during the Napoleonic wars 1799-1815 was used with great success in making the balls for the Royal Tennis Court.

A whole set of tennis balls should be made by the same person to achieve consistency of weight and bounce.

For a fabulous anecdote on the history of making balls at the Hobart Club, a visit to a speech entitled ‘The Club with No Balls’ at www.hobarttennis.com.au/ is highly recommended.

The shape of a tennis racket has changed little over the last century. It seems heavy and cumbrous. However, this is necessary since the balls are solid and heavy. A light framed racket would be quickly broken by the weight of the balls. The curious shape of the head of the racket is designed to help the player to cut the ball by having a large area of strings across which a ball can sweep diagonally.

Usually the racket is held halfway up the handle so as to balance the weight of the head against the handle. This means that the player has to move more rapidly to get near enough to the ball to hit it. Tennis rackets are usually made from hickory or ash. Heavy sheep gut is commonly used for the strings of a racket. It is interesting to note that, before the invention of a new method of stringing a tennis racket in 1856, the old way of stringing consisted of looping the side strings round the main strings. This produced a rough and smooth effect in the strings and hence came the practice of calling ‘rough’ or ‘smooth’ to win the toss at the beginning of a lawn tennis match.

Handicapping in practice

A unique feature of the game is its handicapping system, which makes it possible for anyone to play competitively against anyone else, despite differing abilities. The handicapping system is worldwide and online (see www.realtennisonline.com). There is a wide range of handicaps from the typical handicap of an inexperienced player, say around 85, to that of the world champion, which is plus 11.

This numbering system means that players of differing ability do not start a match at love-all, as is the case in lawn tennis.

Here’s how it works in practice:

If the author of this document, Cora Trevarthen, who plays off 53, were to play Club President Mary McArthur who plays off 48 (a difference of five), the starting score would be as follows:

• Mary owes half fifteen (i.e. starts the 1st 3rd 5th games etc. fifteen points down at owe 15 or minus 15 and in these games, Mary needs to win a point to get to love).
• Cora would receive half fifteen (i.e. She starts the 2nd, 4th, 6th game etc. fifteen points up and in these games only needs to win three points to win the game).
• The starting scores would be owe 15 love in the 1st, 3rd games and the 2nd 4th etc. games would start at love-fifteen.

• Cora receives 30 points every game.
• Alistair owes 40 (i.e. minus 40) every game. He therefore needs to win three points just to get to love! He is allowed only 1 serve, is banned from hitting the tambour and his playing area is reduced to inside chase 3&4!!! (i.e. only a small area of the court!)
• Effectively Cora only needs to win two points to win a game whilst Alistair must win seven points without any balls falling short, serving a fault or allowing any returns to hit the tambour.
• To win under these circumstances would require Alistair's absolute concentration despite the fact he is by far the better of the two players.

The results of each player's pennant, tournament and social matches are recorded and entered into the game’s worldwide Internet handicapping system, Real Tennis Online, and handicap adjustments are made progressively to reflect the results. Club professionals may also, when warranted, make manual adjustments to account for dramatic shifts in ability.

In another unique twist, some of the top players not only have handicaps for playing with their usual hand but also are also handicapped for playing with their other hand. This means that a usually right-handed player may also hold a handicap for play with their left hand. For example, when Alistair Curley plays left handed his handicap is 12 and when playing right handed it is 26.

Real Tennis in the Modern World

International Overview

The sport is played in four countries: the UK, the US, Australia and France. There are currently around 6,000 active players in the world. There are approximately forty-five courts in regular use worldwide of which six are in Australia. The bulk of the remaining courts are in the UK. The game has enjoyed resurgence over the past twenty years, particularly in Australia and the UK, who, unsurprisingly field many of the world’s best players.

Most courts in the world are thriving and employ full time professionals of which there are some 70 to 80 worldwide. This has led to the establishment of an international Professional Circuit. There are a wide variety of tournaments played throughout the world; not only for top players, but also for juniors, women and veterans. Prize money and sponsorship support are on the increase and are quite substantial in the UK.

Today real tennis is most definitely a sport that not only appeals to ‘old rich blokes’ but also is played equally by young people, women and people from all walks of life and ages.

Real Tennis as a Career

There is now a Real Tennis Academy, which was recently established at a University in the UK Australian training courses are now fully accredited and provide nationally recognised sporting and fitness qualifications.

Pros now have the opportunity to work in the four countries where tennis is played and Hobart has a history of supplying talented young players and professionals for stints at interstate and overseas clubs. Whilst they must be proficient in the game, they don’t necessarily have to be on the top rung of players as they also make balls, string rackets, organise club, business and tennis activities as well as coach new and more experienced players.

What it Takes ...

What it takes to be a great player

A great player requires enormous power and spectacular athleticism. It requires a balance of skills, strategy and a stable match temperament.

Many years of match practice go into developing one’s shots, mastering all of the different spins that can be applied to the ball and the guile and strategy that it takes to become a champion.

Overview of Rob Fahey's achievements

The Hobart Real Tennis Club is proud to have produced the greatest real tennis player of all time, Robert Fahey. Since first winning the world title in 1994, Rob, or ‘Bag’ as he is affectionately known, has won all of the major real tennis titles including the first ‘double grand slam’ in the sport’s history (ie winning the French, British, Australian and US Opens in the same year). He currently works as the senior professional at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club.

In 2002, Bag was declared Tasmania’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Who else at Hobart has got what it takes?

Hobart’s two best amateur players are Kieran Booth and Pete Boyles. Hobart Club Professional Brad Dale currently holds the lowest handicap in the Club.

Our best woman players are well known pharmacist, Julianne Drewitt, and former Australian hockey player and Hobart barrister and solicitor Barbie Baker, both of whom will compete in April this year in the World Women’s Titles in Melbourne.

The Life Of The Club - Dispelling The 'Establishment' Myth

Why play real tennis ^[8]?

• It combines elements of lawn tennis, squash and backgammon into one game
• The handicapping system allows players of varied ability, age and experience to compete on equal terms
• As well as providing a physical and intellectual challenge, Real Tennis offers excellent social benefits; fellow enthusiasts provide a welcoming and inclusive community, both locally and worldwide

One misconception is cost, but Real Tennis is not an expensive game in Hobart. To join our club and play regularly costs no more than lawn tennis, golf or a variety of other sports.

Another misconception is that you have to be a man. In the 15^th century, Margot of Henault was recorded as playing a fearsome game. Today the majority of fixtures (pennant) have ladies in the team, more often than not providing the competitive edge. Male and female players regularly compete with each other in a variety of competitions. In fact, real tennis is one of the few sports where women compete in most events on an equal footing with men.

The top players are exceptional athletes but real tennis can also be played by those who are particularly fit - foresight, cunning and strategy play as important a part as physical strength; and because of the rules of the Chase, you can let an opponent's return bounce twice on the floor without necessarily losing the point - a unique feature of Real Tennis!

Indeed, one of the beauties of the game is its versatility. There are many who continue to derive enormous pleasure, playing into their 70s and even 80s, confounding the fastest of young opponents by clever pacing, touch and tactics. The game's terminology even proves the point, a rally being correctly called a ‘rest’.

The truth is that men and women of all ages and standards enjoy tennis - their common denominator being the love of a game that becomes more fascinating every time they play.

The Club Atmosphere

Hobart is regarded as one of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of the real tennis world.

In “Melbourne to Myopia: Reflections on my visits to the Real Tennis Courts of the 20^th Century”, George Limb encapsulates the terrific atmosphere to be found at the Hobart Club. He indicates that the dedans (gallery) noise level is the loudest in the world and his reflections of his social and playing experiences with the Hobart Club and its members, shows why all real tennis aficionados have Hobart on their ‘must visit’ lists.

The joviality of our club extends through all facets of club life.

All pennant players are required to provide dinner for members of both teams at least once during a pennant roster. Meals are prepared and served in our club kitchen and dining area. These dinners can continue, on occasion, into the wee small hours. Some spouses have also been known to have cause to resort to the imposition of a ‘curfew’ for our members’ own good.

And, visiting interstate and international teams are not exempt from premeditated high jinks. The author, on a recent visit to the Sydney Club, was highly amused to learn of the tactics of her fellow club members during that Club’s very first visit to Hobart. Our visitors were taken ‘out on the town’ for some liquid R&R until just prior to daybreak. Unbeknownst to them, the match playing order the following day had been strictly rostered and our ‘tired and emotional’ guests were unsurprisingly thrashed on court. Funnily enough, they still queue to visit us for tennis and a good time that is not to be found elsewhere in the game.

Hobart Club Traditions and Activities

Off the court activities at Hobart are often as exciting as anything that happens on court.

The Club hosts a wide variety of social functions ranging from formal annual dinners, gourmet nights with the finest foods and wines catered for by talented members to BBQ’s, quiz nights and fundraising auctions.

Many Hobart members billet guests from overseas and interstate teams who travel to Tasmania to play at our club. In turn, many of our members communicate with families and friends they met whilst playing all over the world. On average, an interstate or international team would visit our club at least once every two months and we would field teams to other venues with similar frequency.

Some of the more unusual Hobart Club traditions include:

• The Rafter Run. This has nothing to do with Pat Rafter. The goal is to run across the rafters in the trophy room, from one end to the other, as quickly as possible. Our club pro Brad Dale is the world record holder (approx 8 secs). Note that this game is officially banned for health and safety reasons (and not to mention the issues of public liability insurance!!!).

• The Penthouse Run. The object is to run along the penthouse above the court from the main wall side above the grille all the way round to touch the main wall on the dedans side. Fast times rely on 'cutting' corners! The world record stands at 6.83 secs, by Rob Fahey in 1988 (a second title to his name!) - a fantastic time...

• Playing the Cake. It was once speculated about the handicap of a corpse against some of our very weakest players (if the corpse was not forced to serve)! Due to difficulty in procuring a regular supply of corpses, the corpse became a cake! The cake proudly sits, on its plate, at the hazard end, with racket beside it against the back wall, awaiting the serves.
  
  The cake always receives 30 and its opponents are restricted to round serves (i.e. must come off the back penthouse). This is quite hard!
  
  If you can hit the cake off a legal serve, you win! Otherwise, it is very tough.
  
  Of course, the top players also have chase restrictions. As an example, former world champ Chris Ronaldson was restricted to chase 2, i.e. he had to stand behind chase 2 and serve his round serves - much harder again! He lost!
  
  The cake is awesome! And we once had a cake tournament where everyone brought their own cakes ... we have pics in one of the albums!
  

• Long Fives. Hobart is registered as the international HQ of Long 5’s - a derivation of the sport played to different rules on the same court. Hobart hosts the World Long 5’s championships each Xmas/New Year holiday season.

Club Management

A voluntary committee of ten members headed up by our Club President Mary McArthur manages the Club.

There are also a range of subcommittees dealing with all facets of club management including tennis, finance, fundraising, house and heritage issues, membership, PR, newsletters, Internet site maintenance and social activities.

A basic tenant of the Club’s management style is to foster the development of tennis at the Club by ensuring fees remain accessible to members of the community from all walks of life.

With approximately 250 members, the Hobart Club Committee oversees one of the most active clubs in the world for a city of Hobart’s size. All new members are mentored; there are a range of membership benefits including the world’s first ‘frequent player’ scheme and a junior development program.

Development Appeal

The Club has recently been significantly enhanced by the most major renovation and building project in its history. The Club now has a new foyer, pro-shop and work area, ladies change room, downstairs toilet facilities, balcony and BBQ area, reception desk and a vastly improved trophy and Club room.

A Development Appeal committee managed the redevelopment and architect, Tim Hurburgh, a former club member, oversaw the works, which were designed to mirror the Haymarket court in London. The quality of workmanship and its best practice approach to heritage management has been applauded in a major feature in leading architectural magazine, “Monument”. Much of the funding for this innovative $350K - development was raised by Club members and ‘fans of Hobart’ all around the world, many of whom have purchased ‘Lifetime Associate Memberships’ to assist the appeal fund.

Keeping An Eye On The Future

Junior Development

Hobart has many promising younger players; including many with no previous connections to the sport.

Australia’s last Clothier Cup (national under 26) team victoriously visited the USA last year. The fact that five out of six of them came from our Club seems to bode well for our competitive future.

University Tennis

There is a University of Tasmania Real Tennis Society, which is registered on campus and plays throughout term time at the Club on Sunday afternoons. Many University Society members go on to join the Club proper and get involved in pennant and social activities. A new membership scheme has just been adopted whereby University Society members are granted full associate memberships for a twelve-month period and are able to join in Club pennants throughout the year.

Hobart’s University members also compete in the national intervarsity competition, which involves young members from the universities of Tasmania, Melbourne, Monash, Deakin, Sydney and Macquarie. The University of Tasmania Real Tennis team won the second Australian Intervarsity Competition last year against an enthusiastic team from Macquarie University.

The Australian Real Tennis Association is making representation to Australian University Sports for real tennis to receive Australian University Sports Status.

Women's Tennis

One of the great things about Hobart Club is that the Club has been getting the gender balance right for some time. All male teams in our pennants are practically a thing of the past and some teams even have a majority of competitive women members. It is anticipated that Hobart will be fielding all women pennant teams in the near future.

It is clear that the presence and pocket books of women have breathed new life into the game and not just in Hobart. There remain a very few ‘all male’ preserves in the real tennis world of which the New York Racquet Club, Leamington Spa and Lords are the most notable.

Hobart produced Australia’s only Women’s World Champion, Judith Clarke after whom the trophy for the annual tournament between Hobart and Melbourne women is named. In 2002, Hobart retained the Judith Clarke after a five-year absence from our trophy cabinet.

Real Tennis on the World Wide Web

Hobart member David Gadsby maintains a comprehensive website for the Club at www.hobarttennis.com.au.

Our site is one of the top ten hit wise in the tennis category in the Asia Pacific region.

Perhaps what is more impressive from an information systems management perspective however is the creation of Real Tennis Online at www.realtennisonline.com.

Our relatively small sport has effectively used online technology to integrate all clubs and players throughout the world to maintain handicaps and to broadcast major events. For example, real tennis fans recently tuned into the world championship which was broadcast point by point from Hampton Court Palace in London.

[1] Extracted from “The Origins of Real Tennis’ by Roger Morgan

[2] From Parker’s Piece by J.K Stephen

[3] From ‘The Early History of Real Tennis” at www.real-tennis.com/history/main.html

[4] Ibid

[5] Op Cit. Morgan,R.

[6] King Henry V by Shakespeare

[7] Acknowledgement: Hampton Court Palace Web Site at www.realtennis.gbrit.com/index.htm

[8] Acknowledgement. Bristol and Bath Tennis Club Website at www.bbtennis.org.uk