12 Real Tennis
Holyport Real Tennis Club, Berkshire
Enjoyment - 90%
Success - 50%
Will try again - Yes
First timer's recommendation – Although viewed as an exclusive sport, membership costs at Holyport are no more than you would pay for a monthly gym membership, and if you are into your racket sports and want to try something different, I would thoroughly recommend it.
Real Tennis is not something you can just wander into the local sports centre and play. There are only a handful of clubs in the country, the oldest being an outdoor court in Falkland Palace, Scotland, and the most famous at Hampton Court Palace. After a couple of requests to play at nearby courts were refused, I was beginning to think it might be a bit too exclusive to put on the list for the year. However, John and Chris at the Holyport Real Tennis Club were more than happy to help, and I booked in for a Monday afternoon at their fantastic court near Maidenhead.
Real Tennis is the original racket sport, and playing it felt something like a combination of squash and tennis. I was given a really good introduction to the rules and the complex scoring system, and was told that the technique was not about power, but placement in the court, as the enclosed playing area means that at a good standard, outright winners are rare. Without trying to explain the rules here, I will only say that there are serving and receiving ends, and there are targets at both ends, which, if hit, win you the point immediately. The rackets are asymmetrical, with the shape based on palm of a hand, and they are designed like this to enable players to get the racket as close to the ground as possible, as the ball does not bounce as high as a tennis ball.
Real Tennis is the original racket sport, and playing it felt something like a combination of squash and tennis. I was given a really good introduction to the rules and the complex scoring system, and was told that the technique was not about power, but placement in the court, as the enclosed playing area means that at a good standard, outright winners are rare. Without trying to explain the rules here, I will only say that there are serving and receiving ends, and there are targets at both ends, which, if hit, win you the point immediately. The rackets are asymmetrical, with the shape based on palm of a hand, and they are designed like this to enable players to get the racket as close to the ground as possible, as the ball does not bounce as high as a tennis ball.
Outside of the UK, Real Tennis is played in France, the USA and Australia, (the same countries where lawn tennis has its Grand Slams), with the last World Championship being held in Melbourne in 2014. The leading player in the world, Rob Fahey, an Australian, is 47 years old, and has been the World Champion since 1994. There can’t be many sports where you can stay at the top level into your late forties, and after playing for an hour, I could appreciate in a small way the hard work and dedication it would take to maintain that standard.
This was definitely my favourite sport to date, not just because of the novelty factor and the history behind it, but also because it is one I would definitely like to play again in the future, albeit with a few lessons first.