International book international book of favorite sports_FV | Page 127

VII.2 Tennis -predecessors
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 notable as the first person to construct
indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis
outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the
end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces
all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes, Val-de-Marne and following a
particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and
subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy, although there was also
suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis
X is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts
of the game was King Charles V of France, who had a court set up at the Louvre
Palace.
It wasn't until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began
to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez, which can be translated as
"hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his
opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only
played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was
a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis. During the 18th
century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports
emerged in England.
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