The earliest recognisable relative to tennis, as we know it, was "jeu de paume", played in 11th century France. Played in a monastery courtyard, the game used the walls and sloping roofs as part of the court and the palm of the hand to hit the ball. Early tennis balls were often very hard, even wooden, with leather balls coming later. It wasn’t until the 1850s that Charles Goodyear, of Goodyear tyre fame, invented vulcanised rubber and allowed long lasting balls to be manufactured from natural rubber. Previously, natural rubber would only last a matter of days in an outside environment such as a tennis court before perishing.
The tennis we know today is more accurately known as Lawn Tennis. It also takes another form as Court Tennis, where four walls surround the court. Tennis courts started to appear in America during the late 1800s. By the late 19th century, the popularity of lawn tennis had overtaken croquet in England. For this reason, the All England Croquet Club embraced the sport and designated certain croquet lawns to be used for tennis. It was this natural supply of venues combined with the already existing framework for a racquet game that resulted in the birth of the modern game in England.
At this time, croquet courts were a numerous feature in the gardens of the upper and middle classes as well as being found in some public parks. The smooth grass croquet courts proved easily adaptable for the game of tennis. The existence of perfectly good playing surfaces without the need for much in the way of modification or expenditure helped the game to expand rapidly in popularity. The famous All England Lawn Tennis And Croquet Club, better known simply as ‘ Wimbledon ’, was once a croquet club. Tennis soon overtook croquet as the sport of choice there and at one time the word croquet was even removed from the club’s name.
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