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Tennis is an ancient sport which has undergone many refinements over the centuries. The sport became particularly popular in France between the 16th and 18th centuries where it was adopted by royalty. However, historians believe its origins began in the 12th century as a game without racquets in France, where it was originally known as the jeu de paume (‘game of the palm’). Racquets were introduced in the 16th century. Games would start to shouts of ‘Tenez!’ (French for ‘play!’) and the game soon became known as royal/real tennis.

In the mid-1800s a pair of friends named Harry Gem and Augurio Perera in Birmingham began combing elements of the game of racquets – which is similar to squash – and a Spanish ball game called Pelota. A few years later, it was another Englishman Major Walter Clopton Wingfield who, in December 1873, patented a similar version of the game that we know today, borrowing the name and much of the terminology from the French sport. The first Wimbledon Championships were held in London in 1877, starting out as a British Championships and eventually becoming an international event. 

Tennis was played at the inaugural summer Olympics of 1896 but withdrew from the Games in 1924, and would not return until 1988. 

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The women’s singles lawn tennis final at the 1908 Olympics
Wikimedia Commons)