Real Tennis is an ancient and wonderful game. Those who play it tend to become addicted to it, but it is not only little known but also complicated. It takes years to master. It does not rely only on speed, strength and athleticism (though all are helpful!), as where you place the ball is very important and it is more like three-dimensional chess. You can maintain and even improve your handicap while you are getting older and less speedy. The game has a handicapping system that is unique, allowing players of very different abilities to play competitively and enjoyably together in a way that is simply not possible in any other racquet sport. It allows players from about eight years old (the equipment is quite heavy) to compete against their grand (or even great) grandparents, as we have many active players in their 80s and, sometimes, even older. The Pros at each club make the solid, heavy balls from scratch and string by hand the wooden, asymmetrical racquets. Medieval craft skills continue to be essential to our game.

Real Tennis is a rare game, with only 50 courts still in play in the world, of which just six are in Australia. Real Tennis is the oldest named ball game (‘Tennis’), the first racquet sport (mid-1500s) and has the first World Championship of ANY sport (1740). The first Real Tennis courts that were built in Ballarat appeared during the Gold Rush, built by enterprising hotels and pubs to provide entertainment for miners and businesspeople. These were the earliest courts in Australia and pre-date the invention of Lawn Tennis. That game is a simplified version of our game that now is so dominant that it is known only as ‘Tennis’, which had been the name of our game for over 800 years in Europe. Its rapid spread and popularity forced the alteration of our sport’s name to Real Tennis’ (that is, the original form of the game).

Real Tennis was played by all levels of society. This is something reflected in the game’s history in Australia, where the name was changed over 20 years ago from ‘Royal Tennis’ to ‘Real Tennis’, bringing it into line with the name internationally. This means that the oldest racquet sport in Australia was ‘Real Tennis’ when it first started in the 1860s on Main Road in Ballarat, probably less than a kilometre from the current court (1984). We are proud to have the Eureka flag as part of our club logo and that we are part of the Goldfields’ heritage story of the city and region.

Ballarat Real Tennis Club is run as a Not-for-Profit entity.