Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
Penny Fellows Lumley, is a world real tennis singles and doubles champion and regarded as one of "the greatest female players in the history of tennis."
Claire Faheynée Vigrass is a British real tennis and rackets player and current real tennis Ladies World Champion. She holds over 40 Open singles titles and has completed a calendar year Grand Slam on six occasions. She is the first female player to play in the main draw of three of the four Men's Opens, and the first to female player to reach a semi final stage. She has also challenged for the Rackets World Championships on two occasions and has won five British Open Rackets titles.
John Colin Lumley is a British professional real tennis player currently ranked at number 2 in the world. He unsuccessfully challenged Camden Riviere for the 2023 Real Tennis World Championship at Westwood Country Club in Vienna, Virginia. He currently works as the assistant professional at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia.
Nick Howell is a professional real tennis player based at the Aiken Tennis Club in Aiken, South Carolina. Howell currently ranked number 3 in the world in both singles and doubles and won the French Open in 2023. Howell has challenged for the Real Tennis World Championship on two occasions, playing in the First Round Eliminator in 2020 and the Final Eliminator in 2023.
Lea Van Der Zwalmen is a French rackets and real tennis player and the current rackets World Champion. She is undefeated in rackets since the inaugural Ladies World Championship in 2015. In real tennis, she represents the Jeu de Paume de Bordeaux in Mérignac, Bordeaux and is women's world number 2. She has contested two World Championship singles finals and has won one Open doubles title. She has previously represented France in junior squash and also plays padel tennis.
The 2023 Real Tennis World Championship was a real tennis tournament held at the International Tennis Club of Washington in McLean, Virginia in September 2023. Reigning champion Camden Riviere was challenged by first-time challenger John Lumley. Riviere won his third World Championship title, and his first successful defense, defeating Lumley 7 sets to 3.
Saskia Bollerman is a Dutch real tennis player. She holds two singles and seven doubles Open titles, and has reached the final of the World Doubles Championship on three occasions. She has held the Dutch Women's Champion title between 2016 and 2018 and continuously since 2022, and reached the final of the Dutch Closed Championship on two occasions, losing both times to her brother Paul Bollerman.
The 2023 Real Tennis British Open, branded as the Sir John Ritblat Foundation British Open for sponsorship reasons, was the 44th edition of the British Open since it became an annual event in 1979. The men's event was held at the Queen's Club in London between November 12-21, 2023 and was organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship. The women's event was held at the Seacourt Tennis Club on Hayling Island between March 29 and April 2, 2023. The men's draw was the fourth and final grand slam event of the year.
Tara Lumley is a British real tennis and rackets player and current women's World Doubles Champion. She is currently ranked world number 3 in both singles and doubles at real tennis. She holds 2 Open singles and 7 Open doubles titles. She won the inaugural women's doubles Rackets World Championship with India Deakin, and has challenged for the women's singles Rackets World Championships on three occasions, playing in the eliminator process in each occasion.
The 2023 Ladies Real Tennis World Championships was the 20th edition of the biennial Ladies Real Tennis World Championships, held at The Oratory School in Woodcote, Oxfordshire in April 2023. It was the first time the event was held in the United Kingdom since 2015 as the event follows a rotation through the four tennis-playing countries. The singles event was won by defending champion Claire Fahey, her seventh victory beating the record of six victories previously held by Penny Lumley. Fahey also won the doubles with Tara Lumley, being Fahey's seventh doubles victory, equalling the record held by Penny Lumley. An Under 19 Girls World Championship was organised for the first time, which was won by first seed Cesca Sweet. Ulla Petti became the first Estonian to participate in a Ladies World Championship.
Jo See Tan is an Australian amateur real tennis player. Her best result was winning the 2022 Australian Open Singles championship and the 2023 Australian Open Doubles championship. She has represented Australia at the Bathurst Cup on two occasions, and has won the women's Australian Amateur on three occasions.
The 2022 Ladies Real Tennis World Championships was the 19th edition of the biennial Ladies Real Tennis World Championships, held at the Palace of Fontainebleau in April 2022. It was delayed from its original date in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic It was the first time the event was held in France since 2013 as the event follows a rotation through the four tennis-playing countries. Fontainebleau had previously hosted the men's World Championship in 2008 and the men's World Doubles Championships in 2005. The singles event was won by defending champion Claire Fahey, her sixth victory equalling the record previously held by Penny Lumley. Fahey also won the doubles with her sister Sarah Vigrass. Lea van der Zwalmen made her World Championship debut, reaching the final of the singles draw.
The 2024 Real Tennis World Doubles Championship was the 12th edition of the real tennis World Doubles Championship and was held at the Racquet Club of Chicago from April 24-28th 2024. The event was won by defending champions Tim Chisholm and Camden Riviere representing the United States. It was their fifth consecutive title, with Chisholm equalling Robert Fahey and Steve Virgona with 6 overall titles.
The 2019 Real Tennis British Open was the 41st edition of the British Open since it became an annual event in 1979. The men's event was held at the Queen's Club in London between November 17–26, 2019 and was organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association. It was the final qualifying event for the 2020 Real Tennis World Championship. The women's event was held at the Seacourt Tennis Club on Hayling Island between April 11–14, 2019. The men's draw was the fourth and final grand slam event of the year.
The British Open is a real tennis tournament, with the men's draw held annually at Queen's Club in London, England, and the women's draw held at the Seacourt Tennis Club on Hayling Island. The men's event is a national Open carrying ranking points for the Real Tennis World Championship. The women's event does not carry any ranking points.
The 2024 Real Tennis British Open, branded as the Sir John Ritblat Foundation British Open for sponsorship reasons, will be the 45th edition of the British Open since it became an annual event in 1979. The men's event will be held at the Queen's Club in London between November 12–21, 2024 and is being organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association. It is the last qualifying event for the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship, with John Lumley and Nick Howell already qualified to the Eliminators. The women's event was held at the Seacourt Tennis Club on Hayling Island between April 4–7, 2024. The men's draw was the fourth and final grand slam event of the year. It will be the first time the event has matches scheduled on more than one court.
The 1995 Real Tennis British Open was the 16th edition of the British Open since it became an annual event in 1979. The men's event was held at the Queen's Club in London between November 18-27, 1995 and was organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association. The men's draw was the fourth and final grand slam event of the year. The women's events were organised by the Ladies Real Tennis Association at both Canford School and the Seacourt Tennis Club.
The 1996 Real Tennis British Open was the 17th edition of the British Open since it became an annual event in 1979. The men's event was held at the Queen's Club in London between November 16-26, 1996 and was organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association. The men's draw was the fourth and final grand slam event of the year. The women's events were organised by the Ladies Real Tennis Association at both Canford School and the Seacourt Tennis Club.
Sally Jones 
