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 Grand Slam on five 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.
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.
The 2023 French Open also known as the 2023 Open de France du Jeu de Paume was the 41st edition of the real tennis French Open. The event was held at the Société Sportive du Jeu de Paume & de Racquets in Paris between September 24 and October 1, 2023, and was organised by the Comité Français de Courte-Paume, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship. The event was held days after the 2023 Real Tennis World Championship meaning that world top 2 Camden Riviere and John Lumley were not in attendance. The men's draw was the third grand slam event of the year.
The 2022 Real Tennis British Open, branded as the Sir John Ritblat Foundation British Open for sponsorship reasons, was the 43rd 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 13–22, 2022 and was organised by the Tennis and Rackets Association. It was the final qualifying event for the 2023 Real Tennis World Championship. The women's event was held at the Seacourt Tennis Club on Hayling Island between April 6–10, 2022. 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 Court Tennis US Open was the 73rd edition of the US Open. The men's event was held at the Tennis and Racquet Club in Boston, Massachusetts between February 23-March 2, 2023 and was organised by the United States Court Tennis Association, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship. The women's event was held at the International Tennis Club of Washington at Westwood Country Club in McLean, Virginia between May 19-23 2024. The men's draw was the second grand slam event of the year.
Chris Chapman is an Australian professional real tennis player formerly ranked world number 3 and currently based at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club. Chapman challenged for the Real Tennis World Championship on three occasions, reaching the Final Eliminator in 2020. Over his career, he won three Open singles titles, two at the Australian Open and one at the French Open. He also holds three four Open doubles titles. In 2023 during the British Open he announced his retirement from international competitions, although he still competes in Australian competitions.
The 2022 French Open also known as the 2022 Open de France du Jeu de Paume was the 40th edition of the real tennis French Open. The event was held at the Société Sportive du Jeu de Paume & de Racquets in Paris between September 22 and October 2, 2022, and was organised by the Comité Français de Courte-Paume, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2023 Real Tennis World Championship. It was the first edition of the event since 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 events being cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandmeic. The men's draw was the third grand slam event of the year.
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 2019 French Open also known as the 2019 Open de France du Jeu de Paume was the 39th edition of the real tennis French Open. The event was held at the Société Sportive du Jeu de Paume & de Racquets in Paris between September 21 and 28, 2019, and was organised by the Comité Français de Courte-Paume, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2022 Real Tennis World Championship. It would be the last edition of the event until 2022, with the 2020 and 2021 events being cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandmeic. The men's draw was the third grand slam event of the year.
The 2018 French Open also known as the 2018 Open de France du Jeu de Paume was the 38th edition of the real tennis French Open. The event was held at the Société Sportive du Jeu de Paume & de Racquets in Paris between September 23 and 30, 2018, and was organised by the Comité Français de Courte-Paume, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2022 Real Tennis World Championship. The men's draw was the third grand slam event of the year.
Claire Fahey 
