Real Tennis - Locations

Locations

There is a total of 47 real tennis courts remaining, and over half of these are in Britain. The newest real tennis court was opened in August 2012 at the Racquet Club of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

Some particularly noteworthy courts in the UK are:

  • The Queen's Club, London: Opened in 1886, is the National headquarters of real tennis and hosts the British Open every year.
  • Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland: The oldest court in the world for real tennis, opened in 1539.
  • Royal Tennis Court, Hampton Court Palace: The oldest surviving real tennis court in England, built on the site of an even older (1528) court in the 1620s, where the game can be watched by the general public during British Summer Time.
  • Jesmond, Newcastle: The court is situated on Matthew Bank near Jesmond Dene park and was built in 1894 for Sir Andrew Noble the then owner of Jesmond Dene House as a private court and is now a listed building.
  • Canford, Dorset: Lord Wimborne, Sir Ivor Guest, opened the court at Canford in 1879 although there had been an earlier court built in the grounds of the manor house dating back to 1541. It is still in use in a building that belongs to Canford School and also now houses four squash courts.

Noteworthy courts in the United States include:

  • The Racquet Club of Philadelphia: Founded in 1889, current location constructed in 1907 by noted architech Horace Trumbauer.
  • The Tennis and Racquet Club, Boston, MA: One of the oldest courts in the US, opened in 1902.
  • The Racquet and Tennis Club, NY: New York City's famously exclusive tennis club contains two real tennis courts built in 1918.
  • Prince's Court, McLean, VA: The newest court in the United States, opened in 1997.
  • National Tennis Club in Newport, RI: Home of Jen Winthrop. Contains one court exclusively referred to as Court Tennis.
  • The Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, NY: Private member-owned country club. Its many sports facilities include court tennis. The court building was constructed between 1890 and 1900.
  • The Aiken Tennis Club: in Aiken, South Carolina founded in 1898 by William C. Whitney political leader, financier and a key figure in the prominent Whitney family. The court building was constructed in 1902.

Other noteworthy courts elsewhere in the World:

  • Lambay Island, Ireland: On the privately owned Lambay Island (approx 5 km off the coast near Dublin, Ireland).

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