Georgian Court University Magazine

at the court
The History
of Court Tennis
The beginnings of court tennis
have been traced to the fertility
rites of the Egyptians and
Persians. Modern court tennis
took shape centuries later as
a pastime of monks and other
ecclesiasts in France.
Also the game of bishops and
priests, court tennis eventually
became the pastime of monarchs
and the royalty surrounding
them. Its popularity spread to
gamblers who placed enormous
wagers, and by 1369, public bets
were so widespread that Charles V
(who built a court in the Louvre
palace) restricted the playing of
the game in Paris.
During the reign of the
Tudors—Henry VII and VIII,
Edward VI, Elizabeth I—tennis
achieved its greatest vogue in
England. (Showtime’s popular
show The Tudors has shown
scenes of Henry VIII playing the
game.) In France, too, the game
flourished in the 1500s and
1600s, and was embraced by
the masses as it spread across
Germany, Spain, Italy, and
Southern Europe.
Beyond being the sport of
choice among rulers and royalty,
the game has a place in history
and literature.
Court tennis was played at
Versailles where, in 1789, the
deputies of the Tiers Etat took
the famous Serment du Jeu de
Paume, or Tennis Court Oath,
vowing never to abandon their
efforts until they had given
France a constitution.
William Shakespeare
mentioned the game in six of
his plays, and literary greats like
Chaucer, Rousseau, Ben Jonson,
and John Locke made mention
of court tennis.
32 | FALL 2009
REAL Tennis Tournament Returns
to Georgian Court
Just off to the side of the Casino
Auditorium is a rare gem—one of less
than 10 remaining court tennis courts in
the United States today. The court, built in
1899 as part of George Jay Gould’s country
estate, was once home to America’s finest-ever
court tennis amateur, George’s son Jay Gould,
who reigned as U.S. Amateur Champion from
1906 through 1926. In May of this year, the
Jay Gould Cup tournament, which started as
a club singles championship series when the
court was renovated and returned to playable
conditions in 1982, returned home for the first
time in nearly two decades.
Court tennis, also known as real tennis
or royal tennis, differs substantially from lawn
tennis, the game familiar to most
people. While players hitting a
ball over a net with a racquet is
similar, and some of the scoring
is familiar too, that’s where the
similarities end. The rules of court
tennis are so complex that many
a world-class lawn tennis player
(Pete Sampras included) have been
baffled by this ancient game.
The 2009 Jay Gould Cup was
the first tournament to be played at
the university since the United States tes
Court Tennis Association (USCTA),
the New Jersey Historical Society, and GCU
partnered to renovate the court in 2004–
2005. The tournament, which had been
played intermittently around the country
since 1990, attracted 22 players, including
Philip and
James Zug
pose after
their exhibition
match that
launched the
tournament.
Liverpool native Philip Shannon, a club pro at
Prince’s Court in McLean, Virginia, runs to return a
ball during an exhibition match. Hitting the grille—
the opening to his left—with the ball scores an
immediate point.
the five members of the Friends of Georgian Court, a committee created to promote play on the
GCU court. Under the guidance of the USCTA, the Friends of Georgian Court seek to revitalize
the GCU court by encouraging its usage, teaching others about the game, and pushing for
intercollegiate and other matches.
“Georgian Court’s court tennis facility is the only U.S. court located on a university campus, which
provides a wonderful opportunity to reach out to students and share the academic nature and historical
aspects of this game that dates back hundreds of years,” says Schuyler Wickes, a member of the Friends
of Georgian Court, who notes that the GCU court is the second-oldest in the country.
While GCU is the only American university to have a court, nearby Princeton University
and the University of Pennsylvania have clubs that play the sport. Outside of the United States,
courts exist in only three other countries—England (where Oxford and Cambridge have courts),
Australia, and France.
“Playing on the GCU court provides a wonderful opportunity to reach out to students and
share the historical aspects of the game,” says Mr. Wickes. “GCU alumna Dunja Dunda ’07 took
court tennis lessons from a couple of our pros and is now honing her game at the famed Queen’s
Club while she studies at the London School of Economics.”
The Friends of Georgian Court are eager to share the court and hope others will take up
the sport. Member James Zug, a USCTA board member and Washington, D.C.-based historian,
says he and his fellow players are “jealous” of GCU students’ proximity to this rare court.
“It’s amazing,” he says. “The women here are so lucky.”