Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original
racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis (usually simply called
tennis) is derived. It is also known as
court tennis in the United States, formerly
royal tennis in
England and
Australia, and
courte-paume in
France (a reference to the older, racquetless game of
jeu de paume, the ancestor of modern handball and racquet games; many French real tennis courts are at
jeu de paume clubs).