Visitors of Scotland Can Play ‘Real’ Tennis’ on the World’s Oldest Court Dating Back 500 Years

August 9, 2024 journo

Falkland Palace Royal Tennis Court, with the town of Falkland in the background – credit, SWNS

Twenty miles from the birthplace of golf sits a different kind of sporting pilgrimage site—the oldest tennis court in the world.

But this is no Wimbledon. The Falkland Palace Royal Tennis Club’s 50 active members play a form of the sport boasted of as “real” tennis based on the fact that it predates lawn tennis by over 300 years.

Nestled near the picturesque Lomond Hills just half an hour by car from St. Andrews, the Falkland Palace court was built in 1539 by King James V of Scotland.

‘Real’ tennis is played on a hard court surrounded by four walls. It became popular with nobility across Europe in the 15th century and includes the use of complex wall and floor markings to calculate scores.

The members are keen to invite visitors to try it out, as they believe they are keeping a centuries-old tradition alive.

Club member Kevin Gilbert became introduced to the sport whilst living in Australia, where a few of the 50 remaining courts are located. After retiring to Scotland he sought out another place to play the game since half of all the real tennis courts in the world are found in the UK.

“It’s played quite differently to lawn tennis, which originated in the 19th century,” Kevin told the British news media outlet SWNS. “The game involves hitting the ball off a penthouse roof, and you’re allowed to hit it onto the walls, and there are other quirks of the game that can win you points.”

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“We have about 40 members from Scotland, and we have others who come and play once in a blue moon. The palace allows us to use the court, and their visitors sometimes arrive during the sessions that we run—they can see us play and we often invite them to join in.”

“We love to provide the opportunity to visit us and play on the court,” he added.

A complex series of markers denote where points are scored – credit, SWNS.

Modern tennis, or lawn tennis, was created to allow the average person to participate in the game without the need for a purpose-built court, but fans of real tennis say they value the opportunity to play the game as it was originally intended.

“In those days, it was only the royalty and the upper class could afford to play on these courts,” said Gilbert. “Once lawn tennis was invented in the mid-19th century, a journalist is said to have coined the term “real tennis” to refer to the original game.”

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The Falkland Palace, where the court is simply a part of the grounds, is maintained by the National Trust of Scotland, but the club hopes to raise money to contribute to maintenance and upgrades as part of their 50th-anniversary celebrations next year.