Court Tennis: Underarm Twist Serve

London, UK

Court Tennis: Underarm Twist Serve

This tabletop sculpture captures the instant of contact in one of the distinctive strokes of court tennis—also called real tennis or jeu de paume, the medieval indoor racquet game from which lawn tennis descends. The game is played on an enclosed, asymmetric court with sloped penthouse roofs and galleries, and uses a heavy handmade ball with a hand-sewn wool covering.

The work entered the museum collection of the Tennis & Rackets Association, the UK governing body for real tennis and rackets, housed at The Queen’s Club. Founded in 1886, it is one of the sport’s historic venues, known for its annual grass-court tournament preceding Wimbledon.