The game of tennis is believed to hark back thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans played precursors to tennis.

In its infancy it was played using the hand, but over time people began wearing a glove, either with webbing between the fingers or a solid paddle, and eventually a webbing attached to a handle - a forerunner to the racket. The balls, which were initially wooden, gave way to bouncier, leather balls filled with cellulose material.

The game’s popularity dwindled in France, where it got its name Royal Tennis, and the number of scores were achieved based on the rebounds of tennis balls of the walls on the building. First racket was in shape of a tear.

It soon spread to England, with both Henry VII and Henry VIII being avid fans, who commissioned the building of many courts across the country. The one built in Hampton Court Palace in 1625 survives to this day.