Tennis History

Games of racket and ball (including real tennis in Great Britain, royal tennis in Australia, and court tennis in the United States, all of which are the same game and played indoors) originated from a 12th- and 13th-century French handball game called jeu de paume ("game of the palm"). In 1873 Major Walter Wingfield invented a game called Sphairistikè, from which modern outdoor tennis evolved. - Encyclopedia Britannica