No matter what the weather, Dr Barry Johnson of Carlton Dental in Victoria is always up for a game of royal tennis
I started playing royal tennis through a friend of mine who had just won an A-grade squash tournament. He was invited to play a game of royal tennis and admitted to me afterwards, “Barry, I missed the ball by six feet”. His son started playing with my son and I was invited along. I am now a fully fledged member of the Royal Tennis Court of Melbourne. Royal tennis [also know as real tennis] is a cross between lawn tennis, billiards and chess. The penthouse—a half roof on an angle of 40 degrees—runs along one wall and two ends. When you serve, the ball must land on the side penthouse towards the receiver’s end. It can then go down and hit the back wall or the back penthouse or come up and hit the side wall and pick up spin. It might bounce three times before it lands on the floor.
“The first purpose-built royal tennis court was constructed for Henry the VIII at Hampton Court in 1530. Lawn tennis evolved in the 1880s as a cheap adaptation of royal tennis. I believe that someone decided to use the ladies’ croquet court and play outside.
“As it’s played indoors, you never have to worry about the weather. Hot, cold, raining … you can always have a game. Our club uses handicaps so we don’t get groups of people who never talk to each other. It’s all very friendly. If there’s a court free, they’ll ring around and ask if you can come in and play.
“It takes a few months before you can even begin to follow the rules. The ball is heavy so it travels faster and picks up spin quickly. And because they are solid, they don’t slow down in mid-air. It’s a hard ball if it hits you. Some of the older players can hardly move around the court but they can read the ball so well, they almost know where it’s going before the other player actually hits it.
“We’ve won the pennant a couple of times. After playing pennant, the teams take turns to produce a supper and at about 10.30pm, we sit down with a glass of wine. Last time we had a nice baked fish and some dips. The club’s bar is based on an honesty system, so you can just pick your bottle of wine and sign a chit for it. It’s a very social club.
