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For most people, tennis is inseparable from superstar players and saturation media coverage. For a dedicated handful, however, the only tennis worth playing takes place on walled-in courts of late-medieval design. Its tournaments, adhering to arcane rules that have barely changed in 400 years, go untelevised. And the low-tech wooden racquets and hand-sewn balls would leave today's lawn-tennis professionals shaking their heads in disbelief. This is the sport of real tennis (also known as court tennis or royal tennis), and it's the perfect antidote for anyone still suffering from Wimbledon fatigue.

A favorite of Napoleon and Henry VIII, real tennis is the predecessor of lawn tennis, and has its origins in games enjoyed in castles and monasteries in centuries past. It is played today by about 10,000 aficionados on some 40 courts worldwide—some of which, like those at Fontainebleau castle near Paris, are exquisite historical monuments—and enthusiasts say the game is on the up. "Real tennis is in a much healthier state than it was 15-20 years ago," says professional player Peter Paterson of the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club. As proof, he points to the recently built Millennium Court at London's Middlesex University, complete with heated floors and five video cameras to record and analyze performance.

Despite these infrequent innovations, the game remains perfect for old-fashioned, genteel players—especially those with a deft touch and a gift for complex strategy rather than raw aggression. Those exhausted by the relentless pace of lawn tennis will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief. Find out more at irtpa.com.