Jeu de Paume

Jeu de paume is a sport played in Europe since late antiquity and experienced its golden age from the 14th to the 18th century. Initially played with bare hands or leather gloves, it later became a racket sport. It is the direct ancestor of Basque pelota, Valencian pilota, balle pelote, tamburello, tennis, and more generally all racket sports. A jeu de paume player is called a paumier or paumiste. Jeu de paume games are divided into two disciplines: courte paume (known as real tennis in English or court tennis in the United States), which is played indoors in a court with galleries, and longue paume, which is played outdoors. This article focuses on courte paume.

Jeu de paume is also associated with the Serment du Jeu de paume (Tennis Court Oath), one of the major events at the beginning of the French Revolution, and with the Jeu de Paume, a Parisian exhibition venue.