Tennis

The name of the game derives from the Old French tenes, which in its modern French form would be tenez the imperative form of the French verb tenir. It means hold or take and this used to be the server’s call to his opponent at the start of a game. Tennis in its current form and spelling first made its appearance in English in between 1350-1450. The game is thought to have originated in France amongst the aristocracy during the 14th century. In Shakespeare’s King Henry V, Act I, Scene II, the Dauphin of France sends his ambassador to Henry with “a tun of treasure”, which turns out to be nothing but a chest of tennis balls. Henry's reply to this insult is his invasion of France, culminating with his decisive victory at Agincourt.