Club to host real tennis world championships

A Warwickshire tennis club is holding an international tournament for a sport once loved by Henry VIII.

From 22 to 26 April, Moreton Morrell Tennis Court Club will host the Real Tennis World Doubles Championship.

Real tennis is a court-based sport that is thought to date back up to 800 years. English monarch Henry VIII - active some centuries later - played it at Hampton Court Palace in his 1500s pomp.

Former BBC Sport presenter Sally Jones, who now works at the club, described the sport as being "like lawn tennis crossed with squash, and also crossed with chess, because it's very strategic".

She stated: "We're quite a small rural club right in the middle of the country, and we've got some very keen players from all over the place.

"It's fantastic because it's the eight top men in the world slugging it out, including the British number one John Lumley."

Jones added: "We're all keeping fingers tightly crossed that we might have a British winner."

Also playing is the current world champion Camden Riviere, who is partnered with Tim Chisholm.

The event will see two best-of-nine set, semi-final matches, each split over Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a nine-set final played over Saturday and Sunday.

The venue will also hold a handicap doubles tournament called the Pragnell Championship Cup, alongside the main event.

"The actual court looks a bit like a monastery, like a cloister," said Jones.

"It's like an ordinary lawn tennis court, but with porches around three sides and little galleries and openings, which are all part of the scoring system."

Jones said she began playing ordinary tennis, but got "hooked" on real tennis when she was about 30.

"I still play ordinary tennis and real tennis, but it's such a good game, and you can play doubles [and] singles," she said.

"It's played on about 27 courts in Britain, about a dozen in America and a handful in Australia and France, but it means that you get to go all over the world to play in the different internationals and major championships, so it's great fun.

"It's also quite a small game, only about 10,000 men and women worldwide play it, so it's easy to get to know a lot of the players and it's a very friendly game."

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.