Real tennis, ‘sport of kings’, survives the centuries A ball shunts along a slanted ledge before dropping to the floor and bouncing onto the strings of a waiting racquet. This is real tennis, a sport that was popular with a long line of French kings before it fell out of favour with Louis XIV. The eccentric precursor to tennis is now dominated by the US, UK and Australia -- but a handful of French enthusiasts are fighting to bring the 'sport of kings' home.