Is This Why A Score Of Zero Is Called Love In Tennis?

Tennis as it's known today can be traced way back to 12th and 13th century France. At the time, a game was developed that became known as jeu de paume, which in English means game of the palm (via Britannica). The game was initially played with a bare hand instead of a racquet, and that's where it got its name. It became popular in the south of France, worked its way north, and by the 1300s it was one of the country's most popular games.

Jeu de paume wasn't reserved for any particular class of people (via Smithsonian). While it started out being played by villagers and monks, by the time it achieved massive popularity people from all walks of life played. At its peak, there were more than 7,000 active players in Paris alone who took to the city's 250 or so courts to compete.

This early version of tennis is still played today, though it's not nearly as common — even in France where it originated — as it was hundreds of years ago. There are only three playable courts left in all of France. Some of the jeu de paume courts still around in Paris today carry historical significance. One of them is just outside of Paris, at ​​Fontainebleau, a home that can count both King Henri IV and Napoleon as past residents.

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