Synonyms

real tennis

British

noun

Also called: royal tennis. an ancient form of tennis played in a four-walled indoor court with various openings, a sloping-roofed corridor along three sides, and a buttress on the fourth side

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As someone who isn’t a particularly fervent fan of even real tennis matches, I find fictional ones pleasantly untaxing.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2023

“I was more nervous there than any of my real tennis matches,” Fritz said.

From Reuters • May 3, 2020

Group 2 features Dominic Thiem, John Isner, Diego Schwartzman and the David Ferrer, coming out of retirement from real tennis to make an appearance in the virtual world.

From Reuters • Apr. 24, 2020

Known now as real tennis, it was a diversion for royalty and their minions in France, England and elsewhere during the Renaissance and beyond.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2017

Patterson is a superior match player to his real tennis ability.

From The Art of Lawn Tennis by Tilden, William (Bill) Tatem

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023