Spotlight: Real Tennis Balls

Some of the smaller and humbler objects in Explore Oxford, the Museum of Oxford’s current exhibition space in Oxford Town Hall, can easily be overlooked by the passer-by. However, we shouldn’t let their unassuming exterior blind us to the history which can be uncovered by digging a little deeper.

Let’s take our Real Tennis balls as an example. These balls were found on the roof of Wadham College and are about 400 years old. Unlike modern tennis balls, which have a hollow rubber core filled with pressurized air and covered in wool or nylon, these OAP balls have a centre of cork with fabric wrapped around them. Real Tennis balls are much less bouncy than normal tennis balls – though ours have probably lost their bounce altogether!

Real tennis is the game from which our modern day tennis is derived. Originally, players would throw a roughly-made ball against walls, floors, and roofs outside whilst wearing thick leather gloves to protect their hands. Eventually these gloves evolved into rudimentary rackets and the game moved inside. Played on an indoor court, Real Tennis incorporates sloping surfaces, galleries, and other unusual features of a room into the game.

In England, the sport used to be called Royal Tennis and was enjoyed by the aristocracy as well as ecclesiastical high-ups across Europe. Apparently a version of the game was played by the Greeks and Romans! Today there are few courts scattered across the globe, one of which can be found in Oxford’s Merton College and is still used by students today.

Wadham College, where our Real Tennis balls were found was founded in 1610. It is now one of the largest colleges in Oxford with about 425 undergraduates. We think our tennis balls are around 400 years old meaning they could date from the very first years of the college itself.

It’s wonderful to have such an ancient but homely reminder of the leisure hours of the millions of students who have passed through the city over the last thousand years. Next time you’re in Explore Oxford keep an eye out for these very special tennis balls!