UK / Sports

23 July 2023

Mitsubishi Electric Europe sponsors the annual Real Tennis ‘Champions Trophy’ held at the Royal Tennis Court, which is situated in Hampton Court Palace.

What is ‘Real Tennis’ you might ask? – Most people are not aware of this ancient sport, the rules and court set-up of which are virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages. It is also known as ‘Jeu de Paume’ in France and ‘Court Tennis’ in the US, and most modern racquet sports, like Tennis or Squash, have their roots in Real Tennis. Famously, King Henry VIII was known to be passionate about this traditional sport and spent many a time on court. Today, this traditional sport is still being enjoyed by thousands of people, especially in the UK, France, the US and Australia, where active tennis courts can be found.

In 2023 the tournament, which has been supported by Mitsubishi Electric Europe since 2018, was won by John Lumley (World No. 3) who beat Ben Taylor-Matthews (World No. 4) in an exciting final. The win takes him up to number 2 in the world.

Although this traditional sport is enjoyed approximately 10,000 people in the UK, France, US and Australia, recently the number of young players has been decreasing. With Mitsubishi Electric’s own history stretching back more than 100 years we know how important it is to preserve traditions, and we are immensely proud to help preserve and grow this historic sport for future generations.

If you are interested to learn more about Real Tennis, the website of the Royal Tennis Court
(https://www.royaltenniscourt.com/) and its YouTube channel
(https://www.youtube.com/@royaltenniscourt2090/featured) are good starting points.