Some games are invented spontaneously, and some games develop over long periods of time. Tennis has an ancient history. The Greeks and Romans had ball games which later became a French game called jeu de paume; this was probably the ancestor of modern tennis.

The word tennis probably comes from the French word “Tennez!” which means, “Take it! Play!” Some experts believe the game had its beginnings in Egypt, in Persia and among the Arabs, before Charlemagne.