Tennis is one of the oldest sports, dating all the way back to the 12th century. Tennis started off in France. The sport was originally a form of handball called le jeu de paume, and was played on an indoor court with the palm of the hand. Sometime during the 16th century rackets were finally introduced and the game became known as tennis. Tennis started to evolve over time and became a popular sport in many countries starting off in Europe and then gaining popularity across the world. The first tennis club and tournament were held in Royal Leamington Spa on August 1st, 1882. After that more annual tournaments and competitions were held sometime during the 1900’s and a promoter known as C. C. Pyle created the first professional tennis tour in 1926, with a group of American and French tennis players in exhibition matches to paying audiences.