从《和尚在寺院发明网球运动？Origins》 中我们了解到：大多的历史学家把网球的历史归于11、12世纪的法国和尚，这些和尚曾拿着粗糙的球打向寺院的墙壁，或者打过栓在院子里的绳子。
The nobility learned the game from the monks later, and some accounts report as many as 1800 courts in France by the 13th century. The game became such a popular diversion, both the Pope and Louis IV tried unsuccessfully to ban it. It soon spread to England, where both Henry VII and Henry VIII were avid players who promoted the building of more courts.
后来，社会上流人士就从这些和尚那里学到了这种游戏。据说约在13世纪的法国，大约1800个球场都玩这种游戏。这种活动风靡一时，教皇和路易四世曾经一度禁止，但是以破产告终。随后，它很快地传到了英国，那时亨利七世和八世是网球的痴迷者，他们还下令建造很多网球场地。
By the year 1500, a wooden frame racquet strung with sheep gut was in common use, as was a cork-cored ball weighing around three ounces. The early tennis courts were quite different from the modern "lawn tennis" court most of us are used to. The early game matured into what is now called "real tennis," and England’s Hampton Court, built in 1625, is still used today. Only a handful of such courts remain. It’s a narrow, indoor court where the ball is played off walls that include a number of openings and oddly angled surfaces toward which the players aim for various strategic purposes. The net is five feet high on the ends, but three feet in the middle, creating a pronounced droop.
在1500年，一种木制的用羊肠子缠绕的拍子被发明并且得到广泛应用。同时还有一种软木内核重3盎司的球也得到的应用。那时的场地和现在草坪网球的场地大不相同。早期的网球演化为今日的网球，其中英国的HAMPTON网球场建于1625年，今天仍然被使用着。现在这样的古老场地所存不多了。这种场地很狭窄，室内型，其设计仍然是为了网球玩家把球投向墙壁，墙壁有的地方可能向前突出，为了玩家的特殊技巧所设计。网子两端有25英尺高，而中间只有三英尺，呈明显下坡趋势。
The game’s popularity dwindled almost to zero during the 1700s, but in 1850, Charles Goodyear invented a vulcanization process for rubber, and during the 1850s, players began to experiment with using the bouncier rubber balls outdoors on grass.
这种运动在1700年，曾经销声匿迹，但是在1850年，Charles Goodyear 发明了一种硫化制造橡胶的工艺，在那时，球员们开始尝试在草坪上玩这种新式球。
An outdoor game was, of course, completely different from an indoor game played off walls, so several new sets of rules were formulated.
然而，室外运动的玩法和室内的显然不同，所以就出现了很多新的比赛规则。
