Real Tennis News Christmas Quiz 2025

Test your real tennis knowledge for a chance to win Chasing the Hazard merch!

Welcome to the first edition of the Real Tennis News Christmas Quiz. There are 100 questions to sink your teeth into over the holiday period, worth a total of 160 points.

If you fancy testing your real tennis knowledge, there are two prizes to be won, courtesy of Chasing the Hazard:

• The highest overall score will receive their choice of shirt from the Chasing the Hazard collection. If multiple people hit the same score, the winner will be decided by drawing of lots

• Any entrant with a score of more than 20 points will go into a prize draw for their choice of shirt from the Chasing the Hazard collection.

There is no cost to play. There are no rules against research or collaboration. You can submit your answers at any time up until the publication of the answers

Submit your responses via this link: https://forms.gle/Q4Hv2QC8f2CquZUa8

Answers will be published and winners announced no earlier than 25 January, after the conclusion of the Boomerang Cup.

Good luck, and a happy festive season to you!

Section 1. Courts

Each question may have more than 1 correct answer, though each court will appear no more than once in the solutions to the quiz. 1 point for each correct answer. Answers which are technically correct but do not fit the pattern of the quiz earn 0.5 points. There are no extra points for including more than one correct answer. All answers refer to playable courts at standard dimensions (i.e. courts in a state of disrepair, that are demolished, or were built as trinquets are not included) (50 points)

1. This court does not have a tambour.

2. This court has an external door in the main wall at the net.

3. This court does not have a hole for a ball basket or bucket.

4. This court has a yellow teddy bear hanging the dedans netting.

5. This court features horseshoes instead of bells in the winning gallery.

6. This court has a measurement between the main wall and the dedans of 3.5 ft, the smallest such measurement of any court.

7. This court is a playable jeu à dedans court that has never recorded a match on RealTennisOnline.

8. This court permits balls striking the lower half of the last windows at each end to remain in play.

9. This court has a viewing window in the service wall above the service penthouse.

10. This court also features line markings for use in badminton.

11. This court has not hosted the US Open, US National Open or US Professional Singles in this century, despite being in the USA.

12. This court features a local rule which allows balls that hit the out of play netting to remain in play under certain circumstances.

13. This court features no separate colouring for its last gallery nor second gallery lines, that is, all chase lines are the same colour.

14. This court features black-out curtains in the side galleries.

15. This court has a visible vertical stripe on the main wall from a repair done by Joseph Bickley after a crack was discovered shortly after its opening.

16. This court features in play areas between its clerestory windows.

17. This court contains a glass viewing area above the dedans, but no part of it aligns with the center line of the floor of the court.

18. This court has the second gallery line marked as G², and the first gallery marked as G¹.

19. This court has a depiction of a hand reaching out of a cloud and dropping a ball on the grille wall.

20. This court adjoins a former indoor polo arena.

21. This court was the second built for this venue, and the remains of the first court are still extant.

22. This court has viewing galleries on both the main wall and service wall, running the full length of the court.

23. This court has a side gallery open to the general public during play.

24. This court has a pro shop above the main wall.

25. This court has circular clerestory windows above the service penthouse.

26. This court features two levels of glass viewing area above the dedans penthouse.

27. This court features a gong in the winning gallery.

28. This court does not have a chase marked as “hazard better than half a yard,” despite using the English convention for chases.

29. This court has a clubroom redeveloped from a former swimming pool.

30. This court is located directly above the entrance to a bank.

31. This court features high viewing galleries above both the dedans and grille penthouses.

32. This court has a tambour with two separate faces, both of which are in play.

33. This court has its chase numbers written on the floor as well as the walls.

34. This court has a bowling alley behind its main wall.

35. This court has bucket seating in the side gallery.

36. This court has a roof with an apex running parallel to the chase lines as opposed to running the length of the court (or being flat).

37. This court adjoins an American Squash Tennis court.

38. This court has a red bandeau lining a timber coloured penthouse.

39. This court has the yard worse than last gallery line marked on the wall as “8”.

40. This court featured as a filming location for a Showtime drama series in 2020.

41. This court has a small set of stairs between the marker’s box and the side gallery passageway.

42. This court is at an elevation over 500m (1600 ft).

43. This court was original home court for four World Champions.

44. This court features a box-shaped modification to the dedans netting extending over the dedans ledge to assist the dedans marker.

45. This court has a restaurant above the service wall.

46. This court features a grille directly open to the exterior of the court.

47. This court was not included in HRH Earl of Wessex’s global tour in 2018, despite being intact, playable and of a jeu à dedans design.

48. This court has oxblood coloured walls.

49. This court features a digital clock in the grille.

50. This court has a depiction of a dog on the grille wall.

Section 2. Players

Defeated Champions (20 points)

51. Six players have defeated Camden Riviere in Open Singles or Singles World Championships. Name them. (6 points)

52. Four players have defeated Claire Fahey in Women’s Open Singles or Singles Women’s World Championships. Name them. (4 points)

53. Ten players have defeated Robert Fahey in Open Singles or Singles World Championships since 2001. Name them. (10 points)

Who am I? (10 points)

54. Who am I? I was born in Warwickshire, and attended Oxford University where I earned five blues and five half-blues. I took up a career in sports journalism, covering the Olympics and presented the sports section of the evening news. I appeared several times on the BBC quiz show Mastermind as well as Sale of the Century. I took to real tennis later in my career, winning several international championships in my career. (2 points)

55. Who am I? I was born in Belgium, but moved to Paris in the entourage of Philippe in my late 20s. I was one of the most skillful players of my generation, winning many matches except against the most powerful male opposition. After my career I retired to an abbey in Flanders, but my name passed into history as the first of my kind. (2 points)

56. Who am I? I worked as a French teacher in Manhattan, but played my tennis in Tuxedo as I was not permitted to practice at the Racquet and Tennis Club in New York ahead of the World Championships. I was called a “troublemaker” by the R&T club secretary, who also asserted “I’m in my 70’s and I could beat her.” I would have the last laugh though, as 10 years later I won my first of several Open doubles championships. (2 points)

57. Who am I? My father was a politician and real tennis player, who won championships in real tennis and played at Wimbledon in lawn tennis. As a junior, I competed for my country in hockey. After completing my law degree, I continued playing real tennis, representing my country abroad and winning championships at home. I would go on to serve as a judge and then as governor later in my career. (2 points)

58. Who am I? Coming from a country without a court, I was introduced to real tennis by my historian father, regularly travelling to other countries to play. I won three quarters of a calendar year doubles grand slam before taking an extended break due to injury. Upon my return, I won my second Open championship, and continue to compete today, competing against my brother for our national championships (2 points)

Section 3. The year that was (2025)

59. (January) The Australian Open was held in Hobart to coincide with the sesquicentenary of the building of the Hobart Tennis Court by Samuel Smith Travers. Who was Hobart’s longest serving professional, whose name is celebrated in one of the major interclub tournaments in Australia? (1 point)

60. (February) The US Open and US Womens Open in 2025 saw six distinct winners — nobody won both the singles and doubles draws in either competition. Who were the six winners in the previous instance when this occurred in a National Open? (3 points)

61. (March) In the last two World Championship cycles, Aiken has hosted an Eliminator between Nick Howell and Ben Taylor-Matthews. Which other two players have played in Eliminators in Aiken in back-to-back cycles? (2 points)

62. (April) The Sydney Real Tennis Club opened their new court at the Cheltenham Recreation Club in April. What symbol has been decorated to mark the last gallery line on the new court? (1 point)

63. (May) In the Ladies World Championships in Newport, who did Claire Fahey equal for the number of singles World Championship titles won? (1 point)

64. (June) The final of the US Professional Singles saw two non-US-based professionals compete. Who competed in the last all non-American based final? (2 points)

65. (July) At the Van Alen, Clothier and George Limb youth team competitions, France made their debut in the youth team format against a Rest of the World team. Which four players represented the Rest of the World? (2 points)

66. (August) In the month of August two amateurs won separate singles tournaments that were reintroduced to the calendar after a multi-year absence, each defeating a former Open champion on the way to their respective title. Who were they and what was the name of each tournament? (2 points)

67. (September) The 2025 World Championship finished inside two days, meaning an exhibition doubles match was played on the third day. Before 2025, who were the most recent two players to partner the champion and challenger for a World Championship exhibition doubles? (2 points)

68. (October) Bryn Sayers won the IRTPA Satellite in Aiken with a handicap better than 0.0. Who was the previous player to win the event with a handicap better than 0.0? (1 point)

69. (November) The Women’s British Open returned to Queen’s after a long hiatus. Which four players have won the Women’s British Open singles at Queen’s? (2 points)

70. (December) Team New England (Boston and Newport combined) won the Whitney Cup in New York. Who is the only player to have represented Team New England in every one of their victories as a combined team? (1 point)

Section 4. Tennis through the centuries

Each question in this section relates to a period in the history of real tennis and its precursors (20 points).

71. (1500s) Anne Boleyn is said to have been arrested for treason while gambling on tennis. Where was the court located? (2 points)

72. (Early 1600s) In Forbet’s first publication of the rules of tennis, what recourse was a player permitted if they disagreed with a marker’s call? (2 points)

73. (Late 1600s) On which court did Charles I play during the English Civil War, most notably against his nephew Prince Rupert? (2 points)

74. (Mid1700s) (2 points) What unusual handicap did French professional Raymond Masson famously play with in match against an unnamed amateur? (2 points)

75. (Late 1700s) The tennis court oath took place in Versailles in 1789, on a court that has since been designated as a historic monument and converted into a museum. What was the modification made to the structure of the court — excluding statues, paintings and exhibits — that makes the court unsuitable for play in the modern day? (2 points)

76. (Early 1800s) Which court, closed in 1866, was the administrative center of tennis in the early 19th century, and hosted the first University Match in 1859? (2 points)

77. (Late 1800s) Which court, the first built in America, did Tom Pettit learn to play on having migrated to America as a teenager before becoming World Champion aged 25? (2 points)

78. (Early 1900s) Which British noblewoman had her own real tennis court built on her estate, employed a World Champion as her professional, and self-titled herself as “World’s Lady Tennis Champion,” and what was the name of the estate? (2 points)

79. (Late 1900s) The relocation of the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club from Exhibition Street to Richmond saw the first new courts built anywhere in the world after World War 2. After which two members are the two courts named? (2 points)

80. (2000s) Which high-profile tournament debuted a women’s section exactly 100 years after the men’s section was first contested (2 points)

Section 5. Sequences

Each question in this section is a series of courts and/or clubs, in some ordered list. Identify the logic that generates each list. (20 points)

81. Oratory-Harbour Club-Newmarket-Washington-Sydney-Bristol-Hyde Bridport-Prested-Romsey-Cambridge-Middlesex (2 points)

82. Royal Tennis Court-Melbourne-Cambridge-Hobart-Radley-Queen’s-Oxford-Jesmond Dene-Hatfield-Hyde Bridport (2 points)

83. Oxford-Melbourne-Troon-Royal Tennis Court-Radley (2 points)

84. Washington-Philadelphia-Oratory-Aiken-Manchester-Chicago-Queen’s-Melbourne-Washington-Melbourne (2 points)

85. Philadelphia-Paris-New York-Sydney-Queen’s-Jesmond Dene-Manchester-Hatfield-Boston-Chicago (2 points)

86. Cambridge-Bristol-Holyport-Queen’s-Manchester-Lord’s-Melbourne-Ballarat-Romsey-Hobart (2 points)

87. Queen’s-Lord’s-Queen’s-Royal Tennis Court-Queen’s-Cambridge-Lord’s-Royal Tennis Court-Queen’s-Seacourt-Queen’s (2 points)

88. New York-Queen’s-Melbourne-Royal Tennis Court-Hobart-Newport-Tuxedo-Fontainebleau-Paris (2 points)

89. Boston-Chicago-Philadelphia-Boston-Tuxedo-Chicago-Philadelphia-Tuxedo-Boston-Philadelphia-Washington (2 points)

90. Oxford-Hobart-Tuxedo-Bristol-Washington-Ballarat-Romsey-Bridport-Leamington-Middlesex (2 points)

Section 6. Common threads

Each question in this section lists five people. Identify what they have in common. (20 points)

91. Tim Chisholm, Nick Howell, Andrew Knibbs, Darren Long, Andrew Lyons (2 points)

92. Paul Bollerman, Robert Fahey, Camden Riviere, Matthieu Sarlangue, Julian Snow (2 points)

93. Zak Eadle, Nick Howell, Jim Ludekens, John Lumley, Ivan Ronaldson (2 points)

94. Wayne Davies, Robert Fahey, Cecil “Punch” Fairs, Mike Gooding, Steve Virgona (2 points)

95. Judith Clarke, Lauchlan Deuchar, Albert “Jack” Johnson, Chris Ronaldson, Penny Lumley (2 points)

96. Pete Bostwick, Pierre Etchebaster, Jay Gould II, Northrup Knox, Alastair Martin (2 points)

97. Howard Angus, Freddie Bristowe, Charlie Braham, Julian Snow, James Male (2 points)

98. Howard Angus, Jim Dear, Robert Fahey, Penny Lumley, Neville Lyton (2 points)

99. Jonathan Howell, Sally Jones, Kate Leeming, Chris Ronaldson, Eustace Miles (2 points)

100. Chris Chapman, Frank Filippelli, Nick Howell, Ruaraidh Gunn, Julian Snow (2 points)

Ben Geytenbeek. Photo credit: Tim Edwards