TENNIS RACKET

It seems that the first version of tennis was invented by the ancient Egyptians who hit the ball with the palm of their hand, "rahat", hence the origin of the word "racket".

The French monks of the 11th and 12th centuries also played bare-handed but after a short time, and several finger injuries, they started wearing specially designed leather gloves, then moved on to using solid wooden paddles, until finally to what in the 14th century resembled a racket with sheep gut strings tied in a cork wood frame wrapped in cloth replaced by leather. The handle was long and the head small and drop-shaped. A bit like today's squash, it was played indoors but, unlike this one, always through a net and not against a wall.