Tennis Match inside the Newport Casino, Real Tennis Court
Every June, the top players of the historic sport of Real Tennis (a game that predates lawn tennis by several centuries) convenes upon one of America’s most storied sporting venues for its premier North American showcase. The US Pro Singles, played for the Schochet Cup at the National Tennis Club within the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, is an event unlike any other in the racquet sports calendar. And the 2026 tournament, running from June 6 to 14, 2026 may well be among the finest fields ever assembled on American soil, with all of the top ten players in the world participating.
Hidden at the back of the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) at the Newport Casino is one of the rare existing examples of a sport with eight centuries of history: Real Tennis, the ancestor to all other racquet sports. When the Casino was commissioned by James Gordon Bennett and designed by the legendary firm McKim, Mead & White in 1880, the young sport of lawn tennis was only six years old. Real tennis, believed to have originated in 13th-century France and played for centuries by European royalty, was then still the more established game — and so a Real Tennis court was built alongside the lawn courts as a matter of course. It is now the oldest existing court of its kind in North America.
Newport Tennis Hall of Fame
That court has endured. Since most of the approximately 50 extant real tennis courts (with 1 under construction) are located at private clubs (and, European palaces), Newport is unique in the United States as the only publically accessible facility. The US Pro Singles has grown into a highpoint of the American Real Tennis calendar. Thanks to the generosity of Jay Schochet, who endowed the tournament, it has among the best purses in the sport, which naturally attracts the world’s elite professionals. Because of the extremely high quality of play, the tournament also attracts a devoted fraternity of enthusiasts who follow the sport with a near evangelical passion.
Many great players have won the title, including all four world champions since 1981. In recent years, the tournament has been defined by one extraordinary figure: Camden Riviere, the reigning world champion. Riviere hoisted the Schochet Cup for 14 consecutive years from 2010 to 2024 (missing one due to the pandemic), an unprecedented run. Newport has been his kingdom — it was here, in 2016, that Riviere first defeated 12-time world champion, and widely regard to be the best player of all time, Rob Fahey, to claim the World Championship, heralding a new era in the sport. Camden’s run in this tournament came to a close in 2025 as he was unable to play due to injury, and last year’s champion was none other than Rob Fahey.
The 2026 edition runs June 6–14 at the National Tennis Club in Newport, and the draw reads like a Real Tennis hall of fame in its own right. World Champion Camden Riviere leads the main draw at the Number 1 seed, chasing a ninth Schochet Cup title. Alongside him in the upper bracket is world number three Nick Howell, seeded third, who has been among the most consistent performers on the IRTPA circuit.
Camden Riviere & John Lumley Professional Rankings
On the other half of the draw, there are Brits world ranked #2 John Lumley and world ranked #4 Ben Taylor-Mathews. The draw also features Rob Fahey — the Australian legend and former world champion who held that title for over two decades — seeded fifth, offering tantalizing possibilities of a blockbuster showdown with Riviere further into the week. Also in contention are Real Tennis titans (seed in parentheses) Australian Steve Virgona (6), American Robert Shenkman (7), and Briton Bryn Sayers (8).
The satellite draw, feeding into the main draw, has produced its own drama: early rounds saw Darren Long, Vaughan Hamilton, Josh Dodgson, and Lewis Williams all emerge from the qualifying bracket, injecting fresh blood and unpredictability into the week’s competition. Long, in particular, announced his arrival emphatically beating Newport-born professional, Peter Dickinson, 6-2, 6-0 in a well-played match to work his way into the main draw.
International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport Casino, Indoor Court
Newport’s unique combination of history, setting, and concentrated world-class talent makes this week genuinely special — and not just for Real Tennis devotees. The Indoor court, with its asymmetric walls, tambour, grille, and dedans, rewards guile and intelligence as much as athleticism. Watching the world’s best players control a ball in this eccentric space is an education in sport unavailable almost anywhere else on the continent.
With the current world champion, a legend returning, multiple open winners, and a crop of hungry challengers, the 2026 US Pro Singles is likely to produce the finest real tennis played in America this year. Newport is ready. The facility, like much of Newport, fell on hard times during the 1950s and 1960s but was revitalized by people who love the history of the building and the community. Today, the Newport Casino is again live with activity both on the lawn tennis courts during the summer and in the restaurant, museum, theater, and Real Tennis court operating year-round.
Attendance to see the matches is complementary with admission to the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Newport Casino until the semi-finals and finals of the main tournament on Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, 2026. You will perhaps never have a chance to see the amazing sport of Real Tennis played at such a world-class level as you will this week at the National Tennis Club located at the back of the ITHF campus!
Ross Cann has been a licensed architect since 1993. He holds honors degrees in Architecture and History from Yale, Cambridge, and Columbia Universities and is Founding Principal of A4 Architecture in Newport, Rhode Island. He is also an ardent Real Tennis player and is the former President of the National Tennis Club at the ITHF.