Savills and Steele Raymond LLP are delighted to announce that they are jointly sponsoring “THE BROWNING CUP 2013” a Real Tennis Tournament at Canford School that will take place from Thursday 14th March – Sunday 17th March 2013.

The Browning Cup tournament has been taking place since 1995 and hosts around 50 professional Real Tennis players from around the UK, with approximately 16 of the top professionals taking part over four days of the tournament.

This is the first time that it has been hosted by the Canford Real Tennis Club and its 155 members at Canford School which boasts one of the few Real (Royal) tennis courts in England. The court dates back to 1879, when it was built by Sir Ivor Bertie Guest, then Lord Wimborne.

Real tennis is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis, or tennis, is descended.  The game of Real Tennis originates from the days when the monks played in their monastery courtyards in the 11th Century.  The term real tennis is often thought to be a corruption of this last name and related to the game's connection with royalty during its heyday in England and France in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact "real" was first used at the end of the 19th century as a retronym to distinguish it from the then recently invented game of lawn tennis. Real tennis players often just call it "tennis," describing the modern game as "lawn tennis”.

Steve Ronaldson, a three times British Professional Doubles champion, is the Head Real Tennis Professional at Canford Real Tennis Club, said “We are thrilled to have the support of two prestigious and local firms”.

Richard Shaw, Director and Head of Savills Dorset says, “We are very pleased to sponsor this prominent tournament as part of our continued involvement in sporting activities nationally and our support for local events here in Dorset”.

Tim Stone, Chairman of Steele Raymond LLP’s Management Committee says; “We are committed to putting something back into our community and being an integral part of the local community. We are delighted to support this unique event”.