The Vellum-covered Battledore 1861

Before the rise of squash, the game of Rackets was played in English prisons and later in private courts, using tightly strung racquets and hard balls that demanded speed and accuracy. Strung and vellum-covered battledores from the mid-nineteenth century marked the direct forerunners of badminton. A few decades later, Tennis de Salon or parlour tennis brought the same principles of racket play onto wooden tables, laying the groundwork for modern table tennis​.