The palatoia (as the court was referred to in Tuscany – elsewhere known as "pallacorda") was built for Cosimo I at the same time as his court at Palazzo Pitti. The "tennis" of the Italian Renaissance was hugely popular at court and in the streets as in France where the sport is known as "jeu de paume". "Real tennis" (as it is called today), which requires a customised court with elaborate interior playing surfaces, is the model for modern tennis although the sport played in the Renaissance continues to be played today with 46 active courts in France, Australia, the UK and USA.