After losing his world title in 2018, Aiken native Camden Riviere was poised to win it back last year when COVID-19 hit.
“The world championships are held every two years. I lost in 2018,” said Riviere, who’d won the real tennis title in 2016. “We were supposed to compete in April last year. Of course, COVID caused it to be postponed. I’d won through, and it was down to the final match.”
Initially, they thought it could be played sooner, but he recently learned he’d have to wait until September 2022 for the chance to go up against Australian Rob Fahey.
Despite not holding the world champion title, Riviere is the top-ranked real tennis player in the world.
Riviere, 33, has been playing the sport of real tennis since he was a child. His father and grandfather played the sport. He turned pro at the age of 17.
Real tennis is the predecessor of all racquet sports, said Riviere. It dates to the 12th century, and it was a sport played it in the streets. They’d use a ball and bounce it off the walls of the houses and other buildings in their towns.
“It was a game with a stick and a ball,” he said.
The rules varied according to where it was played.
It grew to attract the attention of the nobility, and when Henry VIII was king, he modernized the sport and created uniform rules that are still followed today. His tennis court at Hampton Court Palace near London, England, is still in use today, and Riviere’s first job out of high school was at that court.
He lived at the palace which is a museum. There’s a tennis club on site that still uses the centuries old Royal Tennis Court. Henry VII’s court no longer exists; the oldest court on the site dates to 1625.
Because of his hair color and beard, Riviere often gets mistaken for Harry, the Duke of Sussex when playing at Hampton Court Palace, but he said once he starts speaking, people realize their mistake. His Southern accent is a dead giveaway.
Growing up in Aiken and attending Aiken High School, Riviere played other sports including lawn tennis and golf.
Lawn tennis developed out of real tennis, said Riviere. People often set up nets outside Hampton Court Palace and played on the lawn while waiting for the inside courts to open, he said.
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Lawn tennis has a lighter racquet and doesn’t use the same type of ball. It’s more like a baseball than the yellow fuzzy tennis ball, Riviere said. Also, real tennis has a different dynamic. In lawn tennis, physical strength and size are important, but not so much in court tennis.
“I’m not a big guy,” he said.
In lawn tennis, he can be overpowered by someone with a stronger swing but not as much in real tennis.
“A court is surrounded by walls. Power is not always a good thing. There are roofs and angles with the walls,” he said.
A powerful shot could cause an unwanted amount of ricocheting. Finesse and strategy are more important than power. And as far as math and physics being part of the game, that’s not a factor for Riviere.
“I’ve never been a great math person. It’s just become second nature,” he said.
Riviere lives in Charleston now, but he keeps his ties to Aiken. His parents still live in the city and Riviere trains in Aiken on a regular basis.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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