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Emperor Rudolf II was particularly fond
of tennis. According to documents
preserved at the Archivio di Stato in
Florence (of April 1585) he once played
doubles at the court in Prague for two
hours with Archduke Ernesto and on
another occasion watched a match between
the Duke of Braunschweig and Giulio
Cesare Gonzaga against Don Giovanni di
Pernstein and Count Antonio d’Arco. One
of Rudolf’s courtiers, Adam Wallenstein
Junior, wrote down the results of some
of his tennis matches for 1604-1605. In
September 1604 he played with Cardinal
Alessandro d’Este and in August 1605 he
won 360 toplars playing tennis. Two
courts have retained their original
exterior structure: Prague Castle and
the Micovna at Opocno.
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