sphairistike
An early racquet sport that evolved into tennis.
archaic, uncountable
The new appliances of the game sold under the rather too learned name of ‘sphairistikè’ have been lightened without, like their ancient representatives, being increased in size.
Where it comes from
Ancient Greek sphairistike, "skill in playing at ball".
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry sphairistike (CC BY-SA 4.0).