How to Find the Best Tennis Club

Would you like to take off with tennis in your club now? Or have you just moved to a new city and are looking for a tennis club? Often there are several clubs in one city, so you are spoilt for choice.

Besides the possibility to play tennis, a club offers you further advantages. For example, it is the perfect place to make new social contacts. A further engagement in tennis is also possible. Which club you choose in the end is of course up to you. Here we have collected 6 points for you to make your decision easier. Then you will surely find the best tennis club.

The location of the club is one of the essential criteria you should have in mind when making your choice. After all, you certainly don’t want to spend two hours on the road just to play one hour of tennis.

First make a list of all the clubs within a radius of 6 miles. If your search in this area was not successful, simply extend the radius a bit. Then sort the tennis clubs by their distance. Basically: The closer the club, the more time you can save on the way there and back.

If you don’t have a car at your disposal, check the connection to public transport. Due to the high space requirement, tennis courts are mostly located in less densely built-up areas. However, there are also clubs that are located within the city and can be easily reached by bus or train.

The next step is to look at the infrastructure of each individual club. Probably the most important aspect is the number of tennis courts. It makes a big difference whether the facility has four or ten courts. In general, more courts give you more flexibility in the use of the courts. Nevertheless, you should put this number in relation to the number of members.

It doesn’t make sense to join a completely overcrowded club. Then ten courts will not be enough for all members to play tennis.

Well-equipped clubs also have several indoor tennis courts for the winter season. However, the number of indoor courts is often much smaller than the number of outdoor courts. Therefore you should hurry up when making your reservation.

You might also be interested in the surface of the courts. Find out which surface you feel most comfortable on. Nowadays, more tennis facilities are being built that offer courts with several different surfaces.

In addition, some clubs have their own tennis wall or a ball machine for rent. If you do not have a partner at the moment, you can use this equipment to practice on your own.

Now the question arises whether you want to play mainly matches or if you are planning to practice tennis regularly. If you plan to take additional training lessons, you will need a tennis coach. Therefore, you should find out which coaches the club provides.

Also take a look at their qualifications and experience. Have they been training with the club for several years or have you just joined? It is best to ask for a trial training to get a first impression.

One of the highlights of each summer season are the local or national team games where you compete against tennis players from other clubs. Usually a club has several teams in different age groups.

Pay attention to which teams the club has set up and  what their performance is. In which league does the club play and what is the skill level of the individual team players? We recommend that you choose a team that roughly reflects your skill level.

When deciding on a new tennis club, you should also look at the other offers in the club. These can be events such as a summer party or the club championships. For families it might be interesting to know if there are special programs for children.

Another advantage would be an online booking system for the club, so you can reserve a court from home. In general, most clubs have their own restaurant where you can enjoy the evening after an intense match day.

During your research you will probably notice that the costs for playing tennis sometimes fluctuate considerably. Usually you have to become a member of a tennis club to use a court.

When you register, you will be asked to pay the annual fee in advance. In some cases an admission fee may still be due. Also take into account the additional costs for the coach and the indoor courts in winter.

On the other hand, there are clubs where you do not apply for membership but pay a court fee. In both cases we recommend that you add up all expenses and then calculate them down to one month. This way you get a better overview of the costs.