I'm considering a move to NYC and an avid player (4.5-5.0) who likes to play 3-4 days a week. Outside of cost, what's the skinny regarding the tennis scene in the big apple?

Hi! I live in NYC and play often (although I've recently left town for a one-year sabbatical, so, unfortunately, I can't play.) I used to play in a gay & lesbian league called Metropolitan Tennis - it was ok (kind of cliquish, and all doubles, Ugh,) but if I were you, I'd get my Parks Dept permit (around $100 for the season) and go to Central Park: the courts are Har-Tru, they have ladders to sign up on, and the competition can be challenging . And what a location to play! Also, the courts on the Lower East side (under the Williamsburg Bridge on the Manhattan side) are fun to play on (great location, right on the river, and in good shape.) You usually can get another single to hit with, although the opportunity to do so is not as great as at Central Park. I'm sure other Outsporters will give you other suggestions. Have fun. Mike

I'm in MTG - the metropolitan tennis group. I think they're great and it's a good way to play alot of tennis, although yes it is alot of doubles, particularly in the winter. You'll also meet alot of people. It does take time to get to know everyone, but most of the folks are nice.

At this late stage in the summer, I wouldn't pay for the full season permit unless you are going to play an outrageous amount of tennis between now and October. You can buy single-use tickets for $7 each or something like that. The full permit is $100, so you have to do the math and figure out if it's feasible to still buy the season pass.

MTG Web Site

I'm in MTG as well. It's fun, and there are enough events - singles, doubles, ladders, tournaments, etc. that you can find whatever aspect(s) appeals to you and just enjoy it for what it is. I avoid the whole parks dept. permit thing - I find the courts usually too crowded, and many of them are poorly maintained. I play at a private club on West 43rd street. They've got a bubble during the winter, but from Memorial Day through Labor Day they take down the bubble and you can play outdoors. On a clear summer night you wind up playing tennis surrounded by the glittering Manhattan skyline all around you, and the experience is sublime.

Thanks guys all good advice. What about clubs? I play year round and NYC ain't FLA. Do you guys use the USTA Tennis Center?

I live in Queens, so I play alot at the National Tennis Center, and MTG hosts a lot of parties there. But there are private clubs all over Manhattan, like the one Munson Man mentioned, as well as public courts all over the five boroughs ... you can play everwhere from way up in the Bronx to far out in Queens to Midtown Manhattan to Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

The big difference coming from anywhere else is adjusting to the cost of playing tennis in New York. Renting court time at the USTA National Tennis Center or anywhere else is usually brutal, it can be around $50 an hour per person (singles). Whenever I travel and play in other states, it's always funny how cheap it is to play most everywhere else ... the best was in Houston, where some friends and I rented a court and the attendant said, "Three dollars." And we thought it was each, which would have been $12, but no, it was three dollars for the court.

I still haven't been able to adjust to the cost of playing in the city. Where I lived in Florida, one could just go to a local university and play on their tennis courts...for FREE! I never paid to play tennis in my entire life until I moved here.

Again, thanks for input. Cost is a known quantity, in Chicago it's about $40 prime and good outdoor courts can be $16 an hour. I'm looking for specific clubs and places to play in NYC so I can start looking around and checking them out.

i used to live across the street from the club on 43rd street (manhattan plaza is the complex) and i agree that it would have to be spectacular to play tennis up there on a summer night. the cost kept me from being able to do it, but since you are preparing to pay, i'd definitely check it out. when i looked into it in 2003 i think it was 1 grand a year. now that could just be what i decided it would end up costing me overall. i don't have the info handy to remember exactly what everything cost. but you couldn't ask for a better location if you live on the west side of manhattan, as it's a 5-minute walk from one of the two major subway hubs (42nd st/times square). 10 subway lines go through there (plus the shuttle to grand central -- the other hub -- where virtually other the others go through).

the national tennis center in queens is also nice. the facility is clean and well run. I think there are a dozen indoor courts. I'm not sure of the details on playing there, but i'm sure the info is easily found on the internet. My only complaint about the indoor courts there is that i've played on them on, i think, 5 different occasions and 4 times i've turned my ankle. i would love to chalk it up to clumsiness or coincidence, but i haven't done it on the outdoor courts there or any other court in nyc for that matter, in that same time period. the indoor courts seem to be sticky/tacky. if you're a baseliner, you probably won't notice so much in singles. it's much more noticeable playing doubles because you end up changing directions for lobs, poaches, coverage switches, etc.

and that exhausts my knowledge of indoor courts in the nyc metropolitan area. hope it's somewhat useful.

I’m a 4.5 player who moved to NYC from Chicago three years ago.


During the summer I play on the FREE courts at the West Side Highway and Canal Street. Three outdoor courts are available on a first come first serve bases at no cost. Just sign up at the attendant booth located near court one. Assigned court times run by the hour from 7am to 7pm. My only issue with these courts is that the attendants are often late or never show up. In these cases, the players often start a renegade sign-up list.

As for clubs, I have been playing at the National Tennis Center http://www.usta.com/nationaltenniscenterne...1&icategoryid=0. Membership is not needed and the courts are in great condition.

Good Luck!


Also, I’m looking for people to hit with.
Looking for:
- Players 4.5 and above
- West Side Canal Street tennis courts
- Week days after 5pm
- Weekends anytime

Please reply. mailto:wvillagetennisplayer@yahoo.comwvillagetennisplayer@yahoo.com

thanks everybody....i'll find out tuesday if the move is on!

the move is on! can anyone tell me about tennisport in queens on the river?

I love Tennisport. Indoor red clay courts. For whatever reason, I've always played well there. And it's a very nice club. I don't know anything about prices ... there have been rumors that Tennisport was closing for at least the last five years, if not longer, but every year they stick around somehow.

It's not in the nicest area of town, but once you get to the water, it's a great facility and there's a nice view of the city.

It's probably your inner Argentine.

Hey, I kinda like that!

I always figured it was because indoors and red clay were a bizarre combination and I'm a bizarre little player, but inner Argentine works for me!

do you have those nice sexy argentine legs?

Sadly, no ... I'm 5'3" and whiter than white! That's why I only have an "inner" Argentine.

just to hijack the thread for a minute....

You forgot to add..cute as a button....... :cool:

Hey, thanks! That made my morning, rick. And I needed a little self-confidence boost today because I'm going back to the gym ... otherwise, I'll be round as a button as well!

Hey gotta call them like I see them..Just like a Chair Umpire.....(notice I tried to use a tennis reference just to keep within the thread's topic..LOL)

Just getting back to the gym? Hope you were not injured....

[ July 13, 2005, 06:43 AM: Message edited by: rickinto ]

Nope, just lazy! wink

My thought exactly rick. Sweetness in a small package.

G, US Open is coming, good time for you to get back in the gym. Training begins now--go for it. Keep us posted, babe.

ha ha.

You guys are too nice to me. No wonder I come here everyday!

she's perky, she's cute, she's popular to boot!

[ July 13, 2005, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

gaby....love your writing but how in the hell did you hijack my thread? lol! my freaking about moving to NYC and being able to play as much as i like has been replaced by people stroking you! damn, i'm going to love NYC!

I try not to question it. I wish I were this popular in the real world.

Sorry about hijacking your thread, but since I do live in New York and I play tennis here, I am a part of tennis in New York City. A small, deformed, falls-backwards-with-every-groundstroke part of tennis in NYC! See, it all comes full circle.
wink

nice!

gaga....how do you play at tennissport and not know what it costs?

I used to play there when the USTA leagues used it as a match site. I never played as a member or for my own personal matches. And you pay upfront with USTA, regardless of the sites for the various matches you participate in. I haven't played the USTA leagues in years ... straight people are mean! ... but I never bothered to check the price at Tennisport while I was there. I don't think the USTA even uses Tennisport anymore. There were always those rumors that it was going to close and I think operating costs got too high for the USTA in general, but that's just my guess.

It is a very nice club. Green clay courts outside and red indoor clay and the club is right on the water.

i love that all the courts in NYC are clay! can't wait to tear it up on the "kitty litter"

That is too good. Never heard "kitty litter" before.

Not all the courts here are clay. NYC has hard courts, green clay courts, and red clay courts. Depends on where you go. Central Park has a ton of the green clay ... guess that's the kitty litter, lol ... and over at 97th in Riverside Park there are red clay courts right on the water which are very nice, very popular on the weekends. Hardcourts out at the National Tennis Center and various other places around the city. I'd say there are more hard courts here than anything else, actually.

Have I accindentally coined a new term? Red, green, purple it doesn't matter, I love the dirt! It's actually really fun to play on hard courts after a stint on clay. The groundies seem much more powerful after some time on clay.

I'm moving this weekend to NYC....anyone want to play send me an e-mail....beper23@hotmail.com. I am a 4.5-5.0 player who is more than happy to hang out at the baseline and trade groundies for hours.

Sadly, I am not good enough to play with you. And the way I hit the ball - slow and spinny - would either be laughable or drive you crazy. Probably both! But good luck with the move :cool:

It would drive me nuts! Unless you show some skin of course. LOL

Showing skin ain't as pretty as it used to be either, I'm sorry to say!

My tennis drives lots of folks crazy. There is severe sidespin on my slice, which I hit alot. I was one told that playing me is like playing on a very windy day. ha ha. There have been less humorous, less polite observations as well!

[ August 10, 2005, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

well, maybe we could just have a cocktail and talk tennis?

Well, I'm not drinking these days, but send me a message when you're in the city and settled. We'll sort something out.

i've been in nyc for over a week now and have the itch to hit on sunday in central park, or anyplace else....anyone interested. i'm a 4.5-5.0 baseliner.