Indoor tennis bounces back

Tuesday October 6, 2009

YOU want to play tennis in the borough, but the evenings are starting to get nippy, and that autumn sun is fading fast. What are your options?

Easy. Carry on playing inside, either as a member of one of the country's most historic racquet clubs, or at an indoor centre offering instant access to all.

The spectrum is impressive. At the budget end is the Westway Centre, beneath the concrete elevated lanes of the flyover.

The community centre is open to all for a simple membership fee of £3 (less for students and concessions), with a climbing wall, football, handball and gym available as well as the indoor tennis.

There are eight indoor courts and four outdoor clay courts. If you play outside it costs £9 an hour, while the indoor courts start at £16 an hour off-peak (£10 for children).

"You can book up to four weeks in advance," explained commercial tennis manager Richard Kelly, 31.

"At weekends it gets chocker, but we still have spaces on weekdays."

Off-peak hours are 8am-5pm Monday-Friday. Peak time is all weekend, and 5-10pm weekdays, with the last bookable slot at 9pm.

Popularity is increasing, particularly among the younger players. Westway is designated a high-performance centre by the official tennis body the Lawn Tennis Association.

"It means that on top of the community programme we offer a pathway for kids showing a lot of talent, who can get into our academy in conjunction with Win Tennis, which sets up performance programmes through the LTA," said Richard.

Grants are available, with the junior squads at Westway being very popular. Squads begin at the five to eight age bracket, with 60 youngsters playing every day on performance programmes.

"Our target audience is anyone," added Richard, who used to work at the more exclusive Camden Hill Tennis Club just up the road.

"Anyone can rock up and start playing tennis. Everywhere else is a private members' club with high joining fees."

Low fees don't mean poor facilities. More than £50,000 has recently been spent resurfacing all the indoor courts with the same finish that is used for the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

You can also simply pay and play, with a two-hour session including doubles play and coaching drills from £6.50, while Westway also has a tennis ladder, allowing players to move up and down according to their playing level.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the exclusive Queen's Club, the world's first multi-purpose sports complex, founded in 1886.

As well as hosting the pre-Wimbledon grass court tournament for men, Queen's offers superb all-year-round tennis to its membership, with 12 indoor courts.

Two are clay courts which, from October to March, are covered by huge inflatable bubbles. Four are 'carpet' courts and six are acrylic courts.

Michelle Oldham, the Queen's sports manager, said that the indoor courts were in pretty constant use, and were very popular with the members.

Membership doesn't come cheap. You have to buy a £12,000 share to join, and then be proposed and seconded by existing members, and undergo an interview. The annual membership fee is £1,600, and you then have to pay from £6 to £15 per hour court fees.

In addition to indoor tennis there are three squash courts, two real tennis courts and two racquets courts, as well as a gym. Strict dress codes apply, as you would expect for such an exclusive and classy establishment.

"There is a very mixed membership, with overseas members, country members, London members and city people who play in the evening," said Michelle.

The membership waiting list is currently about six months long, with no shortage of people eager to play at Queen's - particularly on the 28 outdoor courts at the club.